Dumfries town centre design competition winner announced

The winning design of the competition to reinvent Dumfries town centre has been revealed

The winner of a design competition to help revitalise the historic centre of Dumfries has been announced.

Entrants were invited to submit their ideas for the Midsteeple Quarter in the heart of the town.

First prize went to Ayr-based ARPL Architects' vision for the area and a number of empty shops nearby.

The competition was organised by the community-led Stove Network in collaboration with the Glasgow Institute of Architects (GIA).

Gordon Flemming, of ARPL Architects, said: "We are very pleased that our ideas for the Midsteeple Quarter in Dumfries were recognised by the competition judges.

A group of young female architects took the runner-up spot in the competition

"The challenge of ensuring regional town centres stay viable and lively is a great task and we hope our contribution to the discussion helps add a new dimension to this."

A submission from young female architects Andie Cooke, Megan Ward, Cara Brunton and Ashley Mitchell took second place, with Pioneer Landscape Architecture in third.

Sam Patterson, who co-ordinated the competition on behalf of the GIA, said: "The GIA are delighted to have worked with the Stove Network on developing such a rich and challenging competition brief and we are thrilled with the range of ideas that were received across the 15 submissions.

"The quality of the submissions exceeded our expectations and we hope will stimulate the debate in Dumfries about the potential of the Midsteeple Quarter."

The entries will go on public display in The Stove Building in Dumfries town centre from Friday.

The community-led Stove Network hopes the designs will inspire further discussion of the future of the area.

It wants to see more buildings brought under local control and create new housing and services on the town's High Street.