THEY have shaped some of Britain's most prestigious shopping locations, from London's Oxford Street to Glasgow's Buchanan Street.

THEY have shaped some of Britain's most prestigious shopping locations, from London's Oxford Street to Glasgow's Buchanan Street.

The city's Royal Exchange Square and the Grassmarket in Edinburgh have also benefited from their flair.

Now the award-winning team at urban design firm Gillespies have accepted their biggest challenge yet - wooing shoppers back to Barrhead.

The agency, which reshaped Oxford Street as Europe's largest shopping street, has been given a three-year contract to revive Barrhead's beleaguered town centre and create a new civic square.

The work is part of a 10-year masterplan to revamp the town with a new supermarket, college, train station, affordable homes and £18million health centre.

Councillor Tony Buchanan, regeneration convener at East Renfrewshire Council, said: "Gillespies has an excellent reputation and we're looking for the best designed town centre we can for a truly better Barrhead."

Consultants from Gillespies, which has offices in London and Glasgow, will work with the council's Better Barrhead team, the community and businesses to develop designs for all major public spaces, including Main Street, Cross Arthurlie Street and the new civic square.

Most of the £113m earmarked for the town's regeneration will come from the private sector but the council is set to contribute around £10m.

Linda Kurr, partner at Gillespies in charge of the project, said: "Barrhead is set to see a number of changes over the next three years and we plan to work with the community to enhance its street spaces."

Work on the initial design phase of the new Barrhead is expected to start over the next few months.

Supermarket chains have been encouraged to submit bids to build a superstore, car park and filling station, off Main Street, and approval for a new £11m college designed to plug Scotland's skills gap is expected in the summer.

Gillespies has been involved in a number of flagship developments over the last few years, including the redesign of three of London's most famous shopping streets - Oxford Street, Regent Street and Bond Street.