Dumfries town centre regeneration efforts put under microscope

Scott Mackay said the group had made "amazing progress" despite the Covid pandemic

A community-led regeneration project is being examined to see if it could serve as a template for other Scottish town centres.

The Scottish Parliament's economy and fair work committee visited Dumfries to study the Midsteeple Quarter scheme.

It has bought a number of empty retail properties in the town with major plans for their redevelopment.

They will be converted into a mix of retail units, residential accommodation and community spaces.

The visit was part of the committee's inquiry into town centres and retail looking to assess problems across the country and identify potential solutions.

The Midsteeple Quarter has bought up a number of empty properties in Dumfries

Convener Claire Baker said the committee had heard a lot about the Midsteeple Quarter and were keen to come and see it in action.

"They're making good progress here and they've had real community engagement and involvement in the plans being taken forward," she said.

"We were interested to talk about any challenges they face.

"A lot of the plans are quite long term but, so far, it looks like they are doing something that is really positive.

"We're looking for good examples that we can look and see if it offers solutions for other places in Scotland."

MSPs are looking to see if the lessons from Dumfries can help other parts of the country

She said the problems being faced in Dumfries such as large empty units and absent landlords were common across the country.

Ms Baker said the Midsteeple Quarter offered "something innovative" but could only tackle a relatively small section of a long high street.

Scott Mackay, executive director of the Midsteeple Quarter, said it was very encouraging to see its "pioneering" role being recognised.

Claire Baker is convener of the committee looking at town centres and retail

"We've made amazing progress despite the pandemic and everything that's been going on and the High Street essentially getting worse because of the economic state of retail," he said.

"We've been able in that period to acquire a few more buildings - we now own five buildings

"We've just been able to announce in the last fortnight that we've now entered into a contract with a builder to start reconstruction of what was the Baker's Oven building.

"That will provide two floors of enterprise business space and seven flats."

He said that could provide income to make the project financially viable while also helping create a more "mixed and diverse" high street.