Eskdalemuir Expressive Arts is a local organisation that works to promote community cohesion and personal development through involvement in creative/cultural activities. In order to expand the range of activities on offer and to help people re-engage following the Covid 19 pandemic, the organisation applied for £29,950 over 3 years from Ewe Hill 16 to contribute towards a £58,268 total project cost. Match funding came from Crossdykes Community Benefit Fund and earnings from fees charged to participants. With this funding in place, Eskdalemuir Expressive Arts was able to purchase a pottery kiln and started a programme of all day events throughout the year, which includes pottery, printmaking, painting and writers’ workshops. In addition, it provides a fortnightly art based after-school club for local children, life drawing classes, singing and jazz workshops, and film screenings. All of these activities are held in the Eskdalemuir Community Hub. The project has been extremely successful with many of the workshops over-subscribed. Participants come not just from Eskdalemuir but from all of the surrounding communities.

Images: Eskdalemuir Hub

Case Study 2: Xcel Youth Trust

Xcel Youth Trust was awarded £6,078 by the Solwaybank Fund in July 2024 as a contribution to a project to construct an outdoor learning space and run a series of outdoor activities for local young people, at a total cost of £8,578. The project was delivered as a collaboration with the What Do We Do Now project run by The Stove in Dumfries, a regional arts organisation, which also provided the match funding. The funding enabled the construction of a living willow structure on land at Castleholm in Langholm. This structure provides the venue for small groups of 10-15 young people to learn more about their local natural environment, as well as bushcraft and outdoor skills such as den building, fire lighting, campfire cooking and observing wildlife. The funding also allowed for the purchase of trail cameras, a digital camera, tents and tarpaulins to be used in the activities.

Images: Xcel Youth Project

Case Study 3: Langholm Initiative: Tarras Valley Nature Reserve (TVNR) – Pre-development Works for Achieving Net Zero on Community Owned Housing

Tarras Valley, at 10,500 acres, is the largest community land acquisition in Southern Scotland. The Tarras Valley Nature Reserve (TVNR) is owned and managed by The Langholm Initiative, which has been looking at ways that it can make best use of the buildings it acquired as part of the buy-out in order to benefit the local community. One such use is to provide affordable rental housing to local people. One house on the site was part way through a renovation at the time of the land transfer in 2021 and, working in partnership with South of Scotland Community Housing, and with assistance from the East Dumfriesshire Community Officer, TVNR applied for funding to investigate how the property could be renovated to be as energy efficient as possible. As it is a stone-built property selecting the correct materials and specifications would be complex. TVNR was awarded £15,500 by Solwaybank Community Benefit Fund in March 2023 to contribute towards the £24,416 project cost. Match funding was obtained from the Scottish Government’s Rural Housing Fund and a contribution from TVNR’s own funds. The end result is a detailed report by John Gilbert Architects that evaluated different insulation, ventilation and heating methods and selected the optimal combination of materials and plant. A tender is currently out for contractors to do the work and the final application to the Rural Housing Fund will be made in October 2025. A series of workshops, open to the public and tradesmen, will disseminate the findings, as these will be highly relevant to anyone in the area interested in insulating traditionally build stone properties.

Case Study 4: Kirkpatrick Fleming and District Community Council

In July 2022, Kirkpatrick Fleming and District Community Council Hall Committee applied for £5,785 from both the Ewe Hill 16 and Solwaybank Community Benefit Funds to install Christmas lights in the village as a part of a £18,356 Christmas Festival project. The remainder was funded by Beck Burn Community Benefit Fund and local community fundraising. The project was extremely successful in supporting community cohesion with an opening ceremony attended by almost the entire community. This was of particular importance as it came about in the aftermath of the Covid pandemic and played a vital role in bringing the community together for the first time since lockdown. It also brought many local people into the village hall for the first time since it had undergone a series of Ewe Hill 16 and Solwaybank funded improvements. As a result, there has been a significant uptake in hall usage and community activity.

Images: Kirkpatrick Fleming & District Community Council

Case Study 5: Canonbie Community Enterprise Ltd 

In late 2023, the existing owner of the Post Office and shop in Canonbie declared his intention to retire. He had been attempting to sell the business as a commercial concern for a number of years, without success. In a meeting between the owner, representatives of Canonbie Community Council and East Dumfriesshire Community Officer, it was agreed to explore the idea of the community taking over the business. Following a community consultation exercise, and with support from Langholm Funders Forum, The Plunkett Foundation, Scottish Council of Voluntary Organisations, Third Sector Dumfries and Galloway and the Post Office, as well as input from East Dumfriesshire Community Officer, Canonbie Community Enterprises, a Community Benefit Society, was formed. A Business Plan was produced and successful funding applications totalling £55,733 were made to Ewe Hill 16, Solwaybank, Beckburn and Magnox Community Benefit Funds to resource the acquisition of the business and support it for the first three years of operation. Ewe Hill 16 awarded £19,733 and Solwaybank awarded £15,000, both over three years. Canonbie Community Enterprise formally took over the management of the village shop and post office on 28th July 2025 and all staff have completed their training with the Post Office. Images: Canonbie Community Enterprise Ltd

Case Study 6: Lockerbie Ice Rink   

Lockerbie Ice Rink, an important local sporting facility, was awarded £7,484 in March 2023 to improve facilities at the rink. Following a consultation with members and users, a need was identified to improve secure storage for users’ belongings in the changing rooms, to increase the amount of equipment for learners, and to replace the ageing rental skates. The feedback from users has been extremely positive and use of the rink has risen with the increased availability of rental skates and with a noticeable increase in younger people learning to skate. In previous years, the Ice Rink received support from Ewe Hill 16 funds which enabled them to make accessibility improvements to the reception and changing areas at the ice rink which has been great for wheelchair users including ‘The Wheelies’ – a team of wheelchair curlers who use the rink regularly. The East Dumfriesshire Community Officer has been working with the Ice Rink and South of Scotland Enterprise (SOSE) to develop a project to improve the energy efficiency of the facility.

Images: Lockerbie Ice Rink