Our Second AGM

Thursday September 26

It was standing room only at our second AGM for the Midsteeple Quarter Project earlier this month on Thursday 5th September at The Oven on Dumfries High Street. The AGM gave members of the community the opportunity to find out more about the progress of the project over the last year, view the development plans of The Oven and discuss ideas for the future uses of the Midsteeple Quarter. We would like to say a really big thank you to everyone who came along on the night. The involvement and support of members of the community is what makes this project so special. It is the genuine engagement of local people that is making that difference.

Rob Dickson, lead official for the South of Scotland Economic Partnership (SoSEP) and Executive Director of Scottish Borders Council, opened proceedings with a presentation on the role of SoSEP and its plans for the future of the region.

Then Midsteeple Quarter’s Chair of the Board, Scott Mackay shared his Chair Report and discussed the progress made in this incredibly busy last year. Scott highlighted the research and consultations which the project was built on. He explained that the majority of responses and feedback highlighted the need to bring back more people to live in the town centre, with the aim of creating more life during the evenings, and making greater demand for services and shops to bring a greater variety and richness to the place. 

The second year of Midsteeple Quarter has seen a lot of activity and progress made on our vision for bringing the High Street back to life. This includes:

This second year has seen a lot of activity and progress made on the vision for bringing the high street back to life:

– A number of new board members have joined the board in the last year;

– Membership has grown from about 150 a year ago to nearly 400 now;

– Following an open tender process, feasibility design work commenced by architects ARPL to develop proposals for the redevelopment of The Oven building;

– Midsteeple Quarter is now included as a mixed-use designation within planning policy for Dumfries contained in the new Local Development Plan 2;

– Consultants have been appointed to prepare the masterplan vision document which is targeted for completion by the end of September;

– Town Centre Living Fund (TCLF) award of £60,000 made in January 2019 to cover full planning submission and contract tender stage for The Oven redevelopment, ongoing team members fees, including DGSCHT consultancy fees and community engagement work and events;

– An unforeseen opportunity arose through the sale at auction of nos. 113-115 and 117-119 High Street, for the MSQ to acquire these buildings on behalf of the community. However, despite having the buildings independently valued and raising in excess of this value thorough a successful crowd-funding campaign, the buildings sold to a speculator for well excess of the valuations.  The buildings have now changed hands again and we are attempting to build a working relationship with the new owners.   Despite this set back, we had already received funding for a feasibility study for these buildings and this work has continued with a view to the work informing the wider masterplan and work on other buildings and it still remains our intention to play an active role in the development of these buildings in due course;

– The profile level of the project has continued to grow, both locally and nationally;

– A members event was held on 31st July to present plans for The Oven redevelopment and gather feedback before moving forward to planning stage;

– MSQ was a partner in the Dumfries Architectural Stone carving Project;

– We have continued to enjoy excellent support from Dumfries & Galloway Small Communities Housing Trust.

In this last year, we have taken our funding options forward to the next level and explored in detail a variety of significant funding options including RCGF Regeneration Capital Grant Fund for which we are part of the Dumfries and Galloway bid, Scottish Land Fund, plus Scottish Government Housing Grants for the housing elements and with the new South of Scotland Enterprise Agency.

Going forward this next year, the Midsteeple Quarter is looking in detail at various more significant funding options including Scottish Government (RCGF) Stage 1 submission for a proportion of the capital costs for the Oven redevelopment, Holywood Trust, DGC Town Centre Fund, Scottish Government Investing in Communities Fund and South of Scotland Enterprise Partnership.

Midsteeple Quarter is a genuine grassroots effort that owes everything to the dedication of a small project team. Scott Mackay expressed thanks to Kirstin McEwan, who has been the MSQ communications person from the outset, until moving on in July this year. Communication is such a huge part of any community effort and Kirstin was praised for her contribution  – particularly during the Auction Crowdfunding campaign in January.

Scott Mackay also thanked fellow board members who have all really stepped up to the plate as the project gained momentum and has increased in complexity significantly. Everyone has played a part and continued to hold true to the original vision of our community playing an active role in shaping the future of our town centre and keeping future prosperity and control in local hands.

To read the full Chair’s Report, please click HERE

To read the AGM minutes, please click HERE

To read the Midsteeple Quarter Financial Report, please click HERE