Lochwinnoch is a village in the council area and historical county of Renfrewshire in the west main Lowlands of Scotland. Lying on the banks of Castle Semple Loch as well as the River Calder, Lochwinnoch is chiefly a residential dormitory village offering neighboring urban centres such as Glasgow and Paisley. Its population in 2001 was 2628. The Community likewise lends its name to a civil parish of some 50 sq mi (130 km2) of the surrounding countryside, consisting of the neighboring village of Howwood. The church borders seven others: Beith, Kilbarchan, Kilbirnie, Kilmacolm, Largs, Neilston and also Paisley. Today, Lochwinnoch mainly functions as a residential town, as well as a satellite to the significant city of Glasgow. In 1972, a variety of buildings in the town were brought within a freshly specified Lochwinnoch Conservation Area as an area of special architectural significance for planning and setting objectives administered by the regional authority. Lochwinnoch Primary School, the only school in the village, commemorated its centenary in 2005. In 2003 it was the centre of a notable alien big cat discovery scare. Kids were maintained inside throughout break times, as well as an authorities helicopter was brought in to look for the animal.