By Iain Nicolson, leader, Renfrewshire Council and chairman of Paisley 2021 Partnership Board

A TOWN with a rich and diverse culture, a place where creativity thrives and boasts an abundance of riches in terms of architectural and historical beauty: these are just some of the descriptions of Paisley which show how perceptions of the town have changed through bidding for UK City of Culture 2021.

It was a major disappointment that Paisley did not win the title. The entire town was very much in it to win it but the disappointment of missing out is eased by knowing how much we have gained from the bidding process and how far we have come. I congratulate Coventry on winning the title and we wish it all the best for 2021.

Our bid helped propel Paisley into the spotlight and challenged perceptions of the town by creating a new awareness of why we matter. It raised our profile to unprecedented levels while reigniting a sense of pride in the community; never before have I seen such a spirit of positivity from residents and further afield.

This process has also shown how local government can embrace new ways of working in partnerships with external organisations and the wider community to create a shared and cohesive way of making progress for the area’s future.

All of this positive momentum has given the town a platform to build on to help turn Paisley into a thriving destination and attract new types of investment and partnership we couldn’t have secured access to before. The bid was always part of a wider plan to use Paisley’s culture and heritage to transform its future and make it a key destination for visitors and event. This will continue.

Work to revitalise our economy and town centre is happening, with major infrastructure investment confirmed over the next decade such as the £274 million City Deal or the £110m investment in town centre venues and infrastructure, including a £42m revamp of Paisley museum and the publicly accessible Museum Store, the first facility of its kind on a UK high street that opened this month.

One major example of the continuing journey has already happened. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced that Scotland’s manufacturing institute will be established in Renfrewshire. It will make Scotland a global leader in advanced manufacturing and could create up to 10,000 jobs over the next 20 years.

We are reinventing our textile heritage for the 21st century, commercialising the global design symbol that is the Paisley Pattern, linking with international design houses such as luxury knitwear brand Pringle of Scotland and bringing creative entrepreneurs into our town centre through Renfrewshire Council’s business incubator programme InCube and new makers’ space.

Paisley is firmly established as a key destination on Scotland’s events map with popular events such as the Halloween Festival, Sma Shot and Spree continuing to grow and national ones such as The British Pipe Band Championships and The Royal National Mod returning to the town.

The bid also helped shine a light on the diversity and strength of Paisley’s grassroots cultural scene and some of our young talented artists. With a bid legacy of £1m from the Culture Heritage and Events Fund and partnerships in place with top-class artists to develop our local talent such as Scottish Opera and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, our culture will continue to enrich lives.

People have seen the potential; they understand culture can transform people’s lives and the town’s future. The incredible energy harnessed by the bid will still be channelled in that direction.