Over £90k of funding has been allocated to support the Dumfries Town Centre Pilot Housing Regeneration Area (HRA) Action Plan. The decision was made at today’s Housing Sub Committee.

The pilot scheme to replace cast iron railings and masonry fencing in the HRA has proven to be very successful, so £30k will be allocated to cover applications which could not be progressed due to a lack of funds. Properties in the HRA will also be tested for the presence of lead piping. £20k will be put into a grant scheme to support commercial property owners in Friars Vennel, this will allow repairs to be carried out where there is shared responsibilities between residential and commercial owners.

‘Seed funding’ will be set up to target property owners in Queens Street and Friars Vennel that were the subject of an unsuccessful bid to the Scottish Government’s Town Centre Housing bid. The bid was unsuccessful because the properties, one on Friar’s Vennel and the other on Queen street required complex conversions which involved a change of use. The grant funding of £20k allocated by committee will hopefully make their projects more financially viable helping them to raise private finance.

Councillor Jim McClung, Chair of the Housing Sub Committee said
“The Action Plan goes beyond just encouraging repairs to individual properties. We want to transform this neighbourhood into an area we can all be proud of. With this in mind, the action plan focuses on issues such as the impact of local business activity, improving the wider environment, crime reduction and opportunities for new housing development.”