South Scotland MSP Colin Smyth has welcomed the news that Dumfries and Galloway Council have been successful in securing more than £600,000 towards the development of a national centre for children’s literature at Moat Brae in Dumfries. 

In January the council applied for around £600,000 from the Scottish Government and COSLAs Regeneration Capital Grant Fund to help complete the last phase of conversion work on the Moat Brae mansion.

The Government announced yesterday (12 March 2018) that the application had been successful and would receive £615,305 as one of a number of projects across Scotland to share in £26m of funding. 

When Colin Smyth Chaired Dumfries and Galloway Council’s Economy Committee they awarded £500,000 towards the project. 

Welcoming the latest funding boost Colin Smyth said, “I’m delighted to see the Council’s application for Moat Brae has been successful and we will see the final piece of the funding jigsaw for the development of a national centre for children’s literature in place. This is an exciting project which is real town centre regeneration in action and it’s great to see the Council’s support continue. Town centres across Scotland face some huge challenges as more and more national retail chains turn their back on them and Dumfries is no different. That is a trend that will continue so we need to find new and innovative ways to bring people into our towns. Moat Brae is a great example of this and will attract visitors and local families alike to what will be a fantastic new addition to the town centre”.