Ferguslie Park
Encyclopedia
Paisley
Paisley is the largest town in the historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland and serves as the administrative centre for the Renfrewshire council area...
in Renfrewshire
Renfrewshire
Renfrewshire is one of 32 council areas used for local government in Scotland. Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Renfrewshire, the others being Inverclyde to the west and East Renfrewshire to the east...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. It is bordered by the town of Linwood to the west and Glasgow International Airport
Glasgow International Airport
Glasgow International Airport is an international airport in Scotland, located west of Glasgow city centre, near the towns of Paisley and Renfrew in Renfrewshire...
to the north. In 2006, the Scottish Executive
Scottish Executive
The Scottish Government is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was established in 1999 as the Scottish Executive, from the extant Scottish Office, and the term Scottish Executive remains its legal name under the Scotland Act 1998...
named it as one of Scotland's most deprived communities. This information was based on paperwork dating back to 1996. Ferguslie Park has improved over many years by building centres for sports and leisure for all ages.
History
Ferguslie has origins dating back to the 16th century, and was the site of a large estate associated with the monks based at Paisley. The modern town, however, was born in the 1850s around an iron-stone mining settlement known as Inkerman. At its closure, the town was demolished and its residents moved to Ferguslie or nearby ElderslieElderslie
Elderslie is a village in the council area and historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. The village is situated midway between the nearby towns of Paisley and Johnstone....
.
Its main form was gained following the Housing Act 1946.
It was hit particularly hard by the closure of traditional industries particularly based in nearby Linwood in the late 1970s and early 1980s. As a consequence, and also due to its isolated position separated from Paisley and other towns by railway lines and other transport networks, it has suffered a large degree of social exclusion
Social exclusion
Social exclusion is a concept used in many parts of the world to characterise contemporary forms of social disadvantage. Dr. Lynn Todman, director of the Institute on Social Exclusion at the Adler School of Professional Psychology, suggests that social exclusion refers to processes in which...
. In particular, it has become known for drug abuse, appearing on a Panorama
Panorama (TV series)
Panorama is a BBC Television current affairs documentary programme, which was first broadcast in 1953, and is the longest-running public affairs television programme in the world. Panorama has been presented by many well known BBC presenters, including Richard Dimbleby, Robin Day, David Dimbleby...
television programme in the late 1990s relating to the problems this has caused. It has also had severe problems with crime and juvenile delinquency
Juvenile delinquency
Juvenile delinquency is participation in illegal behavior by minors who fall under a statutory age limit. Most legal systems prescribe specific procedures for dealing with juveniles, such as juvenile detention centers. There are a multitude of different theories on the causes of crime, most if not...
.
Location and transport
To the North the InverclydeInverclyde
Inverclyde is one of 32 council areas used for local government in Scotland. Together with the Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire council areas, Inverclyde forms part of the historic county of Renfrewshire - which current exists as a registration county and lieutenancy area - located in the west...
-to-Glasgow Railway line separates the residential area from the industrial areas to the North East of Ferguslie Park. St James's Park, known locally as the Racecourse, a recreation ground to the south of the M8, is a popular football venue for amateur teams. This area has avoided many of the problems of Ferguslie Park and is still fairly well used, with many business, in particular long stay car parks for the nearby airport. Paisley St James railway station
Paisley St James railway station
Paisley St James railway station is on the Inverclyde Line, serving a residential district of Paisley, Scotland, just west of the town centre...
, is located on the line near Greenhill Road, however the scale of the urban decay is evident on the station with its high security, only one train per hour calls, and many flats that were near the station no longer exist. The Glasgow Airport Rail Link will see the current station close and move closer to the centre of Ferguslie Park, as the rail link to the airport will require a junction where the station is located. 2 buses run through the area, one links the area to the Phoenix Centre and Paisley Town Centre, and the other by transport giant Arriva
Arriva
Arriva plc is a multinational public transport company owned by Deutsche Bahn and headquartered in Sunderland, United Kingdom. It has bus, coach, train, tram and waterbus operations in 12 countries across Europe, employs more than 47,500 people and services over 1.5 billion passenger journeys each...
, links the area with Paisley Cross. An indicator of the crime level, no company operates past 18.30, despite the low car use.
Regeneration
The regeneration of Ferguslie Park is currently underway. 'Neighbourhood wardens' now patrol the streets to give a visible presence to try to deter crime. Graffiti Squads also aim to remove graffiti from council property within 24 hours to try to reduce the urban decay. However the drug problem and anti-social behavior still exists, although to a lesser extent than in recent years. The Tannahill Centre, named after the poet Robert TannahillRobert Tannahill
Robert Tannahill was a Scottish poet. Known as the 'Weaver Poet', his music and poetry is contemporaneous with that of Robert Burns.He was born at Castle Street in Paisley on 3 June 1774, the fourth son in a family of seven...
, a weaver from the town of Paisley, aims to give a nice community centre and shopping area. The centre, however has locals complaining that the chemist located inside the post office, is often giving drug addicts the heroin substitute Methadone
Methadone
Methadone is a synthetic opioid, used medically as an analgesic and a maintenance anti-addictive for use in patients with opioid dependency. It was developed in Germany in 1937...
whilst vulnerable pensioners are collecting pension money. Community projects, such as Ferguslie Park Radio have been successful in helping some youngsters channel their enthusiasm into worthwhile events, and sports facilities exist in the area for 5 a side football.
To the east, new housing has been joined by the commercial development, the Phoenix Centre, which contains a cinema, car dealerships, restaurants, shops and supermarkets, in order to regenerate the former Chrysler
Chrysler
Chrysler Group LLC is a multinational automaker headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA. Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925....
car plant that used to be on the site. Whilst regarded as being in Linwood, it is more accurately in Paisley, and joins the Ferguslie Park area- Linwood is in fact further away on the other side of the Johnstone By-Pass.
To the east, St Mirren F.C., the local team of the town of Paisley who play in the Scottish Premier League
Scottish Premier League
The Scottish Premier League , also known as the SPL , is a professional league competition for association football clubs in Scotland...
moved in January 2009 from their traditional Love Street home some 600m away to a new all-seater stadium
St. Mirren Park
St. Mirren Park, more commonly known as Love Street, was a football stadium located on Love Street in Paisley, Scotland. At one time the stadium was capable of accommodating almost 50,000 spectators, however in its final years it had an all-seated capacity of 10,800. Until its closure in 2009, St....
on vacant ground near the current St. James Station. This involved selling Love Street to a supermarket chain
Tesco
Tesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...
and it was given planning permission by Renfrewshire Council
Renfrewshire
Renfrewshire is one of 32 council areas used for local government in Scotland. Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Renfrewshire, the others being Inverclyde to the west and East Renfrewshire to the east...
in 2005 for both the new stadium and supermarket plans.
Notable people
- Joe Egan (singer/songwriter)
- Gerry RaffertyGerry RaffertyGerald "Gerry" Rafferty was a Scottish singer songwriter best known for his solo hits "Baker Street", "Right Down the Line", "Days Gone Down", "Night Owl", "Get It Right Next Time", and with the band Stealers Wheel, "Stuck in the Middle with You". Rafferty was born into a working-class family in...
(singer/songwriter) - Kelly MarieKelly MarieKelly Marie is a Scottish disco singer. Her only notable hit was "Feels Like I'm in Love", a #1 hit in the UK in 1980.-Early career:...
(singer/songwriter) - John Byrne (artist and playwright)