O/T Reclaim the High Street

[nunez]

Calling all Queens fans. Can you help reclaim the High Street ??

Jardi , what about the People’s Project ? Can you / they help out ?


Full details below


https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/midsteeple-quarter

[jardi]

Nunez,

This is a project for the Midsteeple Quarter and outwith the remit of the People's Project.

I have the greatest respect for what they are trying to do and wish them well. My fear is that vast amounts of money will be required simply to comply with building regulations, Scottish Heritage etc and is much more complicated that trying to resolve the town's problems.

As mentioned though - all power to their elbow and I wish them all the luck in the world. It is forward thinking on a grand scale, - and many others towns and cities are trying to follow the example of the Midsteeple Quarter, - but it is a tortuous route with many potential pitfalls.

[Ftivano1]

Calling all Queens fans. Can you help reclaim the High Street ??

Jardi , what about the People’s Project ? Can you / they help out ?


Full details below


https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/midsteeple-quarter

FAO JRsLeftPeg - Know you had an interest in this mate so what's the latest on the TREASURE CAVE in English Street an absolute disgrace of a building and imo somebody is going to get injured one day with slates falling of the roof or glass falling out the windows - have our Council no compulsory purchase powers nowadays ?

[nunez]

FAO JRsLeftPeg - Know you had an interest in this mate so what's the latest on the TREASURE CAVE in English Street an absolute disgrace of a building and imo somebody is going to get injured one day with slates falling of the roof or glass falling out the windows - have our Council no compulsory purchase powers nowadays ?

Have you had a look recently ftivano ? Those trees growing out the front and back of the building have eventually been removed

[Ftivano1]

Have you had a look recently ftivano ? Those trees growing out the front and back of the building have eventually been removed

Thanks nunez for that maybe, just maybe there is action going to be taken over this eyesore after all !

[nunez]

Thanks nunez for that maybe, just maybe there is action going to be taken over this eyesore after all !

Believe it or not the council couldn’t do a single thing about it until they received permission from the owners of the building.

[Ftivano1]

Believe it or not the council couldn’t do a single thing about it until they received permission from the owners of the building.

On the same street I am pleased to say the frontage of the Queensberry has been renewed / updated as it was a total mess for the past few years but the outside of the Anaconda pub or whatever it was last called badly needs tidied up.

[nunez]

Despite raising an unbelievable £22,000 in such a short space of time today’s bid was unsuccessful.

Full story below


Dear world, sadly we've been unsuccessful in acquiring 113-119 High Street. The bidding escalated really quickly and was in excess of £100,000 in less than 3 minutes. An unknown phone bidder is the new owner of these buildings. Clearly this is really disappointing but does not tarnish the tremendous efforts of the people of Dumfries and wider in the last 2 weeks.

The fight is not over. We have a dream and nothing has changed in that - culture change does not happen over night. Our purpose has not changed. We're in it for the long haul. We'd love to talk to the new owner - maybe they share our Dumfries dream and we can work together.

Thank you so much for all your support. The board and our team need to get together to plan the next steps but the essential facts haven’t changed – we still need to find new non-retail uses for our High Street, including housing. We really feel like this tide is starting to turn. The journey is just beginning.

[jardi]

I feel really sorry for Matt Baker with regards to this.

For more years than I care to recall, - I had contacted the telephone number on the bill board and spoke to ump**** people, suggesting to them that all I wished to do was to improve the shop frontage at no cost whatsoever to them, - and I never heard a peep, apart from the fact that I was refused to be able to make a difference.

As Matt will tell you, - these companies purchase properties en masse, in the hope that there will be an upturn in the market, and I can't really see any change with whoever has purchased it this time. 142K is a not inconsiderable sum of money and the company will be looking to make a profit on their investment, so I suspect that Matt will have his work cut out.

The very minimum that these companies should do is maintain their shop fronts, - keep the property watertight and ensure their gutters are cleaned regularly, - but a 'phone bidder who may well reside in a tax haven is not going to be in the least bid bothered about annoying little things like that in his portfolio.

New, or at least enforceable legislation is required to ensure that these matters are attended to with empty properties, - so that the likes of the Treasure Cave cannot happen, and if they fall into neglect then local Councils have the power to compulsory purchase the buildings within a very short window of time.

[Ftivano1]

That area of the High Street I remember well as there was the Courier Press, Dinwiddies the Printers and D. and G. Standard all within a 100 yards while just across the road where the car park is now was Grieves the Printers - 250 - 300 people working in the printing trade sadly now history !