Community project push
Workshops plan for the future
Dalmellington’s future started to take shape at the second of two workshop sessions in the Scout Hall on Saturday, March 24, as delegates nailed down proposals for inclusion in a new Action Plan for the area.
The Coalfields Regeneration Trust and the Electoral Reform Society have joined forces to run the Reclaiming Our Coalfield Communities initiative, which aims to boost local democracy through producing the Action Plan.
Around 40 people took part in Saturday’s workshop, with a lot of discussion focused on ways and means of developing Dalmellington as a tourist destination.
Proposals from the session will now be brought together with projects being pursued by local organisations, and local residents will have the chance to have their say at a Voting Day in the Scout Hall on April 21.
The Coalfields Regeneration Trust has put up a £ 20,000 participatory budget to help launch key projects.
Elaine Stewart, the Coalfield Regeneration Trust’s community engagement officer in Dalmellington, said: “It was really good to see most of the people from our first meeting last month, turn up again to work up the ideas it produced into potential projects.
“There was a lot of focus on tourism and the opportunities that exist to give Dalmellington a real shot in the arm, by establishing ourselves as a visitor destination.
“We already have a major attraction in the Dark Skies Observatory, only a few miles away in the Galloway Forrest, and the Doon Valley is full of places of interest.
“Boosting tourism could create uses for some of the derelict buildings in the centre of Dalmellington, and we considered a proposal to form a Development Trust to help achieve delivery of the Action Plan”.
Nicky Wilson, Scottish Trustee of the Coalfields Regeneration Trust said: “The positive reaction Dalmellington has shown towards our joint initiative with the Electoral Reform Society is really encouraging.
“It gives us great confidence that we can all look forward to a dynamic and effective Action Plan emerging from this process.”
The Reclaiming Our Coalfields Communities programme, which is running in Cardenden, and Bo’ness, as well as Dalmellington, has the support of a £ 40,000 award from the Scottish Government’s Aspiring Communities Fund and the European Social Fund.