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Category: 21 North Main Street

Register interest in Community Owned Accommodation

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Register of Interest
Wigtown Community Owned Housing

Wigtown & Bladnoch Community Initiative (WBCI) has bought the former Bank of Scotland building at 21 North Main Street, and are now developing it to offer an affordable 3 bedroom home, and an affordable 1 bedroom fully accessible home, which are expected to be available to rent from early 2021.

At this stage we are seeking Expressions of Interest from people who might like to be considered to rent one of the homes. If you register now, a full Application Pack will be sent to you nearer the time of the properties becoming available for let.

The homes in the former Bank of Scotland will be offered for affordable let in line with an allocations policy that has been developed for the properties. The Allocations Policy and criteria for applications will be provided as part of the application pack, but it should be noted that preference is likely to be given to applicants who are able to meet one or more of the following criteria:

The applicant has a clearly established connection (residential, family or workplace) with the Royal Burgh of Wigtown & District Community Council area or those that surround Wigtown & Bladnoch;

The applicant is in clear need of help in securing an affordable and suitable house in order to be able to meet their housing needs and to live in and contribute positively to the well-being of the community of Wigtown & Bladnoch and the surrounding area.

Submitting this form will not commit you to any further action. Your information will be held confidentially and in line with current data protection legislation, and will only be used to contact you in relation to these homes.

You can register your interest in one of the properties by downloading, completing and returning the Register of Interest available HERE

or by completing it online at https://tinyurl.com/EofIWBCI.

ALL EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST SHOULD BE SUBMITTED BY NOON ON 31 OCTOBER 2020

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Final Grant Funding in place

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Wigtown and Bladnoch Community Initiative are pleased to announce funding has been approved from the RURAL HOUSING FUND (RHF) for £146,119.50 to support the redevelopment of the former Bank building in Wigtown.

The Rural Housing Fund was established by the Scottish Government in order to address the unique and specific issues associated with building affordable housing in rural areas, and to increase affordable housing across all tenures in rural Scotland.

This additional funding from the RHF is a grant specifically to support development work to provide two new affordable homes in the former bank; one family-sized three-bedroom property and one fully accessible ground floor flat.

We are delighted to announce that this is the final piece in the funding jigsaw and we have been able to engage with the successful tender contractors to commence work which is hoped to start at the end of June.  In line with most build expectations work is currently scheduled to be completed by Christmas 2020.

This project has been made possible by:

  • Scottish Land Fund
  • Rural Housing Fund
  • Town Centre Capital Fund
  • SSE Sustainable Development Fund
  • D&G Council’s Town Centre Living Fund
  • The Architectural Heritage Fund
  • Kilgallioch Community Benefit Company
  • Dumfries & Galloway Small Communities Housing Trust
Posted in 21 North Main Street |

Planning Application submitted

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We successfully completed the purchase of 21 North Main Street, Wigtown at the end of January and went straight to work with the architects to finalise the plans ready for submission to Dumfries and Galloway Council.

The plans have now been lodged with the council and are available to view and comment on the Council’s website at: https://eaccess.dumgal.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=documents&keyVal=PPHPERGBGO300

What is proposed for the former bank building?

The following section lists the services and activities which we will provide from the former Bank:

The Book Town Bunkhouse

The Book Town Bunkhouse will comprise one 8 bed mixed dorm and one private double bedroom as well as basic kitchen facilities and a shared ‘Living Room’ area. This social space will be used by visitors staying at the Bunkhouse. There will be a wet room with shower, toilet and hand basin and a separate rest room with a toilet and hand basin. Sleeping 10 people, the Book Town Bunkhouse will complement the existing accommodation available in Wigtown. Primarily catering to walkers and cyclists, the bunkhouse will serve the lower end of the market – providing simple, but high quality accommodation, at a low price. As the bunkhouse will be small, we do not anticipate any displacement from existing businesses.

Community Garden

There is a large garden to the rear of the property (536m2) which is currently tended by a local person. Local community research suggested that there would be appetite for turning the space into a community garden and allotments. W&BCI are hoping to partner with local garden groups to manage the space with the possibility of developing community “editable gardens”. We plan to hold a public meeting towards the end of August 2019 to look at the best use of the garden space for the community.

Affordable Housing

The housing needs analysis undertaken by Dumfries and Galloway Small Communities Housing Trust (DGSCHT) established a need for more affordable housing in the area. As a result, the former bank will be converted into two affordable homes. The two upper floors will become a three bedroom family flat, and the ground floor space to the rear of the building will become an accessible one bedroom flat.

These properties will be available at local social rent levels – which are currently £302/month for a one bedroom flat and £398/month for a three bedroom flat. These prices are benchmarked to charges made by Loreburn Housing – one of the main Registered Social Landlords in Dumfries and Galloway – and are indicative of rates at the time of writing.  The initial rates will be determined by the relevant local rates when the properties are available to the rental market.  With the support of DGSCHT we will establish an allocation policy, and set up the relevant procedures for managing tenancies. One named member of the board will act as the landlord and be the emergency contact for repairs and maintenance.

