Town hall water leak after £22m upgrading

Concerns have been voiced after Renfrewshire Council had to deal with a water leak and damage at the recently refurbished Paisley Town Hall.

- JACK THOMSON, LOCAL DEMOCRACY REPORTER

The A-listed landmark - a centrepiece of the town for more than 140 years - underwent a £22 million transformation and officially reopened in September 2023.

The building has turned into one of Scotland's finest entertainment venues, according to the local authority, with state-of-the-art performance spaces, improved accessibility and restored Victorian architecture.

But it has been acknowledged its age continues to pose challenges and repairs have also had to be carried out to some of the pipework.

Councillor Alison Ann-Dowling, Labour group finance spokesperson, raised the issue at the finance, resources and customer services policy board on Thursday.

She said at the meeting: “I was very concerned to see, despite the money that’s been spent on it, that a water leak and damage was found in Paisley Town Hall.”

The elected member, who represents Houston, Crosslee and Linwood, continued: “I completely understand it’s a really old building, take that as read, but we should be able to have a basic wind and watertight fabric.