Building Community Capacity: Supporting Local Infrastructure and Opportunity

Overview
Sanquhar is a historic Royal Burgh of just over 2,000 people located in the Nith Valley in Dumfries and Galloway. The town's name comes from the Gaelic for 'old fort', reflecting its centuries-old heritage, including the 13th-century Sanquhar Castle and the world's oldest working post office, established in 1712.

Sanquhar Enterprise Company (SEC) is a two-tier Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO) which aims to improve the social, economic and physical quality of life for the whole community. 

Development
In 2019 the organisation emerged directly from local consultation, when residents identified the need for a development organisation to address the risk of closure facing the famous post office.

Since 2021, SEC  has been awarded four grants, totalling £93,965, through the Whiteside Hill Community Fund. This funding has enabled the rural Scottish enterprise to evolve from a fledgling organisation into a sophisticated community development leader delivering major infrastructure projects that address long-standing community priorities.

With over 70 members, serving a catchment population of just over 2,200, SEC is taking a leading role in the delivery of the recently updated Community Action Plan for 2022-2026.

Developed through extensive consultation, the Community Action Plan identified key challenges facing local residents, including lack of housing, limited retail variety, anti-social behaviour due to insufficient youth activities, limited employment opportunities, poor transport links, traffic speed concerns, and infrastructure issues like poor internet connectivity and outdated play parks.

The Plan centres around six themes which aim to address these issues:

• Heritage
• Townscape
• Tourism
• Facilities
• Communications
• Natural Environment

Top priority projects included promoting Sanquhar as a walking destination and developing community-owned infrastructure through asset transfer and renovation projects.

Funding
SEC was first awarded funding of £19,441 to upgrade and repair the Euchan Glen Path, a beloved but deteriorated walking route which had seen marked increases in usage during the pandemic lockdowns. The renovation project helped to preserve historic brick edging while creating safe, accessible routes around the Glen.

Community feedback was enthusiastic: 
"We really like the footpath improvements up to the falls. Lovely afternoon to be next to the water."

"We had a lovely walk round the Euchan path. Congratulations & grateful thanks to the people who have upgraded this beautiful walk."

Having successfully restored the Euchan path, the organisation was keen to develop a more consistent online presence and improve organisational governance. With £1,930 from the Whiteside Hill Fund and a further £1,340 from the Clyde (Dumfries and Galloway) Community Fund, SEC was able to develop a logo, website and comprehensive governance plans which lay out the group's vision, mission, values, and operational frameworks.

This created an essential foundation for SEC’s evolution into a sophisticated development organisation with the capacity to manage multiple large-scale projects simultaneously.

Impact
The organisation has since taken on two such development upgrades, firstly to the ‘core’ path connecting Braeheads and the River Nith, and also renovating abandoned garages at Queensbury Square Gardens to create community storage spaces.

The Breaheads-River Nith path project is working to create traffic-free routes for residents to access the town centre while improving connectivity to nature. Working with environmental advisors, the project uses natural materials and elevated routing to minimise flood risk while providing accessible surfaces for prams and walking aids. 

The Queensberry Square Garages project exemplifies community-led asset development, with SEC successfully acquiring the abandoned buildings through Community Asset Transfer. 

Community consultation showed 87% support for the redevelopment, which will create storage for local businesses and community groups to house equipment ranging from gala queens' trailers to emergency response supplies.

The Whiteside Hill Community Fund has support both projects, awarding £41,900 and £30,594 to each project, respectively. This graduated funding approach has proved highly effective, with each project building skills, confidence, and community trust, enabling SEC to take on progressively more complex undertakings.

Every project has also responded directly to community-identified priorities from Community Action Plans. This has ensured strong local support, volunteer engagement, and sustainable usage of the improved facilities.

SEC's collaborative approach with landowners, Dumfries & Galloway Council, environmental agencies, and specialist organisations has multiplied the positive benefits for the town’s residents while sharing costs and expertise.

SEC's strategic development positions the organisation for continued community leadership. Its Governance Plan includes succession planning, sustainability strategies, and risk management frameworks, enabling long-term project delivery. The organisation is also seeking opportunities to improve its long-term sustainability through income generation offered from the rented garages once the Queensberry Square project is completed. The Sanquhar Enterprise Company demonstrates how strategic investment in organisational capacity, combined with community-responsive project delivery, can transform a small rural organisation into an effective catalyst for community development.

Through building on early successes and maintaining strong community engagement, SEC has established a foundation for continued positive change across Upper Nithsdale for years to come.

Read more about the Whiteside Hill Wind Farm Community Fund here.