THE community will have a say over the future of Loreburn Hall, Dumfries and Galloway Council chiefs have confirmed.
The local authority has deemed the B-listed building in Dumfries surplus to requirements and plans for it to be put up for sale or rented out were approved at the recent meeting of Dumfries Common Good sub committee.
However, because Loreburn Hall is a common good property, the building cannot simply change hands without public input.
Speaking at Dumfries Common Good sub committee, North West Dumfries Councillor Graham Bell said: “DG1 superseded the Loreburn Hall, which was a long time ago and there has been a lot of good work done at Loreburn Hall.
“What concerns me is that we’re needing real community engagement here. We need to reach out in consultation with various groups and organisations.
“I hope this is going to be done extensively.”
Paul McCulloch, the council’s property, estates and programmes manager, replied: “We will undertake a full community consultation in line with the legislation, and that will last for a period of eight weeks.
“As we commence that community consultation, we’ll certainly be making all the various parties aware that this consultation exercise has commenced.”
Following the eight-week consultation process, the feedback will be brought back to Dumfries Common Good sub committee and discussed further. Only then will the building be advertised on the open market, with any offers coming back to the committee once more for consideration.
The Electric Theatre Company currently occupies Loreburn Hall, having previously been given free rent to stage its Big Burns Supper and a series of shows there.
The theatre organisation requested an extension to the lease until February 2025, however its members will be served with a notice to leave by March 31, 2023.
Up until last year, Loreburn Hall had been lying empty since 2019.
