Friday 4 October 2024
Welcome to Community, your Dumfries and Galloway community bulletin.
We are always keen to hear of any positive stories about things that are happening in your community and would like to feature them in Community – please email us at communitybulletin@dumgal.gov.uk and one of our reporters will get back to you.
 Garden Waste Collection Service Permit Applications Open
Residents of Dumfries and Galloway can now apply for their new Garden Waste Collection Service permit.
The permit, priced at £40 per bin, provides access to fortnightly garden waste collections from March to November 2025. This makes it easy to manage grass clippings, leaves, and other garden waste. By applying early for your garden waste permit, you will make sure your collections will begin from the start of the season – getting the best value for money.
By signing up by 30 November, you will receive your new 240L garden waste bin and a sticker to place on it from February, ready for collections beginning in March.
By choosing to take part in the new Garden Waste Collection Service, you are helping to make sure that garden waste is not contaminated by your general waste in a grey-lidded bin – meaning it can be processed and composted. By recycling your garden waste through the new collection service, you are also helping to reduce reliance on peat-based compost.
You can apply for your permit online or in person at a customer service centre.
Challenge Poverty Week 2024
Dumfries and Galloway Council and The Poverty and Inequalities Partnership are supporting Challenge Poverty Week 2024, which begins on Monday 7 October and concludes on Sunday 13 October.
There will be a week-long programme of video’s, downloadable information and events.
- Monday – Housing
- Tuesday – Transport
- Wednesday – Adequate Incomes
- Thursday – Food
- Friday – Communities and Volunteers
- Saturday – Reflection
- Sunday – Reflection
There will be information and advice each day on where to get support across a range of topics.
Food Drive
As part of Challenge Poverty Week, we are holding our first region-wide Food Drive, where those who can are invited to donate an item or items of food to one of our collection points between Monday 7 October and Sunday 13 October.
All food received will be donated to the food bank in each of the local areas and will go towards helping those in need.
You can access further information by visiting our website from 7 October.
Black History Month in Dumfries and Galloway
Join Dumfries and Galloway Multicultural Association in celebrating Black History Month with an exhibition of writing and pictures featuring contributions made to the region by members of the black community.
The month of October is Black History Month in the UK – a chance to celebrate and acknowledge the contributions made by black people to communities across the country. It is also an opportunity to reflect on the difficulties faced by black people both today and in the past.
Dumfries and Galloway Multicultural Association will be shining a light on some of the contributions made by black people to the social and cultural landscape of Dumfries and Galloway with a special exhibition in their shop building at 179–185 High Street, Dumfries (the old Debenhams building).
The exhibition will show writing and photographs featuring members of the black community who have lived, worked, or spent memorable time in Dumfries and Galloway over the years.
You can view the exhibition from 12 October to 31 October, Monday to Saturday from 10.30am to 4pm.
Council Budget Consultation Mandate Agreed
A budget consultation mandate for 2025/26 and future years was agreed by elected members at a meeting of Full Council yesterday (Thursday 3 October).
The consultation – where Dumfries and Galloway Council will ask people to fill in an online survey detailing costed budget saving options – will begin in late October and run until Friday 6 December.
The results will be reported at the next meeting of Full Council on Thursday 12 December and inform the decisions taken by councillors in setting spending plans at the council's annual budget meeting in late February 2025.
The consultation will begin on Thursday 31 October. We'll get you information before the consultation opens on the dedicated budget consultation webpage, online Budget Challenge simulator and the series of Community Conversations and engagement sessions where people can have their say in person.
Further details will be shared on the council's social media pages in the coming weeks.
Fund Opens to Community Projects Across Dumfries and Galloway
The fourth round of the Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund is now open in Dumfries and Galloway, with £440,157 available to community groups and organisations.
The ambition of the Scottish Government fund is to support initiatives that promote mental health and wellbeing at a small scale, grass roots, community level to those aged 16 and over.
The fund will again be administered by Third Sector Dumfries and Galloway (TSDG).
Funded organisations do not need to have mental health and wellbeing as their sole focus, but their application does have to benefit the mental health and wellbeing of people in their community.
The fund can support both new and existing groups or projects. Projects can be funded for a maximum of 12 months with all work completed by 31 March 2026 and starting no earlier than 13 January 2025.
The priorities in Dumfries and Galloway are social isolation and loneliness, suicide prevention and poverty and inequality – with a particular emphasis on responding to the cost-of-living crisis and support to those facing socio-economic disadvantage.
The following can be funded: one-off events, hall hire for community spaces, staff costs, training costs, transport, utilities/running costs, volunteer expenses and small capital spend up to £5,000.
Applications close at midday on Monday 28 October.
