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Important milestone for Rocks & Wheels as construction starts December 2024
Dalbeattie Community Initiative is pleased to announce an important milestone in its Rocks and Wheels Project, representing a valuable step forward as one of the most innovative initiatives led by a community organisation in Scotland. The redevelopment of the former Dalbeattie Primary School is set to commence after successfully securing £7.8 million redevelopment funding. This iconic graded C-listed granite structure has remained unoccupied since October 2017, following 141 years of service to the community. The closure of the school marked the end of an era when the bell rang for the last time, and students moved to the New Learning Campus. This endeavour is poised to create community facilities, generate employment opportunities, and stimulate economic revitalisation for Dalbeattie and across Dumfries and Galloway, while enhancing Dalbeattie's visibility on a national and regional level.
In response to feedback from the community, Dalbeattie Initiative has developed a comprehensive master plan designed to boost tourism, health, and wellbeing in the region through the creation of Rocks and Wheels, Dalbeattie. This initiative is a grassroots, community-driven project aimed at improving local opportunities. A central aspect of the plan is to promote education and training, specifically designed to help unemployed individuals and young people gain the skills needed to secure paid employment. This includes a variety of options such as full-time, part-time, apprenticeships, and volunteering opportunities.
The project received an allocation of £5.2 million from the UK Government; however, due to increasing costs, additional funding became necessary. The project is now backed by a collaborative effort among various funders, including Dumfries & Galloway Council, UK Government Shared Prosperity, Scottish Government Place Base Investment Programme (PBIP), Dumfries & Galloway Economic Development Capital Programme (DGEDCP), South Of Scotland Enterprise (SOSE), Sports Scotland, The Holywood Trust and National Lottery Awards for All.
Local firm Ashleigh (Scotland) started the 54-week programme on Monday 2nd December to transform the site into the Rocks and Wheels Activity Centre fit for the 21st Century, anticipated to open in 2026. This will coincide with the 150th anniversary of the original building built in 1876, one of the earliest board schools constructed in Dumfries and Galloway. The three granite buildings will once again stand proudly in our town, filled with life, laughter, and energy.
Rocks and Wheels will be operated as a subsidiary business of the Initiative. It is encouraging to note that profits generated by the Centre will be reinvested into the Initiative’s projects and events continuing to support our local community activity. The Initiative has partnered with global specialised companies Velo Solutions and Rockworks to develop a national-level pump track and indoor bouldering centre. Collective Architecture and the design team have created a multi-use site that features a flexible community space for hire, ideal for social and uniformed groups, a place you can hire for training to upskill community members and offer areas for business use to encourage new enterprises. The project includes a 52-bed accommodation building along with both indoor café and outdoor seating space. Additionally, a refectory has been designed to serve schools, families, and organised groups interested in package breaks. We can't wait for you to experience all that this vibrant space has to offer!
“Revitalising the former school is an important priority for the Initiative, reflecting its historical significance to Dalbeattie. We believe that transforming this site will serve as a valuable asset to the town, fostering growth in local tourism and contributing positively to the economic development of the community.” Initiative CEO, Michelle McRobert
The dedicated Rocks and Wheels team is feeling positive as we move into construction as the former school played a significant role in Dalbeattie’s history, making the revival of these buildings one of the Initiative’s top priorities within the town's vision. Transforming this site will greatly benefit Dalbeattie, enhancing its appeal and boosting the local economy and tourism.
Funding boost for Rocks & Wheels project
Dalbeattie Community Initiative is delighted to receive the news that our Rocks and Wheels project will benefit from Dumfries and Galloway Council’s successful bid to the Levelling up fund.
This funding will now catapult the project from vision and design into a reality for Dalbeattie. This amount of investment in our community will create real transformational change.
The development of our outdoor activity centre project, Rocks and Wheels, will see the redundant school buildings transformed into an outdoor activity centre boasting indoor bouldering, 60-bed hostel, outdoor pump track, training and community rooms, and outdoor civic space. The unique location of the site, at the entrance to Dalbeattie Town Wood, allows easy access to the 7stanes mountain bike trail and core path 20 leading to Kippford to encourage new and exciting biking and water sport activity.
The centre will create sustainable employment and training programmes; and its long-term reinvestment will empower our community ensuring future generations can benefit from the project too.
This centre will create an attractive destination for visitors to explore our area and support the further development of outdoor adventure pursuits; we hope it will act as a catalyst for local businesses and stimulate new enterprises.
Since the project’s inception in 2017, many local people have assisted in the development of ideas and to refine the project into a feasible business model – this funding success is testament to their hard work, effort and persistence. The hard work starts now to take our vision and make it a success, but the Initiative is up for the challenge and looks forward to this exciting new chapter.
Michelle McRobert
CEO, Dalbeattie Community Initiative
Dame Barbara Kelly becomes Rocks & Wheels' Patron
Dame Barbara Kelly has accepted an invitation to become the Patron of Dalbeattie's Rocks & Wheels Project. Dame Barbara has held a number of senior public appointments and her main interests lie in consumer affairs and in rural and environmental issues.
A major part of her working life was home-based as a partner in a mixed farming enterprise. She raised four children, including a child with Cystic Fibrosis. Her early work was necessarily through the voluntary sector and it was not until the tragic death of her son in 1985 that she returned to work beyond the family business. During that time, she was much involved in SWRI and was National Vice Chair in the early 1980s.
Dame Barbara has long been an advocate for justice, fairness and choice, as Chairman of the Scottish Consumer Council (1985-1990), as Equal Opportunities Commissioner for Scotland (1991-95) and as Chairman of the UK Architects Registration Board.
She was a trustee of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and was Convenor of the Millennium Forest for Scotland Trust which won multi-million-pound funding (over £30M) from the Millennium Commission for the re-establishment of native woodland in Scotland. She was Chairman of the Robertson Trust, Scotland’s largest Giving charity. For thirteen years, she was Convenor of the Crichton Foundation and now chairs the Crichton Campus Leadership Group set up in 2013 to coordinate activity and joint working at the Crichton. She was a Board member of D&G College for many years and was recently made an Honourable Fellow. In addition,, she helped set up the £11M project and was Chairman of the Peter Pan Moat Brae Trust up until its official opening.
Dame Barbara was also the first woman Director of the Clydesdale Bank plc, a founder Director of Scottish Enterprise and a main Board member of Scottish Natural Heritage. She was a member of the BP plc Scottish Advisory Board, of the BT Scottish Advisory Board and the Scottish Post Office Board.
Honoured by the Queen, she was made Dame in 2007. She was a Deputy Lieutenant of Dumfriesshire and holds Honorary Doctorates from the Universities of Strathclyde 1995, Aberdeen 1997 and Glasgow 2002, Bell College 2005, Queen Margaret University 2005 and University of the West of Scotland, 2012. She was also made a Freeman of the City of London in 2002.
Ian Wilbur, Rocks and Wheels Chair, said: "We are delighted that Dame Barbara Kelly has accepted our invitation to become our first honorary patron. Dame Barbara has always been passionate about Dalbeattie and for her to support the Rocks and wheels project is wonderful, especially the fact we are utilising the old primary school where she attended as a girl."
Dame Barbara Kelly