Community
Community involvement with Annan Harbour
Working together with the local community to develop a local resource.
Community consultation has been ongoing since 2019, and has involved more than 500 survey submissions.
The information below the notification of our current community consultation, refers to the survey work carried out in 2020, which has been further approved following community consultation at three events in 2021.
The Annan Local Place Plan
Throughout 2024, local consultation took place regarding the Annan Place Plan – an opportunity for our community to shape the next Local Development Plan and ensure that the Council understands our needs and aspirations … a final report will be presented in 2025 …
Community Support
89% of respondents said they support Annan Harbour Action Group purchasing the Minister’s Merse and the building and developing them for the community (7% said were not sure and 2% did not support the purchase).
82% of respondents agreed that that bringing the Minister’s Merse and building at Annan Harbour into community ownership would contribute to the economic development of the town, 89% said that it would improve the local environment, 84% thought that it would help develop skills and knowledge and 73% thought it would help improve people’s health.
Strong support was shown in community survey for each of the facilities planned for the Harbour Hub building: 79% of respondents supported the idea of a café at the harbour, 68% supported local heritage and exhibitions, 62% supported the development of water sports facilities, 53% supported the development of workshop or studio units. There was less enthusiasm locally for visitor accommodation (29% via the survey), but this can be expected to cater primarily to people outside Annan.
81% of respondents said they would support the development of areas to walk at the Ministers Merse, 69% said they would support learning about nature through talks and activities, 58% said they would support the development of birdwatching in the area, 58% said they would support conservation activities for volunteers and 53% said they would support secure moorings.
Social Need
Some businesses in Annan’s town centre have been through a long period of closure due to Covid-19 and have reopened to a scenario of unpredictable demand and physical distancing restrictions.
Attracting visitors and encouraging them to spend money locally is crucial. Our combination of countryside and coast, with the harbour as a gateway, has been identified as a unique selling point (USP) for Annan in the 2018 High Street Improvement Strategy and 2020 Town Centre Regeneration Plan.
Annan has high rates of unemployment and particularly youth unemployment.
We work with Dumfries and Galloway Employability and Skills Partnership and Annan Academy to offer young people opportunities to work alongside older craftsmen on various workshop projects. These provide young people, who have left school with few or no qualifications, with a structured experience for accessing pre-college construction courses.
By taking on the Minister’s Merse and developing commercial activity based at the harbour, we will be able to create additional training placements.
Commercial demand and financial sustainability
Survey results suggest a community demand for improvement.
80% of survey respondents (local people) said they would visit the harbour area more often if it was community owned and developed, while no respondents would visit less.
The project addresses the main issues that people say discourage them from visiting the harbour currently: empty and derelict buildings (61% of respondents) along with the lack of things to do (48%) and others: rusting and derelict boats, lack of infrastructure for mooring, lack of water flowing through the harbour, lack of places to sit, no public toilets and lack of obvious walking trails starting from Annan Harbour. Meanwhile, 100% said that they would use a café.
In addition:
High visitor numbers at The Devil’s Porridge Museum nearby show that there is demand for heritage attractions in the area, and that charging a small fee does not necessarily discourage outside visitors.
There is also significant traffic through Gretna, and tour operators are seeking more unusual and interactive options.
Watersports are growing in popularity and almost 32% of UK adults participate. Canoeing and stand-up paddle boarding have seen growth, and ownership of canoes/kayaks has increased by 55% in 10 years.
In 10 years, Scottish Coastal Rowing has expanded to 70 active clubs (including Annan), providing access for communities to their local waters.
Our Project Partners
At Annan Harbour we have worked (and continue to work) with partners across the Third Sector, local businesses, Dumfries and Galloway Council, statutory organisations and Government to ensure we can offer the best opportunities for our community.
Our Funders & Partners
Our funders and partners invest in us to support our local community and in the continued work to regenerate Annan Harbour. By doing so they continue to recognise the value of this work and the importance of community-led regeneration.
