Sustainable development planned to help reinvigorate Paisley town centre

A housing developer plans to create “a new gateway to Paisley town centre” as it unveiled proposals for 67 new apartments on the site of a former Department for Work and Pensions office.An application for 67 apartments in Lonend was validated by Renfrewshire Council’s planning department this week.Kelvin Properties, a developer renowned for regenerating urban brownfield sites into thriving residential communities, hopes its plans will provide a much-needed boost to Paisley town centre, which was hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic.The site, which has been vacant since 2018, lies south-east of Paisley town centre, on the corner of Sauce Street and Lonend.Kelvin Properties aims to redevelop the site – purchased in September last year – and provide high-quality environmentally-friendly residential apartments that will provide new accommodation for members of the local community and attract others to move to the area.Green travel will be encouraged, with a bus stop directly in front of the site and two train stations within a 10-minute walk offering direct trains to Glasgow city centre. There will also be 15 active EV charging stations within the site which help encourage the use of electric cars.The urban regeneration specialist plans to re-use as much of the crushed material from the demolition as possible to accommodate the three flatted blocks, while solar PV panels will be used on the roof to power the three apartment blocks and further reduce carbon emissions.Twenty-five one-bedroom apartments in the development have been designed to include a standalone home working area out with the bedroom – a feature Kelvin Properties believes will future-proof the development in the wake of the pandemic.The plans, which include a fully equipped children’s play area, were submitted to Renfrewshire Council last week. If successful in gaining planning, Kelvin Properties hopes to commence works on-site later this year.