A JOHNSTONE pub owner who says his new shopfront looks so good it is stopping traffic has urged other traders to take advantage of the council funding that helped him.

The outside of Colliers Bar was given a makeover part-funded by Renfrewshire Council’s Retail Improvement Scheme, which helps local businesses improve the front of their building.

The long-running scheme has been relaunched for 2019/20 – topped up by an additional £100,000 investment via the council’s budget.

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Jamie Robertson, who co-owns Colliers with his dad Alan, said: “The reaction from punters has been brilliant. People coming in have said it looks so much better than it did before.

“We even had a taxi driver tell us he was stopped at the traffic lights outside and missed the green light because he was admiring the building for too long.

“We knew about the retail improvement scheme as we were funded through it a few years ago for our other pub – the Club Bar, in Moss Street, Paisley – so we called the council to see what could be done.

The Gazette: Council leader Iain Nicolson Council leader Iain Nicolson

“We felt Colliers has so much potential and, over the past couple of years, we’ve done a lot of work on the interior but the outside needed modernised too.

“We want to thank the council for their help and we would definitely recommend the retail improvement scheme to other businesses.”

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Renfrewshire Council leader Iain Nicolson added: “The retail improvement scheme is always in high demand, which is why we prioritised it for extra investment in this year’s budget.

“The owners of Colliers Bar have put in a lot of work to transform the pub and we are delighted to have helped them improve the look of such a prominent site in the town.”

For more details or to apply for funding, visit here.

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