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A £40million theatre and cinema will be built opposite Paisley Abbey, we can reveal.

Paisley Community Trust wants to open the arts centre in the grounds of the former Arnotts department store.

It will be sited in the shop car park and include a bar and restaurant.

MSP George Adam has hailed the vision as the town vies for the UK City of Culture 2021 crown.

He said:“Every city or town should always be aiming higher and for better.

“Progress has to be made or we get left behind viewing the successes of others.

“This project provides a new vision of Paisley, providing arts and culture facilities much needed by the town.

“It will also bring employment and training, which will help form a community, including a chance to tap into the talent and potential offered by Paisley’s university and college.

“The 2021 bid is an ideal opportunity to place this project at the heart of our regeneration.

“It would not only improve the town, but also expectations and impressions of Paisley.

“I think it would be a missed opportunity if it is not part of the city of culture bid.

“This is a project that should be viewed by the people of Paisley and Renfrewshire to see if this is the vision they share and if it should be taken forward for the benefit of all.”

Paisley Community Trust insists the space would be the first step in creating a cultural and creative quarter.

Stallan Brand’s award-winning architects have drawn up blueprints for the mooted theatre on Gauze Street.

They will be unveiled at the Piazza Shopping Centre later this month.

The design is expected to include a main theatre and secondary studio, rehearsal and dressing rooms, dance practice rooms and cinema spaces.

It will be the first film complex in the town centre since the Kelburne Cinema closed its doors in 1997 before a blaze destroyed it the next year.

The project would build on the opening of Pendulum Bar and Grill, a restaurant opened by the Cardosi family in the former Arnotts store earlier this year.

Paisley Community Trust was founded back in 2014 by businessman Gary Kerr, computer games entrepreneur Andy Campbell and David Wallace, from Pace Youth Theatre.

They are staging a workshop featuring architects drawings, a model and their vision for the area.

Trust members will be on-hand to listen to feedback and answer any questions.

The drop-in session takes place in the mall from noon.