Residents in Lochside are being urged to have their say on regeneration plans for the area. Working collaboratively with the community, Wheatley Homes South and Dumfries and Galloway Council to create a housing-led masterplan which will lead to new, high-quality, affordable homes that meet the needs of local people.
Tenants and residents are being offered a series of methods – online, face-to-face, paper survey or email – to help shape a masterplan for the area.
A series of focus group sessions will commence in the next few months, as part of a formal engagement process, where residents will be invited to attend events and share their views on what the regeneration should include.
Since launching, almost 500 responses have been received, with 50% of people saying the type of housing is the most important thing to them moving forward. This was followed by healthy and safe communities, and the need for better green and open space.
The views of local residents and stakeholders are important to the proposals.
In their feedback so far, residents have highlighted a strong sense of community is important to them and many have said they would welcome investment and regeneration in their area.
Alan Glasgow, Managing Director of Wheatley Homes South, said: “It’s important the tenant voice is heard at every stage of the process as the community’s views and feedback will directly shape and influence our proposals.
“Along with Dumfries and Galloway Council, we have been engaging with tenants and residents in Lochside to get views as to what the regeneration will look like. So far, around 500 people have fed back on the proposals. While the majority of the respondents are Wheatley customers, we’ve also heard from tenants of other registered social landlords in the area as well as homeowners.
“Over the coming weeks and months, we will continue to be in Lochside, speaking with customers and engaging with them on what they want from the regeneration of the area.”
Councillor Katie Hagmann is the chair of Dumfries and Galloway Council’s Economy and Resources Committee, she said: “We are delighted to be working together to create an ambitious housing-led masterplan for Lochside.
“Housing is fundamental to the health and wellbeing of our local communities and we are very much looking forward to having community focus groups, which will help shape the regeneration of Lochside.
“There are opportunities to renovate the existing housing stock, and create new energy efficient homes. This will help enhance the built and physical environment, whilst also reducing carbon emissions and tackling fuel poverty.
“Wheatley Homes South and our council are fully behind the aspiration to create new jobs, apprenticeships, and training opportunities for local people though this project.
“This is a major regeneration project and we welcome this approach to collaborative regeneration in Lochside”.
Vice-chair of Economy and Resources Committee, Councillor Sean Marshall said: “We are fully committed to being inclusive and we will ensure that local people and communities are at the heart of decision making so that we can address local issues. We want this approach to be front and centre of the Lochside regeneration work that lies ahead.
“We will design and provide homes that meet people’s needs and expectations.
“We will be working together to improve the health and wellbeing of residents, existing community assets and open spaces, which will complement ongoing community projects”.
Lochside residents can have their say by visiting the following link: http://ow.ly/fy7350LZgKm
The plans are part of the commitments made to customers in Dumfries and Galloway following Wheatley Homes South, previously DGHP, joining Wheatley Group in 2019. These commitments included making improvements to homes and services, upgrading existing homes and delivering hundreds of new homes across the region.
