More than £90,000 has been set aside to support the Dumfries Town Centre Pilot Housing Regeneration Area (HRA) Action Plan.

The local authority confirmed the decision at a meeting of the Housing Sub Committee on Thursday (20 March).

A previous pilot scheme to replace cast iron railings and masonry fencing in the HRA has been successful, so £30,000 of the latest investment will be used to cover applications that could not be progressed before due to a lack of funds.

Properties in the HRA will also be tested for the presence of lead piping, while £20,000 will be put into a grant scheme to support commercial property owners in Friars Vennel. This will allow repairs to be carried out where there is shared responsibilities between residential and commercial owners.

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'Seed funding' will also be established to target property owners in Queens Street and Friars Vennel that were the subject of an unsuccessful bid to the Scottish Government's Town Centre Housing bid. The bid was unsuccessful because the properties – one on Friar's Vennel and the other on Queen Street – required complex conversions which involved a change of use.

However, this grant funding of £20,000 allocated by the committee aims to make their projects more financially viable helping them to raise private finance.

In a statement, Councillor Jim McClurg, Chair of the Housing Sub Committee, explained: "The Action Plan goes beyond just encouraging repairs to individual properties. We want to transform this neighbourhood into an area we can all be proud of. With this in mind, the action plan focuses on issues such as the impact of local business activity, improving the wider environment, crime reduction and opportunities for new housing development."

(JP/MH)