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Town Centre Living Fund Application Success

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The intention of this fund is to increase the supply of affordable housing in the regions town centres and settlements by bringing empty properties back into use.

The former Bank will include a one bedroom flat to be let at £70.75 per week, £306.58 per month, £3,679 per annum; and a three bedroom flat to be let at £93.32 per week, £404.38 per month, £4,852.64 per annum. We believe these levels are in line with those expected from Registered Social Landlords and within the levels for the Local Housing Allowance, which ensures affordability for residents as per our priority of offering alternative options for affordable letting in the Wigtown and Bladnoch area.

D&G Council’s Communities Committee were pleased to announce that WBCI has been awarded £60,000 from the Town Centre Living Fund to support the work necessary to convert the three bedroom flat and single bedroom ground floor apartment.

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GoFundMe to raise 5% of purchase price

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We hoped that the Bank of Scotland might assist the community purchase by agreeing a discount on the purchase price but they have declined. The Initiative therefore needs to raise about £8000 to complete the purchase (£6,000 to complete the purchase valuation price and £2,000 for legal and additional purchase costs).

WBCI has set up a GoFundMe web page to request donations to help raise this amount. Without this final amount of money we cannot complete the purchase of the building.

Please donate to support us and pass one the link below via Social Media, email or whatever means you can think of to encourage others to do the same.

https://www.gofundme.com/wigtownbankbuilding

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Stage one funding from the Scottish Land Fund

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The Scottish Government’s Scottish Land Fund has awarded Wigtown & Bladnoch Community Initiative stage one funding from the Scottish Land Fund.  The money is for developing detailed proposals for the community to buy the former Bank of Scotland building in Wigtown. It adds to a grant from the Rural Housing Fund to look into needs for housing in Wigtown and Bladnoch, and to consider how the former bank could provide affordable housing options.

The building is now for sale, and we have a registered community interest which gives us until December to complete plans and put funding in place.  Local architect, Hazel Smith, and two consultancy companies – Community Enterprise, and Dumfries & Galloway Small Communities’ Housing Trust – have been brought in to provide design expertise, and support with community engagement and business planning.

We will be arranging meetings in the new few weeks to hear what local organisations, groups and residents think, what people would like to see, and what they are worried about.

All residents within the area of Wigtown and Bladnoch will have the opportunity to vote to determine whether the former Bank becomes a community owned asset in July and we will be encouraging everyone to have their say.  Posters, flyers and other information will be displayed and posted around Wigtown and Bladnoch over the coming few weeks.

Posted in 21 North Main Street, Projects |

Register of Community Interest Confirmed for Old Bank of Scotland

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Just before Christmas we received official notification from the Scottish Ministers that they had decided that the community’s interest in the former Bank of Scotland branch in Wigtown should be entered into the Register of Community Interests in Land. The Bank of Scotland had been given the opportunity to submit views on our application but, as they had chosen not to, the Scottish Ministers considered that this meant that they had no objections to it.

Nothing more can happen until the Bank of Scotland formally notifies the Scottish Government that they want to sell the building, at which time the community’s right to buy will be triggered and W&BCI will be given first refusal. W&BCI will then have at least six months in which to work up detailed proposals for the building to satisfy both the Scottish Ministers on the sustainability of the plans and the Scottish Land Fund who could provide up to 95% of an independent valuation of the Bank building and land.

Posted in 21 North Main Street, Projects |

Signatures of support required

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If you live in Wigtown & Bladnoch and support us, please sign the petition at the following venues:

  • The Post Office,
  • Scads,
  • Machars Action,
  • Beltie Books.

The petition DOES NOT make a commitment to buy; it only seeks to establish the right to buy. If the property was made available for sale, a full community consultation and ballot would be required for WBCI to proceed with an actual purchase.

Please note this is a statement of your support, and NO financial commitment is required.

Wigtown & Bladnoch Community Initiative is a community led company limited by guarantee that is proposing to apply to register a community interest in 21 North Main Street Wigtown. This would give the community first option to purchase the property if it was put on the market.

Posted in 21 North Main Street |

Bank of Scotland feedback from the public meeting

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Following the successful public meeting where future uses for the bank building were discussed, we are now developing a strategy to take forward the ideas and deliver the best resource we can for the community.

Themes from the public meeting included:

  • desire for community facilities such as bank, click & collect depot, ATM;
  • affordable housing;
  • cheaper accommodation for visitors;
  • book museum,
  • indoor market place (year round version of Kist).
  • bank building to support and promote local businesses, like a co-operative;
  • workshop space;
  • renewable energy sources incorporated;
  • community use of the garden.
Posted in 21 North Main Street |