Context

• We were appointed by the Paisley Community Trust (PCT), a Scottish Charitable Organisation, to prepare a capital bid for PXLS – a community inspired and led initiative for a new Digital Community Hub, incorporating a Digital Skills Academy (DSA) and a Community Cinema within a prominent, unsightly building in the centre of Paisley. 
• The concept of PXLS had historical resonance for Paisley town centre, being the location of the ‘La Scala’ cinema previously, and located on ‘The Cross’. ‘Paisley Cross’ and ‘La Scala’ led to PXLS.
• PXLS – a social, cultural, and economic regeneration project needed a capital grant to support:

1. Town centre regeneration: a vibrant destination for the local community and visitors. 
2. Create a new place to bring the community together. 
3. Through the DSA, support a place for learning, training, and employability focused on hard to reach people, particularly younger people. 
4. An inclusive, accessible, and affordable cinema offering. 

• The application for capital grant funding was under the government’s £4.8 bn Levelling Up Fund to improve ‘the infrastructure of everyday life’ and promote local economies through the regeneration and investment in town centres. The fund aims at making a tangible impact on local communities to support economic recovery in a post-pandemic world.

Our Approach

• We put together an empirically researched bid that drew on Paisley’s economic history and extant challenges, as well as opportunities, to demonstrate the scale and significance of local problems and issues. 
• We demonstrated the delivery of outputs through a well-evidenced ‘Theory of Change’ model in line with HM Treasury’s Magenta Book. We also undertook a cash flow modelling exercise, looking at the projected income/expenditure as well as costs/benefits. This contributed in assessing the economic costs and value for money of the PXLS scheme. 
• We assisted in compiling a deliver plan, risk register and monitoring/evaluation plan for the proposal. 

The Results

• It is anticipated that PXLS will help to improve Paisley town centre, unleashing its economic potential. 

“We were extremely impressed by the way LSH took ownership of our project and applied care and attention to the task at hand. The time, urgency, due diligence and expertise applied to the assignment, under enormous pressure and in an accelerated and aggressive timeline were to be commended. The work produced was excellent.”

Gary Kerr, Trustee and Chair of Paisley Community Trust