Update about The Bank – proposal to become a multi-functional, community owned, arts and hospitality venue.

The plans for the ex-Bank of Scotland building on the High Street in Dunblane will be outlined in 2 public meetings. In the next week, we will be going 'live' to the public and inviting them to become free members, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on social media.

Background For the past 9 months, a team of volunteers have been working to put together a plan for the building to be kept within the community and turn it into a destination that will be a positive addition to the town, taking in account feedback from community engagement. While some aspects of the proposal are similar to existing businesses, such as a café, it is our intention to minimise competition and instead to offer something new and exciting, to drive increased footfall and to contribute to the existing community efforts to revitalise the town centre. We will welcome collaboration with local businesses.

The Bank was bought in May 2023 by a local charity in order to save it for the community and funding is currently being sought through the UK government’s Community Ownership Fund to transfer ownership to Dunblane Square, a not-for-profit community company which will be owned by its members. Membership is free and open to anyone living in FK15. The company will be run by a board of volunteer directors, with all profits generated being re-invested back into the community. The project has already gained letters of support from Dunblane Community Council, Dunblane Development Trust and the Dunblane Centre.

Next Steps
The next step is to launch the vision to the public, enrol members (it's free) which will help us to secure funding to make the vision a reality. Critical to this development is ensuring that we communicate and engage with the local community and convert their support into membership as without large number of members, the initial funding for this transfer will not occur, putting the entire project in jeopardy.

If we are successful in the transfer and then successful in gaining further funding for the renovation, we hope to start works on site in early 2024 and open fully in late Summer 2024, pending planning permission.

The Vision
The vision is to redevelop the building into a multi-functional, community owned, arts and hospitality venue, named The Bank. It will be made up of two core areas:
1. A music/cinema/lecture room
2. A café/restaurant area

Additionally, a staff area, toilets and a professional kitchen will be included. The building design and overall running ethos will be focused on zero waste - through sustainable building and energy practice and then applying this to the café/restaurant management.

Area 1 (the old Bank Hall) - Cinema and Music Area 1 will be for a community cinema, music performance and lectures. It will be open plan with a high ceiling and external access. The room will be sound proofed though acoustic barriers and will contain a large retractable screen, PA system and a removable stage. We envision initially running three films per week - one weekend evening film, one weekday afternoon film and a family-friendly film on a Sunday. This would be a matinee movie every Sunday, running at the same time as a lunch offering, to provide an opportunity for parents to enjoy a meal out while their kids are watching a film in the cinema. We hope to start with at least one music event per week, and plan to host a variety of music genres. Talk and lectures will cover a whole variety of topics including, but not limited to, local history, sustainability, and ecological revival. We welcome all suggestions. The space will also be open for rental by the community.

Area 2 (ground floor of the Bank House) - Cafe & Restaurant Area 2 will be used for food and drinks. Additionally, a large glass extension on the west side of the building will provide a further seating area and some welcome sunlight. The Bank will use this space to host a ‘Supper Club’ style restaurant with guest chefs, initially one evening every weekend. The ‘Supper Club’ evenings will be done collaboratively with the guest chefs, including marketing, giving opportunity to showcase The Bank, and therefore Dunblane, to a wider market. The Sunday lunch offering will also run from this space. During the day, a café and small delicatessen will run for 6 days/week, serving exciting café food from 10am-4pm and with the deli having a weekly rotating selection of limited supply produce from a local small enterprise (e.g. a specific cheesemonger). There are plenty of opportunities here for collaborations with existing vendors through promotions and advertising, and these will be actively sought. The space will be dog and family friendly, and Area 1 provides a space for parents to come with their children during the day which is large enough for them to play safely. Additionally, this room will function as a bar and extra seating area during events. The kitchen will also be designed such that it can be used for training, cooking classes or a start-up food business (e.g. small bakery).

