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The Planning (Scotland) Act 2019 introduced the opportunity for communities to prepare Local Place Plans for their area. Dumfries and Galloway Council agreed in June 2021 that five towns across our region should be included in the Borderlands Place Programme, part of the Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal. Kirkconnel was the first town to prepare a Place Plan which was endorsed by Economy and Resources Committee (E&R) in January 2023 as the community’s vision for the future of their town.
Members of Economy and Resources committee (19 March) will be asked to agree that the Kirkconnel and Kelloholm Place Plan is registered by the Council as a Local Place Plan and is added to Local Place Plan register.
Kirkconnel and Kelloholm Development Trust is leading the partnership to deliver a Place Plan for Kirkconnel Parish. Following community engagement, they identified a number of priorities for the area:
- Realise the training and employment potential of green energy
- Construct and develop a new skills, learning and innovation centre
- Develop small workshop and industrial units
- Public realm regeneration programme
- Develop an Upper Nithsdale visitor strategy
- Develop a new delivery model for community-led health, wellbeing and recreation services
- Develop a sustainable, local food growing system
- Develop a community-led housing strategy
- Develop new supported accommodation at Niviston Road, Kelloholm
The Trust is currently working with the local community and partners to prioritise these.
Current planning objectives aim to consolidate and enhance Kirkconnel and Kelloholm’s role as a district centre. This could be done by identifying opportunities for expanding the settlements by allocating land for new housing, business and industry, which would fit with the aims of the Local Development Plan.
Councillor Ian Carruthers, Chair of Economy and Resources Committee said:
“Our Council has worked with the Kirkconnel and Kelloholm Development Trust and local community to develop this high level, aspirational plan to lay out the issues, ideas and solutions of the local people. I wish them well on their journey and look forward to seeing how it progresses.”
Vice Chair of the Committee, Councillor David Inglis said: “It is great to see that the local community has really engaged with this plan and brought it to fruition. The only way our Council is going to be able to target community and economic need is if locals engage and let us know what it is they want. Well done to all those involved in getting the plan to this stage.”
ENDS
To read the report in full go to: COMMITTEE REPORT TEMPLATE & GUIDANCE (moderngov.co.uk)
