Castle Douglas' clocktower flat could be sold to affordable housing organisation

An affordable housing organisation is set to begin talks to buy a flat in Castle Douglas’ clocktower.

Members of the town’s common good fund have agreed to enter into negotiations for the flat with South of Scotland Community Housing – the new name for Dumfries and Galloway Small Communities Housing Trust.

The committee had agreed last year to put the flat – which has lain empty for a decade – up for sale on the open market.

However, at their latest meeting they agreed to reverse that decision and allow council officials to enter into negotiations with the group over the sale. And in a further boost to South of Scotland Community Housing, they are in line to receive a £75,000 cash boost from the Scottish Government’s town centre fund for the project.

The council has received £548,000 in its latest allocations from the fund and members of the economy and resources committee agreed to the clocktower project making it onto a shortlist of projects to receive a share of the cash.

The group received £160,000 from the fund last year but a building survey has since discovered work needs to be carried out to resolve water penetration issues.

The clocktower flat was previously used by the council’s homelessness service but that stopped in 2010.