PLANS to redevelop Paisley's museum are set to be given a boost by a £4.9m grant from the National Lottery.

The Heritage Lottery Fund has announced it has earmarked the funds for the proposed £42m revamp in the week that the town prepares to lodge its final bid for the UK City of Culture title.

Renfrewshire Council this year has already set aside £24.1m towards the plan, and the revamp of the Victorian building is a key part of Paisley's larger plan to regenerate the town through investment in heritage and culture, including its short-listed bid for the City of Culture title.

The final bid documents for the City of Culture plan are due to be submitted to the UK Government this Friday.

The revamped museum is forecast to attract 125,000 visits a year – almost four times the current numbers.

The redevelopment of the building is also hoped to provide a £72m economic boost over 30 years for the town.

The plans involve a new extension to the neo-classical columned building, a new cafe and a shop, and improvements to all four museum buildings, including the Coats Observatory, and an internal redesign which will double the number of objects on show.

Paisley Museum, which is in the town centre, includes items like the loom gallery, the Arbuthnott Missal, a rare medieval manuscript, and the Shawl Collection.

The green light signalled by the lottery means that the council can begin staff recruitment and the appointment of architects.

The £4.9m funding will be confirmed once a successful stage two application is lodged with HLF.

The new museum is expected to open in 2022.

Iain Nicolson, leader of Renfrewshire Council, said: “This is a wonderful piece of news from HLF and couldn’t have come at a better time, with our bid to be UK City of Culture 2021 being lodged this week.

“The museum plans are central to our wider vision to transform the town’s future by harnessing the power of Paisley’s internationally-significant heritage and cultural story.

“We know the town centre has its challenges but the way people shop has changed forever – so we have to create new life and new footfall by finding new ways to bring people into the town."

He added: "Paisley can do that by making the most of the unique selling point that is our heritage and textile story – and the museum revamp, along with the museum store due to open this year and the new library will drive new footfall to our high street.

“The town has some amazing items in its collection – but the current building needs revamped in order to get them out on display and to fully tell the story of how this town was once at the centre of a global industry.

“These projects are all part of a wider vision with the UK City of Culture bid at its heart – should we be announced at the winner of that title in December it will take the work we are doing to a totally new level.”

Seona Reid, deputy chair of HLF and chair of the Scotland Committee, said: “I know how much this project means to Paisley and its people.

"It’s vital to the great strides that are being made in revitalising the town, using its history and industrial heritage as the building blocks.

“I am delighted that thanks to players of the National Lottery, we are able to give our initial support to a project which will transform the museum and give Paisley’s internationally-important textiles and other collections the prominence they deserve.”

Paisley is the only Scottish place on the UK City of Culture shortlist and is joined by Coventry, Stoke, Sunderland and Swansea, with the winner to be announced in December.