The changing face of Ferguslie Park: Demolition work starts on derelict houses in Paisley

Demolition work has begun on 51 blocks of derelict houses in Paisley that have become a target for flytipping and fireraising.

The Tannahill properties were once among the most popular in Ferguslie Park but have fallen into disrepair. The demolition work has been welcomed by the community, which has long been calling for the houses to be torn down.

Named the most deprived area in Scotland in 2016, regeneration work is ongoing across the area, led largely by the community itself.

‘It’s like a warzone’

Dorothy Bell grew up in Ferguslie Park and lived in Tannahill Terrace for 17 years. She was among the former residents who moved into a new, modern home built on the edge of the scheme.

The 66-year-old has fond memories of her time living there, but says the demolition cannot come soon enough.

Dorothy Bell lived in Tannahill Terrace for 17 years STV News

“It’s like a warzone,” she told STV News. “You go and look out and the roofs are all set alight […] and everybody’s flytipping.”

“They’re tipping all their stuff, and it’s not in Ferguslie, it’s people coming into Ferguslie Park and they’re seeing it as a tipping area.”

“If somebody went past on the bus, they would say ‘oh look at that place’ and it was never like that.

Demolition work has begun on 51 blocks of derelict houses in Paisley that have become a target for flytipping and fireraising. STV News

“Where I moved into, you couldn’t move into that street unless somebody had passed away and even then it was a long, long waiting list.

“It’s only the past few years it’s gone away downhill and it was shocking, because it really was a lovely area.”

A Renfrewshire Council spokesperson said: “The demolition of the vacant properties follows the completion of 101 modern new-build energy-efficient homes by the council at a neighbouring site, as part of the ongoing community-led regeneration of Ferguslie Park.

“The major investment in housing complements a wider masterplan developed in collaboration with the local community to transform the area, called ‘The Making of Ferguslie’, which considers new uses for vacant land, how to enhance green spaces, and how to best support existing community activity.”

‘Locally-led regeneration is the way forward’

Terry McTernan, chairperson of Ferguslie Community Council, said: “The whole area is desolate. It’s very much deteriorating by the day, and it’s been subject to industrial-scale flytipping over recent months, and that runs the risk of us losing some hard-fought gains over recent years.”

Mr McTernan has lived in Ferguslie Park his whole life and now works at the Tannahill Centre, which is home to a number of community groups making change in the area.

Terry McTernan has lived in Ferguslie Park his whole life STV News

“It’s a million miles away from the community that I grew up in,” he said.

“It still continues to experience various challenges – food insecurity, fuel poverty etcetera, but I think the pandemic was a real turning point.

“It allowed us to visibly see the efforts that can be made by people just coming together and working together for the greater good and that’s something that Ferguslie Park has always been good at.

“For me, locally-led regeneration is the way forward. It’s local people that have that internal knowledge.

“A number of the provisions that we’re responsible for delivering within the community, certainly since the pandemic, are locally-led. They’re much wider-reaching in nature and they tend to stick.”

‘It’s giving you a purpose of getting up in the morning’

The Ferguslie Seniors is one of the community groups that locals say is taking the area from strength-to-strength. They meet three times a week for meals, coffees and games of bingo.

The Ferguslie Seniors meet three times a week at the Tannahill Centre. STV News

Member Andy Campbell, who’s 59, has lived in Ferguslie Park all his life. He joined the club when his wife died five years ago.

“I was at a right low,” he said. “Ever since then, it’s lifted me right up […] My mental health is a lot better, I don’t need as much counselling or that now.”

John Larkin, who is also a regular attendee, said: “I wouldn’t even get ready, I’d stay in my pyjamas until the day I was going out for my messages. It’s giving you a purpose of getting up in the morning and getting out there.”