Friday 9 May 2025
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.
2.21 million
This is the average number of school and nursery meals served every year in the region by the council’s catering staff – including Heidi Copeland at Park Primary school.
School kitchens provide 6942 meals daily in primary schools and 3833 meals daily in secondary schools. 301,499 funded nursery meals are provided each year from our school kitchens.
School kitchens cater for 563 registered special dietary requirements for children and young people.
The school kitchens receive 2660 food deliveries each year from their central distribution store. Their three delivery vehicles covered 62,612 miles last year from Drummore to Gretna, Sanquhar to Whithorn.
Around 85% of the food used in school catering is sourced within the UK.
Thank you to all our staff who provide for the children and young people in our region – you are all amazing.
 Dumfries and Galloway Tree Planting Grant Scheme Supports 73 Projects Across the Region
Through the 2024/2025 planting season, 73 small scale native tree planting projects have been supported across the region by the Dumfries and Galloway Tree Planting Grant Scheme.
Recipients varied from farmers and landowners through to schools and community groups, with hazel, oak and birch among the most popular species planted. Around 9000 trees have been planted.
The Dumfries and Galloway Tree Planting Grant Scheme (DGTPGS) offers grants of up to £1000 towards native trees and protection to get them established. It operates across the region and is administered by Dumfries and Galloway Woodlands initiative. It is only possible thanks to funding support over the last year from Woodland Trust Scotland, Scottish Forestry and Dumfries and Galloway Council’s Nature Restoration Fund.
Dumfries and Galloway Woodlands is a not-for-profit organisation that receives ongoing support from a range of partners, including Woodland Trust Scotland, Scottish Forestry and Dumfries and Galloway Council’s Environment Team. Work by Dumfries and Galloway Woodlands is also receiving a major grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, aiming to deliver tangible benefits to the region.
Have Your Say: New Walking, Cycling and Wheeling Paths
To connect communities and make it easier for everyone to walk, cycle or wheel, SWestrans and Dumfries and Galloway Council have teamed up to look at six areas where an active travel path could make a real difference.
Now we’re looking for your suggestions and views on the routes that you’d like these paths to take, and which destinations you would like them to link up. The areas are:
- Wigtown to Newton Stewart.
- Langholm to Canonbie.
- Springfield to Gretna.
- Dumfries to Caerlaverock.
- Dalbeattie to Castle Douglas.
- Ecclefechan to Annan.
Come to our evening drop-in sessions between 5.30 and 7.30pm to meet the project team and find out more. Sessions start next week and take place as follows:
- Langholm and Canonbie on 12 and 13 May.
- Castle Douglas and Dalbeattie on 12 and 13 May.
- Newton Stewart and Wigtown on 14 and 15 May.
- Gretna on 14 May.
- Dumfries on 20 and 21 May
- Ecclefechan on 22 May.
Community Led Local Development Fund
The fourth round of the Community Led Local Development Fund for Dumfries and Galloway is now open.
The funding programme is open to charities, constituted community groups, co-operatives, public sector organisations, small and medium-sized enterprises, community interest companies, and community benefit societies based within the region.
There is a total of £233,563 capital funding in a Main Capital Grants Programme, with a maximum of £53,500 of revenue funding to support the delivery of the capital project. Organisations cannot apply to the Small Revenue Grants Programme and the Main Capital Grants Programme for the same project.
The priorities for the Dumfries and Galloway CLLD grant funding for 2025–2026 are:
- Supporting community facilities and eligible organisations to contribute to the achievement of net zero.
- Sustaining, improving and adding initiatives in rural communities that are most isolated, most disconnected, most in need of investment or most likely to experience inequalities.
- Helping communities to address the cost-of-living crisis and eradicate poverty for individuals and families.
- Enabling communities to carry out research, community needs assessments and feasibility studies as part of local place plan development.
A Local Action Group (LAG) made up of representatives from the third, public, and private sectors will again decide what applications are successful. The LAG is supported by Third Sector Dumfries and Galloway. Winning projects must take place between 1 August 2025 and 31 March 2026.
The closing date for applications is midday on Monday 2 June.
Lyon and Turnbull Valuation Day
Kirkcudbright Galleries is hosting specialists from Lyon and Turnbull to offer complimentary auction valuations.
The free event will be held on Saturday 10 May between midday and 4pm. Attendance is by appointment only. All expert departments will be represented, from jewellery to furniture, Asian art, and painting specialists, so please bring along anything at all you would like to know more about. Bookings will operate, offering a 15 minute session per client.
Lyon and Turnbull are bringing in a team of specialists so it is possible that one client will be seen by a variety of people – paintings, jewellery or silver.
Biosphere Film to Screen at Newton Stewart Walking Festival
Organisers of this year’s Newton Stewart Walking Festival have invited the Galloway and Southern Ayrshire Biosphere Partnership to screen their documentary Heart of the Biosphere as a special evening event on Saturday 10 May.
