Local MP Russell Brown has stepped-up his campaign to demand Scottish Government cash to regenerate Dumfries and Stranraer town centres.

The MP- who recently won a two-year fight for a government town centre regeneration fund when the Scottish Government included a £60million fund in its annual budget- has launched a petition to demand Dumfries and Stranraer get their fair share of the cash, claiming it could provide the investment the towns so desperately need.

He said, “People in Dumfries and Stranraer have been forced to watch their town decline for years. For two years I've been saying that town centre regeneration will fail without government cash support. So it's welcome that this regeneration fund is now in place." 

But the MP is angry that this investment has been held back for a year. He added, "My colleague Dumfries MSP Elaine Murray proposed a regeneration fund be created last year. But Tory and SNP MSPs voted against that meaning that Dumfries and Stranraer have not only been denied this vital investment over the past year when it could’ve made a massive difference, but they’ve actually allowed the rate of the towns' decay to increase rapidly.

“The Tories and SNP appear now to have woken-up to the need to regenerate Dumfries town centre by backing-down on their opposition to Labour’s regeneration fund. But this is still only the beginning of the fight as we need to campaign to make sure Dumfries gets it fair share of this fund.”

According to Russell Brown, Dumfries and Galloway has missed out compared to other parts of Scotland in recent SNP funding announcements, but he says the SNP must not “forget” about Dumfries and Stranraer this time.

The MP said, “Whether it’s cash for the NHS, roads or new housing the last few months have highlighted that under the SNP Dumfries and Galloway is the forgotten region. That’s why we have to make sure the SNP don’t forget about Dumfries and Stranraer, favouring towns further north when they’re handing out this cash for town centres. And this investment has already been delayed by a year thanks to Tory and SNP MSPs so it’s essential it arrives quickly.

“That's why I've launched this petition- and I'm urging local people to support it- to make it clear to the SNP government that enough is enough and they must ensure investment in Dumfries and Stranraer town centres to stop their desperate decline.”

Sign Russell Brown's online petition below.