A charity has unveiled a revamped site they hope will become a lynchpin community hub in north west Dumfries.
Aberlour officials have overseen the overhaul of their resource centre base which they acquired after it was declared surplus to Dumfries and Galloway Council’s requirements.
The charity held an open day on Wednesday to reveal the new-look facility to the community.
It will offer a host of amenities for residents and groups in the town and includes a community fridge and larder, as well as laundry facilities including washing machines and driers.
A clothing bank, school uniform bank and lending library are also amongst the facilities available, alongside community and meeting rooms – available to book for groups, organisation and businesses.
Computers are also available for use in bookable slots.
Officials at the charity –which supports vulnerable families and children – hope the whole community will get involved and they have a vision of eventually handing the site over as part of a Community Asset Transfer scheme.
Aberlour Service Manager Amanda McAllister told the Standard: “North West Resource Centre was a council building and we are in the process of taking on a long-term lease to keep it as a community facility.
“We want to work with the community to get it to the point where, maybe in five years time, they can take it on as a Community Asset Transfer in the future.
“We see ourselves as caretakers just now. We have spent 18 months consulting with the community to see what they want, we did that in lots of different ways – we carried out a survey, we went to fetes and open days, to kids’ football matches.”
Amanda added: “This is not just for people who access our services, this is to support everybody in the community. Everybody can come in and get a bit of advice and support or to use it for a meeting or use the cafe to meet friends.”
Aberlour was extensively involved in supporting the community through lockdown and also partnered with Lockerbie’s Townhead Hotel to deliver more than 17,000 meals to vulnerable elderly residents during the pandemic.
They are hopeful that through joint efforts the community can come together.
Amanda said: “This is for everyone in the community to get involved. because realistically, if we are working with families, they are part of the community and it’s about tapping into the community spirit that was there during the Covid pandemic and the first lockdown.”
The charity have also secured Scottish Government funding for a two-year period to employ a communities connector who will work with local people to harness their ideas and build the North West Resource Centre into a valuable facility for the area’s future.
The centre, which will open from 9am until 8pm Monday to Thursday and 9am to 5pm on Fridays, is taking bookings for the use of rooms in future. For more details phone 01387 325090.