The film will be an opportunity for the public to take a closer look at some of the areas devastated by the wildfire that burned through Galloway and East Ayrshire a few weeks ago. The film was shot over twelve months to capture seasonal changes at Merrick-Kells and Silver Flowe, a place regarded as one of Scotland’s last true wilderness regions. The storyboard and script were developed by the biosphere’s officer team with support from local partners including Forestry and Land Scotland, RSPB Scotland, and the South West Scotland Environmental Information Centre.
The unique habitats at the heart of the biosphere are the foundation of south Scotland’s UNESCO status, which was awarded in 2012 in recognition of an internationally important natural and cultural heritage.
Newton Stewart Walking Festival (Walkfest) has been held for 21 years and attracts walkers from across the UK for a week-long programme of outdoor adventures. This year’s programme has 31 routes with expert guides and transport provided. Run entirely by volunteers, Walkfest 2025 has been awarded the biosphere’s Sustainable Event Charter for the second consecutive year in recognition of organisers’ support for the environment, economy and local communities.
Heart of the Biosphere will be shown at McMillan Hall, Newton Stewart at 7.30pm on Saturday 10 May. Tickets are £4, which includes refreshments and are available at the door on the night, or can be booked in advance via the Walkfest website.
The Galloway and Southern Ayrshire Biosphere Partnership is a registered Scottish charity delivering projects in conservation, education, sustainable development and climate resilience.
Road Maintenance Programmes 2025–26
The Dumfries and Galloway Council Roads Service has started work on this year’s capital and revenue maintenance programmes.
Last year, as part of its targeted maintenance programme, the service repaired over 50,000 defects. This year it contracted two spray injection patching units in March, with a further four units deployed in April. Spray injection patching provides a fast, efficient, and cost-effective solution for repairing surface defects.
The resurfacing programme of work began in the east of the region in April with work due to commence in the west in June. This maintenance work is expected to be completed by the end of October.
Surface dressing works will begin this month and run until late July – weather permitting. The process of spreading bitumen and chippings on the existing surface helps extend the road lifespan, slow deterioration and strengthens the overall network. Details of the planned locations will be in our weekly works bulletin.
The Roads Service has launched a new vlog, 'How We Maintain Our Roads'. This vlog is now available on our website.
An updated customer defect reporting system was launched five months ago. This development was part of a crucial digital transformation programme within the service. We would ask that if a defect has been reported that you do not add another entry. All defects are assessed and prioritised based on risk, not the number of reports received. If a reported defect can’t be found during inspection, it will be closed and you will receive an email confirming that no defect was found. Inspectors assess each report, in line with national guidance that focusses on safety and severity. This ensures repairs are made efficiently and based on severity and potential risk to road users.
Jack O'Hara Events at Kirkcudbright Galleries
Cartoonist and writer Jack O'Hara is hosting a couple of events at Kirkcudbright Galleries to coincide with his exhibition.
On Saturday 17 May, he will be giving a free artist's talk at the Kirkcudbright Tollbooth. You can learn about his lifetime of artistic projects and his illustrated book ‘Diary of a Scotty Dog'. The talk begins at 10am.
On the same day, he will host a drop in children's workshop at Kirkcudbright Galleries on the Mezzanine. All ages are welcome to come and have a go. The workshop begins at 1pm.
National Hoarding Awareness Week
National Hoarding Awareness Week is from 12 to 16 May and Public Protection Partnership organisations are raising awareness of hoarding and the risks associated with it.
Hoarding is a form of self-neglect and is more than just clutter – it’s a complex mental health condition marked by excessive accumulation and difficulty discarding items. This can lead to serious risks including fire hazards, poor sanitation and even home-eviction.
People hoard for many reasons, often linked to emotional attachment, past trauma or mental health challenges. It’s not a lifestyle choice, but a recognised disorder, now classified separately from obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Supporting someone who hoards requires empathy, patience, and trust. Quick fixes – like forced clean-outs – can cause lasting distress.
Instead, work gently with them to set small goals, reduce new acquisitions and celebrate progress. Remember: kindness, not judgment, makes the biggest difference.
If you are concerned about your own or someone else’s behaviour, you can get advice and support by calling the Social Work Single Access Point on 0303 333 3001.
£13.8 Million Greener Transport Boost for Region
Dumfries and Galloway Council is to receive £13.8 million in UK Government funding for new transport projects. The Levelling Up Fund will deliver three projects which aim to make greener transport more accessible to people and visitors in the region.
New multi-modal transport hubs are planned to help join up journeys, with e-bikes and electric car club vehicles for hire and public charging points available. They will be located at convenient points across the region that link in with bus and rail transport networks.
Electric buses and charging points, upgrades to bus stops and a real-time information service will be introduced to improve bus passengers’ experience and make journey planning easier.
To encourage residents to cycle more and to enable local businesses to benefit from the cycle tourism market, improvements will be made to local cycling infrastructure as well as the long-distance Kirkpatrick Coast to Coast cycle route.
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