Wild Solway Opens at the Caerlaverock Wetlands Centre
The Dumfries and Galloway Fine Arts Society have joined with the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust (WWT) to organise an exhibition and sale of fine art produced by members of the society. The exhibition will highlight the unique habitat of the Solway, its landscape, and the flora and fauna that inhabit the estuary.
All proceeds from the event will be shared between the two organisations. The event will also highlight some of the valuable work undertaken by the WWT.
The exhibition opens from Friday 4 October from 6.30pm to 8.30pm.
 Online Hub Launches for Galloway National Park Proposal
A dedicated online hub has been set up to share news, information and provide a space for conversation, as residents and communities in Galloway and beyond debate the Scottish Government’s proposed national park status for the area.
NatureScot has been commissioned by Scottish Government to investigate its proposal for a Galloway national park and been appointed its statutory Reporter. No decision to designate a third national park has been made, and NatureScot’s advice on the Galloway proposal will be considered by Ministers in deciding whether to proceed.
The public has been invited to use the online hub to discover more about the government’s proposal and the existing national parks in Scotland, to explore opportunities to share their insights and views, through interactive maps and surveys, and to be part of the conversations taking place.
From November, a formal 12-week consultation will begin. This will gauge opinion on detailed proposals and the support or opposition to the proposal.
 Spotlight on the Lived Experience of Unpaid Carers
A conference for unpaid carers in Dumfries and Galloway will be held in Easterbrook Hall on 10 October. This will be the second year of the event, which aims to bring unpaid carers and support organisations together to understand the needs of unpaid carers and to showcase the wide range of organisations that can offer support.
Unpaid carers from across the region are invited to attend the one-day event to listen to the lived experiences of other unpaid carers and get information and advice. This free event will run from 9am to 4pm and everyone is welcome to attend.
The conference take place on 10 October in Easterbrook Hall. Registration is essential. A sitting service will be available to enable unpaid carers to attend the conference knowing that their loved ones are being looked after.
The King's Award for Voluntary Service
Nominations have opened for next year’s King’s Award for Voluntary Service (KAVS). The KAVS aims to recognise local volunteering groups across the UK and is the country’s highest volunteering award. Eligible groups must be made up of three or more people and they must have been operating for at least three years. The group must be volunteer-led and not paid staff-led. It should provide a specific benefit to the local community.
Those who are successful will receive a crystal trophy and a signed certificate from His Majesty the King. They will also be invited to a garden party and have the right to use the King’s Award emblem on promotional material and websites.
Previous winners of this royal recognition in Dumfries and Galloway include the Veteran’s Garden, the Dumfries and Galloway Befriending Project, Annan Riding of the Marches, Dumfries and Galloway LGBT Plus, the Port William Association and Kirkcudbright Summer Festivals.
The closing date for nominations is 1 December.
Scottish Water Alerts on Your Phone.
Scottish Water now offers text alerts to notify you of supply interruptions in your area.
All you need to sign up is your mobile number and your postcode. You can sign up with multiple postcodes if you care for loved ones at other addresses.
 Affordable Home Ownership Through the Strategic Housing Investment Plan
We are pleased to share an affordable low-cost home ownership opportunity that has been delivered via the council’s Strategic Housing Investment Plan by Building Craftsmen.
The Affordable Housing Supply Programme (AHSP) comprises a range of funding mechanisms to enable affordable housing providers to deliver homes for social rent, mid-market rent, and low cost home ownership in communities across Scotland to support local authorities’ local housing strategies.
This new development, supported by the Scottish Government and Dumfries and Galloway Council, comprises 16 large three-bedroom properties at Laverlockhall, Lochmaben.
To qualify to purchase these homes you have to be:
- A first time buyer or;
- On the Common Housing register/Loreburn Lettings Waiting Lists and;
- Have a connection to Dumfries and Galloway.
- Be the only and main home.
For enquiries and viewings, contact David at Building Craftsmen Dumfries on 01387 263131 or office@bcdmcc.com.
Tree Tales: Family Fun This Half Term in Kirkcudbright's Barrhill Woods
Do trees have a story to tell? Come down to Kirkcudbright’s Barrhill Woods this half term and hear what they have to say. These fun and free sessions on 14 and 15 October from 10am to 12.30pm are designed for 6 to 12 year olds and include games, storytelling and crafting – all while learning about the magic of trees.
The events are led by artist and maker Kirsty Harris and form part of the Dumfries and Galloway Woodlands half-term activities programme.
The events are being backed by Dumfries and Galloway Woodlands, a new initiative seeking to support trees, habitats and the people that depend upon them across the region – with funding from a range of partners including The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Places are free but booked is required.
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