Dalbeattie Rocks and Wheels, Stranraer Water Sports Centre, and the George Hotel in Stranraer are part of a successful £17.7million bid by Dumfries and Galloway Council.
It has been announced that the local authority has successfully bid to round two of the UK Government’s Levelling Up Fund (LUF) for the ‘Reactivating Galloway’ vision.
The three interlinking and distinct projects fell under the Regeneration and Culture themes within the LUF with a strategic focus on developing opportunities for outdoor activities, building on the boom in staycations and the increased desire within communities for outdoor activity that occurred as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In addition, the Council intends to use this funding to support town centre regeneration through re-using vacant or derelict buildings, providing new focal points to attract visitors and facilities to be enjoyed by the local community.
Dumfries and Galloway submitted three bids –the successful bid, as stated above, for projects situated within the UK Parliament constituency of Dumfries and Galloway; one for a transport bid within our region, focussing on ‘sustainable connectivity’ and access to ‘green’ energy; and one within the Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale constituency, the ‘Three Rivers Active Tourism Project’ – working with South Lanarkshire Council and Scottish Borders Council.
The Council is disappointed at the lack of success with the other two, but will continue to look for other funding and opportunities to fulfil these projects. In particular support for partner group for the Annan Harbour Regeneration project
Dalbeattie Rocks and Wheels will develop a new facility in Dalbeattie through reuse of the vacant former primary school site to create a unique base for road cycling, mountain biking, orienteering, cross country running, climbing and water sports, including the provision of visitor accommodation.
The project is being developed and delivered by the Dalbeattie Community Initiative , who have been supported with that development work by the Council’s Economic Development team. The LUF award is for £5.2 million with additional funding being contributed by the Council to the total £5.8 million project.
Stranraer Water Sports Centre will create an inclusive water sports hub adjacent to the marina in Stranraer. It will provide an active beach area and water space, with a centre or hub building providing a range of facilities including activity teaching space, community space, equipment storage and maintenance, changing areas and other related utilities.
This will also provide a base for water sports events to be hosted, building on the success of the World Skiffie Championships in 2019, providing Stranraer with a competitive position from which to bid for future water sports events. Together with the marina expansion project being developed through Borderlands, this will significantly contribute to the strategic aim of repositioning Stranraer as a marine leisure destination.
The project is being developed and delivered by the Stranraer Water Sports Association. The Council is working closely with the group to develop a joint approach under the “One Waterfront” banner, maximising the synergies between the two projects. The LUF award contributes £4.6 million toward delivery with a further £518,000 grant from the Council already approved.
George Hotel Stranraer’s £8.7 million project is to create an anchor attraction within Stranraer town centre through the regeneration of the vacant and derelict former George Hotel. This would complement ongoing investment in the neighbouring Stranraer Museum and the previous investment in the nearby Millennium Centre, improving the town centre offer to capitalise on the opportunities for increased visitors and footfall created by the marine leisure investments at the harbour.
A mixed use community arts, culture and activity centre is being developed and refined through community engagement. The facility will also include visitor accommodation and opportunities for learning and skills.
The site is owned by and will be delivered as a capital construction project by the Council. The LUF award for £7.8 million will support match funding for the project from the Scottish Government and the Council. The long-term plan is to develop options for community based management of the centre.
Co-Leader of Dumfries and Galloway Council, Stephen Thompson said: “This is great news for our region, particularly the West where this investment, in addition to our Council’s existing projects at the Marina, Stranraer Waterfront and the George Hotel in the town centre, will provide a real boost to regeneration and improving the local economy. The announcement earlier this week of Scottish Government funding for the regeneration of Lockerbie Old School and our ongoing delivery of projects through the Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal is evidence of the strides our Council is taking to bring in additional funding to deliver investments for the benefit of the region.”
Co-Leader, Linda Dorward said: “Our success has proven that we recognised these very worthy priority projects for our Council. I have stated in the past that our Council will do all that it can to address the impacts of the pandemic on our local economy and this funding will help bring a lot of our ideas and proposals to fruition. We will continue to develop and support local organisations to bring forward projects that support their local places and the region.