RENFREWSHIRE towns are being lit up as part of a funding boost for the region.

As part of the Scottish government’s town centre regeneration project, the local authority area has seen a number of new initiatives come from a nearly £2 million investment in its towns since 2019.

New lighting systems around Renfrew’s Town Hall, Johnstone’s Houstoun Square, and the Bascule Bridge are the most glaring examples of where the money has went.

But it will also be seen in plans to turn the former Mannequins nightclub into a theatre, the conversion of a toilet block in Robertson Park into a cycling hub and Active Communities’ designs on Johnstone’s vacant former police station, which it hopes to make into a community centre.

The money was awarded as part of the government’s bid to help struggling town centres in 2019, which was renewed earlier this year to boost their recovery from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and long periods of lockdown.

Cash has also been spent on tidying up a gap site in Johnstone’s High Street, as well as refurbishment of vacant shopfronts in Renfrewshire’s three largest towns and a new waste storage are in Paisley’s High Street.

Earlier in the month, the council approved cash to be spent on creating an arts base in the Erskine Leisure Centre, attracting “creative businesses” to vacant units in Dunlop Street, Johnstone, outdoor improvements to Shuttle Street for its restaurants and cafes and the refurbishment of derelict tenements near Gilmour Street station.

Council leader Iain Nicholson said: “Ensuring our town centres are attractive places for people to live, work and invest is a big priority for us.

“We carefully considered which projects would be eligible for the funding and would have the most impact in terms of attracting new uses and investment across all our town centres.”