Gatehouse citizens and visitors turned out in good numbers for a special Spring Sparkle on Saturday.
The event at the community centre had two purposes – to raise money for Ukraine and boost local input to a survey on the community centre’s future.
The building in Dromore Road is in need of major repair or replacement and locals will have a big say in what happens next.
Gatehouse Community Centre board chairman Peter Taylor was delighted with the response from the public.
He told the News: “The day went very well. We had lots of people and we raised almost £500 for Ukraine which will be spent via MOOL in Dumfries who are dealing with the refugees.
“Our plant stall, cake stall and pop-up cafe were all busy.”
Peter also said the exercise to gather more views on the community centre’s redevelopment had been a success.
He said: “Everybody was very open on the centre’s future and we were able to get a much more detailed picture than we received from the questionnaires.
“We were able to talk to people at length and get a better idea of what options they wanted.
“Community Enterprise Scotland, who are handling the survey, got much more information as well which they will put in their final report.
“All in all it was a very successful day – very well attended and very positive.” Well over 100 responses to the survey have been received – and there’s still time to complete one ahead Tuesday’s deadline.
The board wants to develop a plan for the future that fully reflects the wishes of local people.
A main aim is to create “a financially viable and fundable” resource which “complements rather than displaces” any local activity. The current building has been in use for 95 years and has hosted big events such as Midsummer Music.
The survey can be completed at https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/Gatehouse_Comm_Centre_Survey
