Purchase of 1 Standard Close as part of The Oven redevelopment

Friday September 11

The property 1 Standard Close forms part of the site area for the proposed Midsteeple Quarter Phase 1 development ‘The Oven’. This property was purchased by Midsteeple Quarter in August 2020 for £35,000 from the owner, Matt Baker.

Following the feasibility work on the potential redevelopment of 135-139 High Street, it was clear that a more long-term sustainable design solution was to include 1 Standard Close in any redevelopment of the building. Matt Baker was part of the project team as ‘Strategic Director’ but not on the board of MSQ at this time. He was therefore excluded from any meetings where this matter was discussed and this is reflected in the minutes of those meetings. An independent valuation was carried out by McGowan Miller on 19 June 2019 and valued the property at £35,000.

As Matt has been instrumental in the development of the Midsteeple Quarter, it was important that this was done following a fair and transparent process. We are grateful to Matt for selling the property at the valuation price, which was less than he had invested in it.

Matt Baker says:

When I moved my home and studio base from Dunscore into the centre of Dumfries, I searched for a suitable property to become my sculpture workshop and materials store. I purchased the property 1 Standard Close for this purpose in February 2017 for £25,000. The price of the property reflected the fact that the roof was in very poor condition and, following the purchase, I immediately invested £14,000 to completely re-roof the property and replace all the rooflights.

During the time I owned the property I used it myself as my artist’s workshop and I allowed The Stove Network to store their outdoor events equipment in the building and many local artists and groups to use the space as artist’s studio space for projects and for storage.

When it became clear that Midsteeple Quarter’s ‘Oven’ development was a genuine possibility and 1 Standard Close was an important part of the plans, I told the Board that I would be prepared to sell the property to the Community Benefit Society. An agreement was made that the value of such a sale should be determined by an independent valuation by local professional surveyors. The independent valuation was returned at £35,000 and the timing of the final sale was determined by Midsteeple Quarter. Missives were concluded and the sale completed on 14th August 2020.

I am temporarily moving my artist studio equipment into my house whilst I look for alternative premises.