Villagers have submitted plans to the council for a number of alterations to the old Wallace Hall Primary School on Station Road in Thornhill.
Before the pandemic struck, The Old School Thornhill Trust secured £144,000 to buy the disused B-listed building and turn it into an entrepreneurial hub.
The group, made up of artists, designers and business people, received the cash boost from the Scottish Land Fund.
Since then, members have been working on a vision to redevelop the community owned building as offices, workshops, a performance space, a community kitchen and a creative studio for Wallace Hall students.
However, because of lockdown restrictions, progress has been limited.
Last year artist Ursula Kam-Ling Cheng was commissioned to create a colourful mural portraying the Thornhill community’s links to its old school building.
She worked with school children and other residents and it has pride of place on the windows, depicting the building’s past and what its place will be in the future.
The mural was paid for with Awards For All Lottery funding.
The derelict building had been unused for a decade but the Old School Thornhill group is determined to press on with its plans – Covid restrictions allowing – to repurpose its empty rooms and bring them back into use.
It will create new space for community activities and events, new space that will help local businesses to grow, the chance for much needed new jobs and boost tourism to the area.
One of the submitted plans is a change of use with internal and external alterations to form a small business and
community hub.
It will include the removal and erection of internal walls, installation of partial mezzanine floor, replacement of windows and doors and the formation of internal and external door openings. There will also be a new entrance canopy and roof lights.
The second is for the widening of vehicular access, including alterations to the boundary wall and railings, plus the formation of car parking and bin compound and erection of a retaining wall.
The plans include bike racks and canopy, installation of air source heat pumps and an air conditioning unit, formation of community garden and landscaping.
The trust is now looking for more people in the community to get on board and join its ranks.
A statement from the trust said: “Our plan is to redevelop the old school in the autumn of 2021. We have made real progress in raising the capital to re-develop the old school but we need to grow our membership. We need you to sign up.
“There are over 5,000 people living in DG3. We need as many of them to become full members of our charity.
“There is also associated membership for those who do not live in DG3 and membership for young people. This is your opportunity to become part of this project which will benefit our community in the future.”
It also said: “Members do not have to pay a fee or make any kind of time commitment. You just need to provide us with some simple details about yourself. This information is kept safe and is not shared with anyone else.
“Members will receive a regular newsletter and be the first to know about any developments in our project.”
