Renfrewshire Council has confirmed they're not applying for city status for Paisley to mark the Queen's platinum jubilee next year.
The Queen has agreed for a competition to be held to grant the prestigious and rare civic honours of ‘city status’ and ‘Lord Mayor or Lord Provost status’, to a select number of worthy towns and cities in the United Kingdom.
It's the first time in 10 years that Her Majesty awards civic honours and the occasion comes as part of celebrations to mark the Queen’s platinum jubilee in 2022.
As Scotland's largest town, Paisley has applied for city status twice before, in 2000 and 2002, but was unsuccessful. And despite not being a city, Paisley was shortlisted for the 2021 City of Culture bid.
A spokesperson for Renfrewshire Council said the ongoing transformation of Paisley town centre and redevelopment of areas such as the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District Scotland (AMIDS) in Inchinnan are proof that the area doesn't need city status.
“Paisley’s status as Scotland’s largest (and we think best) town is our unique selling point and something we are immensely proud of," said the council spokesman. "We want to continue to enjoy the benefits of that, as a big town which already thinks and acts like a city.
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“We have already experienced the benefits of competition, with the town’s bid for UK City of Culture 2021 raising our profile and changing our reputation at home and abroad, bringing our community together, and helping restore self-confidence and civic pride among Buddies.
“Since then, we have positioned Paisley as a leader for towns everywhere, and showed how other towns can use what makes them special to set themselves apart – and the projects currently being delivered through our Future Paisley programme of cultural regeneration are doing that.
“That includes the ongoing transformations of Paisley Museum into an international-class visitor destination showcasing our unique heritage and world-changing stories, and the work to make Paisley Town Hall a landmark entertainment venue for the West of Scotland.
“Those are just two parts of a much wider push to use the town’s unique story to attract new footfall and investment that will benefit all of Renfrewshire, and help drive the whole area’s economic and social recovery from the effects of the pandemic."
Recent announcements of £38million of UK government funding for new transport links in the north of Paisley to better connect the town centre with the airport and AMIDs are also proof of an effort to improve the whole area, said the spokesman.
He added: "These major developments which will be complete in the next couple of years are ones everyone in Renfrewshire can be excited about and we haven’t needed city status to make them happen.”
As part of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012, four awards of city status were made to Chelmsford, Perth, St Asaph and Armagh - one for each part of the UK.
At that time Renfrewshire Council also decided not to apply for city status.
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