Helping Dunblane Thrive
Through this varied and new offering, it is expected that The Bank will attract increased numbers of visitors and more of the local community to the town centre regularly. By drawing more people to Dunblane town centre all businesses will thrive and prosper. As stated, we want to support local businesses and help put Dunblane on the map as a destination.

Located at the gateway to the historic centre of Dunblane, The Bank is ideally situated to be the new central focus point in Dunblane, attracting both tourists and the increased numbers and demographics from the local community down to the town centre. Due to its size and location, The Bank could be used as a new information point for Dunblane and be the starting point for historic tours, day-walks and cycles, thus attracting increased numbers down to the town centre. We have started engaging with Visit Scotland to make sure we are aligned with any local and regional tourism plans.

Next public events
We plan to hold two informal public Town Hall events in The Bank on Monday 2nd October from 2-3pm and 7-8pm to invite residents of Dunblane into the premises and for the existing committee to give a 20-min presentation on the plans and offer the opportunity for questions and input.

Following this, the bank building will be open for the Christmas Extravaganza event on 30th November 2023, where we will showcase the vision and invite further community engagement on the project.

How you can help
You can help support the project by joining as a free member and helping us spread the word in the community. One way of doing this is supporting us through social media and sharing posts.

Contact us
We would actively encourage you to reach out to us with any comments or suggestions.
Our main email contact is:
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Our key people can be seen on the Who We Are page on our website.

You can read more on our website: https://thebankdunblane.org/
Our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/TheBankDunblane
Our Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/thebankdunblane/
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Dunblane Sports Club were celebrating 100 years of tennis at the weekend with a family fun day and an adult fun tournament. 

The first 2 tennis courts on the site were opened on 11th July 1923 by Mrs Donaldson of Kilbryde Castle with a pavilion and 2 further courts added in 1924/5.

The courts have recently been resurfaced with artificial clay.

The club is planning a gala dinner in the Hydro in September. More info on their Facebook page.

 

The NHS National Services Scotland and NHS Education for Scotland have asked us to share their survey to gather patient views of digital prescribing. This will help determine what matters to the people of Scotland in using services which involve prescription medicines.

 If you are interested in giving your thoughts on digital prescribing please visit this link.

 

The community centre built as a “living tribute” to the victims of the Dunblane shooting is facing an uncertain future amid rising costs.

The Dunblane Centre opened in 2004 after the town received donations from across the world following the tragedy at the primary school in 1996.

But there are now fears the facility may be forced to close without financial help.

Donations to the Dunblane Centre can be made on the facility’s website.

Read more on STV news here

Historic Environment Scotland commences conservation measures at Dunblane Cathedral

Families urged to come forward to help identify gravestones.

Works have commenced on the stabilisation, repair and re-erection of gravestones at the main entrance to Dunblane Cathedral.

The work, which is being undertaken by Historic Environment Scotland (HES) staff with specialist training in gravestone and monument inspection, will see repairs undertaken to improve access to the graves and the wider cathedral grounds.

The work will continue in 2023 on gravestones around the main entrance, with works progressing to secondary entrances and pathways.

HES has carried out inspections of 595 gravestones at Dunblane Cathedral, with more than 130 to date identified as dangerous and requiring repair. This is as a result of a number of factors, including age and exposure to the elements.

Responsibility for the maintenance of memorials lies primarily with the lair owner or family. To help progress the repair programme, HES is appealing to owners of memorials to come forward.

While some owners have been identified and are arranging repairs, HES is keen to involve the local community further in helping to identify more owners, as well as interpreting and recording the memorials in the graveyard to support the essential work being carried out.

HES is prioritising stabilisation works to memorials posing the greatest risk to the public, and some access restrictions are currently in place for health and safety reasons until repairs are completed. As these works are carried out, HES will continue to review the extent of the fenced areas to see where this can be reduced in order to lessen the impact of the access restrictions, with a rolling programme of phased repairs being undertaken.

