Welcome to Council News, your fortnightly update from our council.
Our team is always keen to give you updates on the things that matter the most to you.
We also want to share positive stories about things that are happening in your community.
If you have news that you’d like to share – shining a light on an individual, community group or event – we would love to feature them in our Community bulletin.
Please email us at communitybulletin@dumgal.gov.uk with feedback or story ideas and one of our reporters will get back to you.
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New High School Taking Shape
The turning of the new year has seen the new Dumfries High School build move even closer to completion.
The £53 million new-build, located next to the existing school, will welcome pupils and staff into the facility later this year. As the pictures show, it is really starting to take shape. All floors of the building now have live electricity and some of the learning spaces are starting to be kitted out.
The new school will be occupied before the end of the current academic year and then work will commence on demolishing the old school to create the landscaping and green space areas within the school campus.
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Don’t Sleep Rough – Help is Always Available
With temperatures expected to fall below freezing, support is available for anyone who does not have a safe place to stay overnight.
If you are worried about sleeping rough, please get in touch. Help is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week by calling 0303 333 3001 at any time, day or night.
During office hours (9am to 5pm)
The Housing Options and Homelessness Team can offer advice and arrange temporary accommodation. You can also visit your local council office for support. Details of office locations are available in the link below.
Out of hours (5pm to 9am)
The Social Work Out of Hours Team will arrange emergency accommodation and transport if needed.
There is always a benefit in making contact. Please don’t wait and don’t risk the cold.
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Have Your Say on our Customer Service Centres
Dumfries and Galloway Council has launched a new survey to help shape the future of its customer service centres across the region.
We want to make sure our services meet current and future customer needs, remain sustainable and continue to deliver value for money. To do that, we’re asking residents to share their views on how often they use our services, how well they work and what might encourage more people to use them.
Customer Services includes our Libraries, Registration Services (births, deaths and marriages), face-to-face support for council enquiries and the Heritage Service (for example, local studies and archives).
The survey is anonymous and takes around 10 minutes to complete.
The survey closes next Friday (16 January).
In the News
We publish all of our press releases from the last 12 months on our website so you can keep up-to-date.
- Council Issues Cold Weather Plea: Don’t Sleep Rough, Support is Always Available.
- New Community Bus Services for Annandale Area.
- Gatehouse Welcomes New Inclusive Play Park.
Have Your Say
We welcome your feedback and hold public consultations and information days so that you can take part in decisions that affect you.
Current consultations include:
- Local Development Plan 2: Kirkcudbright Conservation Area Character Appraisal and Management Plan (CACAMP).
Recent consultations (now closed) include:
- Budget Consultation 2026-2027.
- Visitor Levy.
Watch Council Meetings
We stream videos of a wide range of council meetings on our YouTube channel.
You can still watch previous meetings to find out the key issues being discussed. Recent meetings include:
- Dumfries and Galloway (Full Council) – Thursday 11 December 2025.
- Social Work Services Committee – Tuesday 9 December 2025.
- Dumfries and Galloway Licensing Board – Wednesday 3 December 2025.