Dumfries town centre stores snapped up by community group

The group previously missed out on the properties at auction

Two "abandoned" shops have been bought by a community group in the hope of revitalising a Scottish town centre.

Midsteeple Quarter (MSQ) said the deal was a "huge step forward" in its efforts to revive the heart of Dumfries.

A previous bid to purchase the properties ended in frustration as it was outbid at auction.

It is the latest step in plans being viewed to see if they could be used as a template for other Scottish towns.

The sites at 113-115 and 117-119 High Street - which have sat empty for some time - were bought for an undisclosed sum, with the purchase funded by South of Scotland Enterprise (SOSE).

They sold last year at auction for £142,000.

The buildings have been empty for some time

MSQ manager Scott Mackay said he suspected the owners had not fully appreciated the poor state of the buildings when they bought them.

They will now be converted to help realise the group's wider vision of building more space for "living, working, enterprising and creating" in the town centre.

MSQ hopes to "repopulate" the town centre by creating high-quality and affordable housing on the upper floors of many of the buildings around the historic Midsteeple.

At street level, it aims to support a "mixed and vibrant local economy".

An ambitious masterplan hopes to "breathe new life" into the area as a place to live and work.

The community group wants to encourage more people to live and work around the Midsteeple

Mr Mackay said: "It is bringing into our control - and the community's control - two substantial high street buildings which have been empty and not maintained for over a decade now.

"These buildings are in very poor condition, they are going to require extensive redevelopment."

The next phase of work will see the frontage of the two properties cleaned up before they are put to interim use ahead of full development work being completed.

'Strategically important'

Prof Russel Griggs, who chairs SOSE, said the investment would help the "strategically important" regeneration programme move forward.

"Community input is vital for the success of any future vision for town centres," he said.

"MSQ is a great example of that, as it enables the community to make changes happen through their ideas and aspirations for the town."

Construction work will begin on the first building it purchased - known as The Oven - this autumn.

Meanwhile, efforts to purchase neighbouring empty properties in the area continue.