The Usual Place, Community Café, has been awarded over one million pounds from Big Lottery Fund Scotland. This is a very exciting new development which will see the old Academy dining hall on the corner of Lovers Walk and Academy Street in Dumfries transformed into a fantastic new venue.
Linda Whitelaw, Director, said, “The café will have a retail area, exhibition space and accessible meeting rooms. We will host local events and we are keen to be a feature of local festivals and cultural happenings. Without this substantial sum our dream of making this community asset a reality would be difficult, if not impossible.”
Councillor Colin Smyth, Chair of Dumfries and Galloway Council’s Economic, Environment and Infrastructure Committee said, “It’s fantastic news that Heather and Linda’s hard work is paying off by securing this massive investment from the lottery. I am pleased that our Council has been able to support their exciting plans for the Usual Place which will reinvigorate this building. I am confident that the cafe will contribute to the regeneration of Dumfries town centre.”
“This is a creative approach to regeneration which has already attracted significant new investment and will create nine new jobs, providing training for young people with additional support needs.”
Amy Anne Duffy, 22, from Dumfries said, ‘I have learning disabilities and have been looking for a paid job since I was 18. When Heather and Linda came to talk to young people at the Oasis Centre and I heard about the café, I thought it was a great idea. I think training and working in the café will help me get a paid job and learn about money and other skills for when I have my own house’.
Heather Hall, Director, said “The idea for the café came from seeing how valued and successful similar cafes are across Scotland, including elsewhere in our own region. We wanted to recreate that experience here in Dumfries. We are over the moon that our Big Lottery Fund application has been successful. We could fill a book with the names of people who are supporting us and now we can start to make things happen.”
Big Lottery Fund, Scotland Chair, Maureen McGinn, said: “Today’s funding for the Inspired Community Enterprise Trust in Dumfries and Galloway is one of a number of awards from our Investing in Communities programme which will make a huge difference to the lives of people across Scotland. Providing valuable work experience for young people with additional support needs is a fantastic example of how Big Lottery Fund money supports those most in need and help young people live healthier and happier lives.”
Angus Robertson, Business Advisor from Business Gateway, said, “Heather and Linda came to us when the idea was still very much in the research stage. We embarked on creating a robust business plan. This embraced a sound commercial ethos to secure the overall viability of the project while still providing training and employment opportunities for the young people involved. We are looking forward to seeing the vision come to fruition.”
Helen Turner from The Holywood Trust said, “We met with Linda and Heather in 2011 and have been pleased to support them develop their plans for ‘The Usual Place’. The café will provide an important opportunity for our young people to get on the employment ladder: developing opportunities for training, work experience, skills development and employment for young people. The whole facility will be a real community asset and a place for everyone to meet, whether for a coffee, a meeting or a function. “
Linda and Heather added, “The Usual Place Team currently based in and supported by The hub – Your Community Action Centre, in Dumfries, has worked hard with a huge number of local supporters to attract funding from a variety of sources including Dumfries and Galloway Council, NHS Dumfries and Galloway, The People’s Project, Solway Heritage and Dumfries Lions Club.”
Jeremy Brown from Smith Design Associates, Architects, said, ‘We are pleased to have been chosen to develop the plans for The Usual Place and are looking forward to appointing a main contractor very soon to take the build forward.”