Jessica Hunnisett, District Surveyor at HES, said:

“We’re pleased to be able to start work on repairing some of the gravestones within Dunblane Cathedral. We are prioritising memorials which pose the greatest risk and those which affect access to the cathedral.

“We know that the community is very keen for access to be reinstated and owners who are concerned that their memorials may be affected are encouraged to come forward and discuss how we can assist them in progressing repairs.”

Paul Nelson, Dunblane Development Trust, said: “The restored 12th century Cathedral is the centre of historic Dunblane, alongside the 17th century Leighton Library and Museum buildings. It is critical, for the businesses that operate in Dunblane High St, that the Cathedral is accessible and visitors are encouraged to come to the Cathedral and Dunblane. We are, therefore, glad that HES has commenced this work in the grounds of the Cathedral and look forward to the rapid completion of the improvements.”

Ailsa Gray, Chair, Dunblane Community Council, said: “We welcome the fact that work has started and look forward to working with HES in the interpretation and recording of the ancient stones within the graveyard. Such discoveries will underline Dunblane Cathedral’s position as an ancient monument of national importance.”

If your family plot is affected by safety closures, please contact HES at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 01786 823388 to discuss the condition of the memorial and arrange repairs if necessary.

More information about HES’s approach to gravestone and monument inspections and repairs can be found on the HES website.

This will be the first Extravaganza in three years and the Dunblane Development Trust can’t wait to bring this community event back for everyone to enjoy! We’re keeping it local and we’ve got a packed evening for you.

Order of Events   Reverse Christmas    Storytelling Pods    Map of Events

The High Street will be closed to traffic between Charisma and the gold postbox from 5pm - 8.30pm on Thursday 1 December and shops, businesses, cafés and food outlets will stay open late. So lots of opportunities for everyone to enjoy a bit of socialising, some late-night shopping and the chance to buy your tea from one or more of the many fab local eateries!

At 5.30pm Santa will arrive on his sleigh accompanied by his elves and, with help from six primary school children, will switch on the lights of a giant Christmas tree* at station plaza and start the event. Youngsters visiting Santa in his grotto are being invited to bring a tin or packet for Start Up Stirling in a reverse Christmas (read more here) and, in return, will be given a lasting memento made here by the dedicated teams at Creative Dunblane. Mrs Claus will be joining us for the first time ever (at the library) and there’ll be Alpacas to  (at the gold postbox)!

This is the Year of Storytelling and we’ll have several Storytelling pods along the route in various locations including the Library. Local authors will be reading excerpts from their books to children, teens and adults and a variety of storytellers will be telling traditional and festive tales to young folk too.

Різдвяна феєрія в Данблейн Четвер, 1 грудня

There’ll be a Winter Wonderland at Dunblane Christian Fellowship and other churches will be open too for you to enjoy music and more. There’ll also be a Nativity Trail in shop windows and lots more going on throughout the evening.

And throughout all of this, we’ll have a wonderful selection of talented musicians and performers who’ll be entertaining us throughout the evening, including Rubber Chicken Theatre, the Rosenethe Singers, Boys’ Brigade band, Dunblane Cathedral Handbell Ringers and Dunblane Shanty Crew. And we very much hope that we’ll be joined by some Ukrainian singers on the night so that we can enjoy hearing a traditional song or two from their homeland.

Then at 8.30pm the Pipes & Drums of Queen Victoria School will provide a heart-stirring full stop to the Extravaganza as they march through the town and bring the event to a close. We’re so looking forward to this special evening for everyone and do hope you can join us!

We are very grateful to Barty’s for sponsoring the giant Christmas Tree this year. If anyone would like to support the work of the Dunblane Development Trust Town Centre group please get in touch with DDT for sponsorship opportunities

You’ll see this Extravaganza QR code on publicity soon. This, the webpage to which it leads, will be updated on a regular basis as details become confirmed so please keep checking so you don’t miss anything. Download this article

Extrav QR

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