The artist’s impression shows what will emerge if Britain’s biggest supermarket chain gets the go-ahead to revamp a derelict 12 acre site at Wallneuk.

The store will create 600 new jobs – 400 permanent and the rest part-time – and today Tesco bosses got the green light from union leaders who represent shop workers when they came out in support of the planned £51 million development.

The planning application for the Renfrew Road site, which lies close to the town centre, will go before Renfrewshire Council in February.

Usdaw divisional officer Lawrence Wason has written to council chiefs, saying: “Usdaw would welcome Tesco’s commitment to invest in Paisley and the creation of 600 much-needed jobs.

“Usdaw would urge the council to consider the application positively so that the area can benefit from the opportunities that it would provide.”

The supermarket giant welcomes the support of Usdaw, with corporate affairs manager Jennifer Duncan commenting: “With one of Britain’s largest trade unions commending the Wallneuk proposal to councillors, it shows the importance of the jobs we will provide in Renfrewshire.

“We will work with the local authority, employment agencies and JobCentre Plus to guarantee that half the 600 jobs will go to people who have been jobless long-term.”

The Wallneuk site is a former lorry park which also housed a petrol station and a 10-pin bowling alley. It’s now the preferred option for Tesco which had been granted planning permission for a new store at Love Street after the supermarket bought the home ground of local football team St Mirren.

The £15m deal enabled the SPL club to clear its debts and build a new stadium at Greenhill Road elsewhere in Paisley. Tesco now wants to transfer the planning permission from the stadium site to Wallneuk so that it can sell on Love Street for housing.

Planning consultants hired by the supermarket chain claim the new 136 sq ft store, with parking for more than 700 vehicles, will attract tens of thousands of new shoppers into Paisley and help regenerate the once prosperous town. The store would also pump millions of pounds into the local economy via staff wages.

But local shopkeepers fear they could be put out of business and one protest group has claimed planning approval will turn the centre of Paisley into a “ghost town.”