Rural Community Gateway

Last Sunday, four of the committed individuals from our Coal Yard Development Group set off to visit two of Dumfries and Galloway’s most inspirational places. I don’t use the term ‘committed’ loosely - asking anyone to give up half of their weekend is a big thing! The purpose of the visit was to meet with the people who had successfully managed to realise their dreams, and to learn how they’d gone about doing so.

Our journey took us to Auchencairn on the Solway Coast where ‘Auchencairn Initiative’, a group of hardy volunteers, have built an enterprise centre consisting of a post office, village store and childcare facility. The £500,000 development took them around six years to complete, and wasn’t without its ups and downs, but the results are truly outstanding. Not only does the centre provide essential services for the rural population, it also generates an income for the Initiative which they plough into other local projects.

Second stop was The CatStrand, Dumfries and Galloway’s newest Arts and Community Venue. This £1.2 million project has linked the six communities of the Glenkens and provides a vast range of services and activities for both locals and visitors.

It was obvious that each project had its champion, the individual who ran with the idea, took the risks and met challenges head on. Linked to that was the way those champions had led the project, their style of leadership, encouraging the support and ownership of the wider local community at all stages. It was a time consuming and at times frustrating style of leadership, but acknowledged as essential to the projects’ success. Perhaps surprisingly, when asked if they’d do anything differently if they were starting over again, both replied ‘very little’, evidence that suggests that despite the hurdles, the experience had been both rewarding and enjoyable.

The journey home was an interesting one. In the space of one day, people had become much more aware of the processes involved in successful projects. They had also been inspired by the enthusiasm and patience of one or two individuals. It takes special people to realise these special projects, and it’s the four individuals who were prepared to give up their Sunday that we need to be able to offer more support. I’d humbly suggest that we can prepare plans and strategies ‘til the cows come home, but without investing in individuals, nothing much will ever be achieved. We need strong, confident groups of people working together at a very local level. Let’s support and empower them to do the rest.

A Southerly Aspect archive

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John Gold

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