Lochwinnoch is a village in the council location and historic region of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. Pushing the banks of Castle Semple Loch and also the River Calder, Lochwinnoch is primarily a domestic dorm room village serving neighboring urban centres such as Glasgow and also Paisley. Its population in 2001 was 2628. The Community additionally provides its name to a civil church of some 50 sq mi (130 km2) of the bordering countryside, consisting of the close-by village of Howwood. The church borders seven others: Beith, Kilbarchan, Kilbirnie, Kilmacolm, Largs, Neilston and also Paisley. Today, Lochwinnoch mainly works as a residential town, in addition to a satellite to the major city of Glasgow. In 1972, a variety of structures in the town were brought within a newly defined Lochwinnoch Conservation Area as an area of unique architectural relevance for planning and also atmosphere purposes provided by the regional authority. Lochwinnoch Primary School, the only school in the town, celebrated its centenary in 2005. In 2003 it was the centre of a notable unusual big cat discovery scare. Youngsters were maintained inside during break times, as well as a cops helicopter was generated to search for the animal.