DALRY residents are hoping to set up a group that will ‘give Dalry a voice’ and help to lobby for community funding to improve the town.

A steering group of residents concerned about the community’s failure to access funding sources met on April 2 to discuss the setting up of a community development ‘hub’ to give the town ‘a strong cohesive voice lobbying on the community’s behalf’.

A spokesperson for the steering group said: “Other well organised local communities hosting windfarms and other renewable developments have got together and secured large amounts of funding from the developers, and have also been instrumental in identifying and applying for funds/grants from their local authority, charities and other benefactors.

“The greatest community gains have usually been achieved where the wind farm community benefits and other funding sources are secured, managed and distributed by a locally elected body.

“The only way Dalry is going to reap the maximum benefit from the many available funding sources is by the community working together. The proposal is to form a ‘hub’ to present a strong voice for the community.

“In order for the ‘hub’ to be strong, effective and be ‘the voice’ for Dalry, all the organisations who work hard in their own areas, need to support this effort to enable change and improvement for Dalry.

“The purpose of the ‘hub’ is not to duplicate or interfere with any activities currently undertaken by other established Dalry Community organisations, rather to act as the focal point for accessing funds and enabling joint working towards mutual goals.” A second meeting will be held Tuesday, May 6, in Dalry Primary School at 7pm to formally establish the group and to agree initiatives which it should consider co-ordinating on behalf of the community of Dalry.