Overview

The Piazza is the main shopping centre of Paisley, first opening its doors in the early 70s before a revamp in the 90s made the building what you see today. Located on several bus routes and a stone's throw from Paisley Gilmour Street, the place couldn’t be any more central. Though mostly consisting of high-street chain stores, the Piazza is ideal for those who’d rather avoid the trip to the larger Braehead Shopping Centre in Renfrew. There are two coffee shops, a charity shop, several pharmacy and beauty stores, clothing stores and onsite parking.

Transport & Parking

There is dedicated parking, however there are charges based on the duration of your visit. The centre has 336 parking spaces, 7 of which are accessible. Due to the age of the car park, and the size of modern cars, it can be a little nerve-wracking as you turn the tight corners. Driving up the ramp entrance, you’ll see markings on the wall where others have misjudged the turn, it’s like a Jackson Pollock installation with car paint and regret as the chosen medium. On a central bus route, several buses stop at the main entrance on Gauze Street. Paisley Gilmour Street Railway station is close by for those traveling by train.

Access

There's a lift entrance from the car park and three additional access routes from the surrounding areas. The County Square entrance has both automatic and manual doors, entry via Gauze Street, where the buses stop, has manual doors at the front, but following the ramp down to the left will take you to the automatic doors. The final entrance is via Smithshill Street, to the right of the entrance is a ramp leading up to the centre floor. The entirety of the centre is on one level, making it convenient to nip between stores. I've found the majority of the stores manageable when using a manual wheelchair.

Toilets

There is a clearly signposted accessible toilet, which is accessed via a radar key. The toilet is small but functional, with grab rails on either side of the toilet seat, and on either side of the static sink and mirror. A carer will also fit in, but it is quite neat. The toilet paper dispenser is on the left of the toilet when seated, the flush is on top of the cistern. The red cord hung to the floor. If you don’t have a radar key and cannot locate a member of staff, there is an accessible toilet in Costa Coffee, this is on the ground floor and does not have a radar lock. As with the dedicated toilet, this is small but could accommodate a carer in addition to a manual wheelchair or powerchair. There are grab rails on either side of the toilet seat and the static sink. The flush is located on the wall behind the toilet seat. The soap dispenser is located near the sink, as is the wall mounted hand dryer. This toilet has a baby change table, a waste bin and a sanitary bin.

Staff

Security and cleaning staff patrol the centre, but I didn’t speak with them. I’ve always found the shop staff to be accommodating. I raised a concern about the layout of the Bernardo’s store a few months ago, which they immediately corrected.

Anything else you wish to tell us?

The Piazza operates a quiet hour, during which lights are dimmed and the volume is lowered. 10-11 AM each Thursday. This is a good start, but limiting this period to an hour feels short, especially if you stop for a coffee or a sandwich. A Royal Bank of Scotland ATM can be found at the centre. The stores I noted on my visit are: Aulds Barnardo's Boathouse Coffee Bodycare Bonmarché Boots Card Factory Costa Coffee Iceland JD Sports Laura May Sofas New look Peacocks Poundland Semichem Subway Superdrug The Works Thread ex Vodafone Warren James

Photos