How could £20m help an 'overlooked' town like Dumfries?

Dumfries is one of seven towns across Scotland in line for the funding

Dumfries is one of seven "overlooked" Scottish towns in line to be given £20m to regenerate its high street.

Opponents have described the move as a political ploy and "barely more than shiny headlines".

However, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the 10-year deal would put "funding in the hands of local people".

So what do those already involved in trying to revive one town centre think of the announcement and the impact it could have?

The funding is aimed at helping regeneration in the towns involved

In Dumfries, they like to think they are one step ahead of the game in terms of community-led regeneration.

Work started last year to bring the old Baker's Oven building on its High Street back into use as part of a wider Midsteeple Quarter project in the historic heart of the town.

It will become an enterprise space on the ground floor with meeting spaces above and seven two-bedroom flats at the back.

A total of £7.2m in funding was put in place from a range of sources to revitalise that building alone.

In a separate development, a historic fountain has been brought back into use.

An action plan for how the town could develop - Dynamically Different Dumfries - has also been drawn up.

A multi-million pound overhaul of the Baker's Oven is already taking place

Rod Cowan is chairman of the Dumfries Partnership Action Group (DPAG), the charity set up to drive forward that vision.

He said it was odd to hear Dumfries - along with Greenock, Irvine, Kilmarnock, Coatbridge, Clydebank and Elgin - described in the terms it had been.

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"I find it bizarre that the people that are saying these are overlooked towns are the people that have been doing the overlooking," he said.

"I just find that strange - it's like saying we've been doing something bad for years and now we've got a solution."

Rod Cowan, left, and Matt Baker are involved in work already started to improve Dumfries town centre

Regardless of that, he said Dumfries was in a good position with DPAG set up as a charity to "do the very work that the funding is aimed at".

"Dumfries could be a model for other places," he said.

"The only thing that has held us back is that we have been relying on the goodwill of volunteers because of a lack of funding.

"We already have the vehicle.

"The promised funds could be a game-changer by providing much-needed fuel to drive forward - but only if the politicians and bureaucrats are prepared to pursue the possibility of useful dialogue and practise the art of listening."

Local groups in Dumfries hope to encourage more people to live in the town centre

Matt Baker from The Stove Network - an artist-led community group which has already done a lot of work to improve the town centre - said Dumfries was "certainly in danger of getting cut off and overlooked".

He said the funding was "enormously welcome".

"We've been waiting for something like this for Dumfries for a long time," he said.

"We've been feeling like we need to build the case to then be able to command a resource like this.

"This couldn't have come at a better time, frankly, so it is 100% welcome."

Further talks are planned to get more detail on how the funding will be provided

He said the money could be used to unlock even more investment.

"I think we need to think about that £20m as a starting pot that we can bank on," he said.

"It's a chance for us to think long-term.

"This is our opportunity to think about the Dumfries of the future and have the resources where it is not just a pipe dream but have the resources to actually start on that."

The Odeon cinema closed in 2018 leaving the town without a big screen cinema

One key part of that vision is to see more people live in the town centre to give it a more vibrant feel - particularly after its shops close for the day.

Other potential goals include looking at bringing back a cinema to the town after its last big screen shut in 2018, improving independent shopping streets off the main thoroughfare and further enhancing its public spaces.

More talks are planned to discuss the mechanics of how the funding will reach the town and how it can be invested.

Then, time will tell how successful it is in raising the profile of a place hoping to attract people's attention once again.

Do you live in or around Dumfries? What do you think could be done to improve the town centre? Share your thoughts with us on [e-mail].