Overview

Renfrew Road Retail Park, in addition to being a challenge to say three times fast, is a shopping hub close to Paisley town centre. The first businesses opened in the area in 2019, namely The Range, Lidl and Canada’s third favourite export, behind maple syrup and hockey, Tim Hortons. Marks and Spencer soon followed by opening the M&S Foodhall. How accessible are the businesses here? Lets find out.

Transport & Parking

The retail park has a total of 385 parking spaces, with some dedicated accessible parking outside the businesses. M&S Foodhall has 4 accessible spaces at the door, the Range has 8 accessible spaces close to the entrance, Lidl has 6 accessible spaces, to the left of the entrance and Tim Hortons has 2 accessible spaces at the door. There are no EV charging facilities at this location as of June 2024. There’s a bus stop on nearby Renfrew Road served by the 23P, 26, 61,166 and x21 bus services. ​​ The retail park is accessed via the ramp close to the bus stop, the walkway to the side of M&S Foodhall or the hill leading up to Lidl.

Access

I visited each of the businesses on my trip to ensure this review was as detailed as possible, I’ll split the review into sections. M&S Foodhall We often visit M&S when we fancy a treat, a scone from the bakery in my case. There are automatic doors at the entrance, with self-scanning handsets to the left. The shop is mostly accessible to wheelchair users with plenty of space to move, though the fridges all have doors that need to be pulled open and produce that can’t be reached from a sitting position. The shop is clearly signposted, making it easy to find what you need. If you’re attending later in the day, look out for those yellow stickers if you’d like a bargain. There is an induction loop at this location. The Range This large homeware shop has just about everything you could ever need. The store covers two floors with a small Iceland on the lower level and Dee Dee’s Café on the upper level. The doors are automatic sliding doors, with two sets as you enter. There are tall shelves in the aisles, which may mean you need to ask for assistance to collect the items out of reach. To the far right, you’ll find the escalators and lift to access the upper level. The lifts aren’t in the best location, the side of the escalator and the nearby wall create a corridor to the lift. If people are looking at the products, it can be difficult to reach the lift. It’s also not great if someone is exiting the lift as you’re trying to get into it. The lift buttons, inside and out, are reachable from a sitting height, and the lift can accommodate several people and a wheelchair user. The signage is clear, however I didn’t see an induction loop. Lidl You can’t go into a Lidl without wasting 30 minutes in the middle. We’ve all been there; you go in for a tin of beans and leave with a canoe. The building is accessed via a set of automatic doors, with the first stop being a wall of baked goods. Beyond these tempting treats, you’ll find all you need for your weekly shop. As with M&S, many of the fridges have doors and the shelves may be a little high for some. Tim Hortons Last but not least, especially after trekking around the other places, is the Tim Hortons. The shop is accessed by a set of heavy double doors, which I needed help with. I really wish there was an automatic door. There’s no call button. Access from the street is a little more difficult: the cafe is uphill, and the walkway has steps. I had to wheel in from the car park entrance on the road. It’s spacious inside, with plenty of seating and comfortable chairs. The air-con keeps the place pretty chilly, however, so I’d keep that in mind.

Toilets

M&S Foodhall There are no public toilets at this location. The Range The toilet is on the upper floor, to the side of the sales counter. It’s accessed through two heavy doors, one into the corridor where the toilets are and the other to the toilet itself. There are grab rails on either side of the toilet, and the static sink. There is a waste bin, a sanitary bin and a wall-mounted hand dryer. The toilet is spacious and could accommodate a carer or assistant. The red cord was tied around the grab rail several times over. This is disappointing as it prevents a disabled person from calling for help, this is especially dangerous as there are two sets of doors between the toilet and the cafe. Lidl The accessible toilets were decidedly inaccessible on my visit. There’s an out-of-order sign on the door, which has been there for at least 2 weeks. Tim Hortons This location has one accessible toilet, located at the end of the courier where the other facilities are located. The toilet is small but could accommodate a carer. The red cord touched the floor, although it was behind a grab rail. There are grab rails on either side of the toilet and to either side of the static sink. The toilet paper dispenser is wall-mounted, and the hand dryer is a similar style to the Dyson air blade dryers.

Staff

Tim Hortons This was the only location where I interacted with the staff. Once I was in the store, they were eager to help me access the facilities and were happy to help me leave the store by holding the door open for me. I requested a medium drink in a large cup, as I hold the cup between my thighs when propelling my manual wheelchair, and they were happy to help - they also asked me to check that the cup wasn’t too full.

Anything else you wish to tell us?

Renfrew Road Retail Park is a good place to spend a few hours, whether you’re there for some food shopping, homeware or a sneaky wee doughnut. Barring a few minor improvements, I’d suggest a visit. Tim Hortons could do with a call button, if not a touchpad to open the door. The Range scores low because of the issues with the pull cord and obstructions at the lifts. EV charging would be a great addition to the overall parking, though please make these accessible! Oh, and Lidl, please fix the toilet.

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