Work on transforming the Paisley Arts Centre has started and builders are aiming to turn the facility into a "unique and intimate performance venue and creative hub."
The work will see the addition of new modern performance facilities and an extension to the much-loved historic venue.
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Renfrewshire Council bosses hope the project will deliver a boon to the area when it reopens next year.
As part of the work, a new redesigned public space at the front of the building will be built, removing the railings and adding new paving and seating.
There will also be a small extension housing a new entrance and expanded bar area for pre-and post-show drinks, an improved main auditorium, with new retractable seating, and new back-of-house and performance facilities, including better sound and lighting, new kitchen, improved dressing rooms, and workshop space for rehearsals and other events.
The site is a 250-year-old churchyard and council officials have said that the work being undertaken has taken this into account and that the graveyard area at the side of the building will be left untouched.
They also carried out surveys to areas around the front of the building, where a lot of the work is taking place, to ascertain if there were any more graves present in this location, but the results of that survey told them that there were none.
Funded by Renfrewshire Council, it's part of a drive to use the town’s internationally-significant cultural and heritage story to bring future benefits, and is part of a wider investment in Paisley’s cultural venues such as the Paisley Museum and Art Gallery and the Paisley Town Hall.
When the centre reopens, it will be operated by OneRen, the charity which provides culture, leisure and sport opportunities to help people enjoy active and healthy lives in Renfrewshire and will host a year-round programme of music, comedy, theatre and more.
Councillor Lisa-Marie Hughes, chair of OneRen, said: “I am delighted to see work is now under way on the refurbishment of Paisley Arts Centre.
“For more than 30 years, it has been one of Scotland’s most vibrant small arts venues, but while work was done to the outside of the building in 2012, the facilities and audience experience inside it were in need of the upgrade which this work will deliver.
“Once reopen, the building will be able to offer a better range of events than before, bringing new life and footfall into the town centre and to the surrounding businesses day and night.
“And we hope it will also become a hub for the town’s thriving creative community – providing a base for our cultural groups to work from and help nurture the next generation of local talent.”
Michael Scanlan, director at Clark Contracts – the main contractors for the work – added: “As a Paisley-based contractor, we are delighted to be working with Renfrewshire Council again to deliver this transformation of Paisley Arts Centre, which will provide high-quality facilities for the local community.”
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