HISTORIC Paisley Abbey is in line to be turned into a major international tourist attraction with the building of a fourth cloister and visitor centre.

Bosses at the 850-year-old A-listed church produced plans four years ago for a tourist facility based on its status as the cradle of the Stewart royal family but were unable to progress at the time.

Renfrewshire Council has now agreed officials should work with the Abbey to progress the plans as part of a wider push to develop tourism in the town.

The project will see a fourth cloister built on to the abbey to house a new entrance, shop and visitor centre and the mediaeval drain will be opened to form part of a new attraction.

Paisley Abbey is run by the Church of Scotland and the council decision means it will be given help to develop an outline business case for the project and an application to the Heritage Lottery Fund to help meet the cost.

Renfrewshire council leader Mark Macmillan said: “Back in 2014 we published an ambitious vision of Paisley’s future as a thriving visitor attraction based around the town’s unique cultural and heritage assets.

“Work to make that a reality is already well under way with Paisley’s bid for UK City of Culture 2021 fast building momentum and work ongoing to develop other big regeneration projects such as the proposed transformation of Paisley Museum.

“The possibility of developing Paisley Abbey into an international visitor attraction was raised within the same strategy and if our vision is to be reality, this will be an important project.

“Those of us who see it every day know the abbey is a stunning looking building but it and the abbey drain are both of national historic and archaeological importance and the potential is there to make more of them.

“Running a complex regeneration project of this kind is not something the abbey’s current management are able to do by themselves which is why it was proposed council staff and consultants lend their time and expertise,”

Paisley Abbey was founded in 1245 and was where William Wallace was educated by monks. Marjory Bruce, the daughter of Robert the Bruce, is buried there after dying giving birth to the future Robert II of Scotland.

The abbey fell into ruin before being extensively refurbished into one of the finest churches in Scotland.