Local economy - development

About Better Barrhead

“Better Barrhead” is an initiative promoted by East Renfrewshire Council and our partner organisations. The ten year £100m plan will help to ensure that Barrhead meets the needs of its community, existing businesses and potential investors.

Like many similar-sized towns, Barrhead has suffered in recent years with the closure of local industries like Shanks and Nestle. This has left behind fewer opportunities for employment and all of the associated problems that this situation can bring.

Nevertheless, the town has retained a strong and active community. It has valuable facilities in the Sports Centre and award winning schools, provides excellent access to parks and walkways and is well served by transport links to Glasgow and the surrounding areas.

The Better Barrhead regeneration initiative aims to build on these existing strengths to help make Barrhead an even more attractive and vibrant town to live, work and play in. To achieve this, the Better Barrhead Framework sets out an ambitious plan which includes the following projects:

  • Develop new housing in and around the town centre, so that young families do not have to leave to find affordable housing, and more demand for local services is created

  • Provide modern business sites to support existing Barrhead businesses and to encourage further investment

  • Create a new state-of-the-art health centre to meet all of the needs of the community in one modern facility

  • Create a new Barrhead College, which will provide learning and development opportunities for everyone

  • Work with local businesses and community members to improve the environment of both Main Street and Cross Arthurlie Street and make them more attractive to potential trade

  • Work with the community on a series of Public Space projects that will make Barrhead more attractive as a place to live and a place to invest in.

Find more information about these projects at:

Website: www.betterbarrhead.co.uk

Busby Town Centre Partnership

Local Busby traders and residents approved a package of environmental improvements within the town centre. The works cost around £65,000 and were carried out in 2007.

Clarkston Town Centre

Clarkston town centre has short and long stay car parking and a variety of small shops, including banks and building societies, estate agencies, hair and beauty salons, delis and coffee shops, jewellery and gift shops, restaurants and much more. Valuation roll figures show that the area now has more than 150 businesses.

East Renfrewshire’s first Farmers Market took place in March 2002 at Clarkston Halls. Since then the market has been held on the 4th Saturday of each month.

Keith Roberts, then President of East Renfrewshire Chamber of Trade & Commerce and a key member of the Town Centre Partnership said “The market is now established and appears to have gone from strength to strength. This is an excellent opportunity to draw more shoppers into the area and is also a great boost for local residents who seem to appreciate the unique products offered by the farmers."

Find out more about the Farmers Market at:

Website: www.lanarkshirefarmersmarket.co.uk

Giffnock Town Centre Partnership

This partnership has been set up to provide interested parties with an opportunity to discuss issues relating to the local environment. It aims to identify and develop proposals to build on existing strengths, and to tackle any emerging problems relating to the town centre.

Partners include local traders, Giffnock Community Council, Giffnock and Thornliebank Area Forum, East Renfrewshire Chamber of Commerce, and local councillors and officers from East Renfrewshire Council.

The first meeting of the Giffnock Town Centre Partnership was held on Tuesday 23rd January 2007. Much of the meeting was taken up with a presentation of the environmental improvements arising from the outline planning consent for a new Morrisons store on Fenwick Road.

Outline consent for the store was granted in October 2006 subject to a great deal of conditions, not least of all that detailed planning applications would need to be submitted for the appearance and position of the proposed buildings. The Council has covered many of these conditions in an agreement with Morrisons which states among other things that

  • The Council shall promote the Giffnock Town Centre Partnership

  • Morrisons will pay a Public Realm Works Contribution of £400,000

  • Morrisons will pay a Traffic Management Works Contribution of £150,000

The Public Realm Works is to be the environmental works and hard and soft landscaping works to improve the layout, materials and standard and construction and maintenance for footway surfaces, kerbs, service covers, signs, lighting, street furniture and barriers within Giffnock Town Centre, improvement to pedestrian crossings and priority, at grade crossings to side streets and existing parking lay-bys and other streetscape works all in general accordance with Morrisons' plans.

In considering what social benefit contribution the Council could properly ask that the Morrisons development should make to the Town Centre, the Planning Committee agreed that the principal community benefit would be upgrading and enhancement of the public realm.

The Council, through the Partnership or this office, would be pleased to hear of any proposals from traders as to what should be included or excluded from the Public Realm Works (as defined above) in the interests of safeguarding or improving trade within the town centre area.

The minutes of recent Giffnock Town Centre Partnership meetings are available to download at the bottom of this page.

If you have any comments, please contact:

Phil Prentice
Economic Development Manager

Telephone: (0141) 577 3753
Email: