There will be a new presence on the streets of Dumfries from this week as Dumfries and Galloway Council and The Peoples’ Project launch a new jointly funded post of “Town Centre Ambassador”.
The idea for the venture was brought to Council Leader Ronnie Nicholson by Mark Jardine of the Peoples’ Project earlier in the year.
Mark explains the background:
“I had been very impressed by the condition of town centres in a number of countries I’d visited, and a common factor seemed to be that there were identifiable officers who acted as the municipal presence on the streets. I thought it an ideal opportunity for the Peoples’ Project to work hand in hand with the Council on resourcing and managing such a post.”
Chair of the Council’s Communities Committee Tom McAughtrie says that, like Ronnie Nicholson, he was very keen to explore Mark’s idea;
“The ethos behind the way our staff will deliver services for the future is very much about engagement with local community groups. We were very keen to take this opportunity to put more concentration on having a permanent officer presence in the town centre, and officers have worked with Mark to develop the role for the Town Centre Ambassador.”
The Ambassador post will be responsible for providing an information and welcome service to visitors to the town, supervision of town centre street cleaning and grounds maintenance activities to ensure a high quality of work and will respond quickly to issues. The Ambassador will also be liaising with local businesses on environmental and other issues as well as monitoring and enforcing public compliance with environmental legislation.
Lorraine Wilson, who was a Community Safety Officer, has been appointed to the role and is looking forward to working with Council teams, the Peoples’ Project and other voluntary organisations, as well as with commercial businesses to enhance the welcome that Dumfries provides to visitors and locals alike.
Lorraine said;
“It’s in all our interests to ensure that the centre of Dumfries presents a welcoming face to everyone, my role is to provide oversight of the Council’s maintenance of our open space, and to make sure that we remove litter and any other material which detracts from its appearance as quickly as possible.
I’m also going to provide a visible presence on-street for visitors to seek information and to provide advice to businesses in the town. I’ll be based in the Midsteeple but the intention is that I’ll generally be more often seen out and about so that I’m keeping tabs on things as they happen, and making sure that I listen to peoples’ views all over the town centre.”
Mark Jardine added;
“This is an exciting project for the people of Dumfries and I hope that the public will embrace it, but also give Lorraine time to make a difference. Rome wasn’t built in a day, as the saying goes, and neither was Dumfries, but by working together and listening to positive ideas from the public we can better support a community that we can all be proud of.”
Picture of Lorraine with Councillors, and People’s Project Lead Mark Jardine attached
