Afterword

I have been delighted to work with locals to pull this Plan together. It’s a personal mission and passion to help this town flourish.

There’s history.

Of my 4 sets of my great grandparents, one ran the Poor House in Stranraer, another the drapers in George Street, one ran the Downshire in Portpatrick and the others were farmers in Girvan who followed that era’s trend and migrated south to Wigtownshire to farm near the Lochans where I grew up and went to school. On their dad’s side, my children’s grandfather was one of the surviving crew of the Princess Victoria and his scrapbook is currently on display at the Millennium Centre for the 75th anniversary of the tragedy. Other folks in the town have similar patchwork quilts of family stories.

Names and faces echo down the years in these streets and key features like the Princess Victoria memorial, the Gardens of Friendship, Agnew Park, Stair Park remain. I love that many aspects of this town have changed little… the high street still features independent shops and cafes from my childhood: Barbours, Simpsons, Gillespies, Aitkens, Baxters, Lochs, the Alexandra, the Petrucci family now at the Central Cafe, the McMillan family just recently moved on from North West Castle - and their family members all play key roles in sustaining the town, active in community leadership.

Adding to the sense of community built by those who’ve stayed with the town through its ups and downs, there are always new faces arriving, bringing fresh energy, diversity and new ideas that just make us stronger. Together, we look forward to seeing this Place thrive.

Barbara Chalmers, Place Plan Project Manager