Council properties bought for as little as £1 generate £28m

The transfer of unwanted council buildings to community groups - some of them for just £1 - has generated more than £28m for the Dumfries and Galloway economy, a report has found.

An annual report to the council said groups across the region had "embraced the opportunity" to take over a range of sites.

It said the process could support communities to "develop their creative local aspirations".

The local authority has received two awards for its work on community asset transfers (CATs).

The report highlighted that the council had agreed 46 CATs since 2017.

This led to more than £28m of external funding being brought into the region when individual groups apply for grant funding to various sources.

Last year, there were five CAT requests from community groups, four of which were agreed while one was refused.

One of the successful ones was the Queensberry Garages in Sanquhar that were handed over to Sanquhar Enterprise Company (SEC).

Ronnie Bradford is the organisation's community development officer and helped them to secure a section of "eyesore" garages in the town for £1.

He said that they had reached a "sad state of repair" - the roofs were leaking, the doors were rotting, the windows were gone.

The community group held a meeting and decided to submit a bid to repurpose the space.

"The process could be a lot simpler," Ronnie admitted.

He had to create a business plan to prove the transfer of ownership would benefit Sanquhar, and waited months to hear from the council.

However, he said that after securing the property in May 2024, the garages now provided a boost.

"It will have a new lease of life and be of value to the community," Ronnie added.

Not all properties are as cheap as £1 - it is up to the council to decide how much it charges - but it is typically less than market value.

Ronnie said he was "pleasantly surprised" to hear the overall economic benefit of such deals had been estimated at nearly £30m.

"Our experience has been very much at the lower end of the scale, but if it is generating that level of funding...it frees up money to be used for essential services," he said.

"I'm very happy about that."

Other properties handed over last year include a multi-use games area, which was taken over by St John's Town of Dalry Community Properties Trust.

The Community Reuse Shop in Stranraer was acquired by The Furniture Project Stranraer Ltd and the pavilion and land at Kirroughtree Avenue in Minnigaff was handed to Newton Stewart Men's Shed.

A bid by RH Youth Organisation to take over a piece of community land in Lockerbie and operate rent-free for the next decade was turned down.

Additional reporting by the Local Democracy Reporting Service.