What We Do
Image above: The former Thornhill Police Station. Credit: Old School Thornhill Development Trust.
The Architectural Heritage Fund (AHF) is excited to announce that it has awarded a Project Viability Grant to Old School Thornhill to help explore plans to acquire the former Thornhill Police Station and develop it for use as a childcare facility, along with affordable housing. This was one of six awards made at the AHF’s May grants meeting, where projects across Scotland, England, and Wales were offered funding totalling £76,530.
This Category C-listed former police station is located within the Thornhill Conservation Area in Dumfries and Galloway. Designed in Scots Baronial style by Barbour and Bowie in 1909, it features a crow-stepped gable, as well as a corbelled and crenellated parapet. Originally built alongside a pair of houses, the police accommodation later expanded into the upper floors of the adjoining buildings, while the local council utilised the ground floors.
Today, Thornhill Police Station, which is highly valued by the local community for its long-standing civic function, is no longer in use. Having been scheduled for disposal, it currently stands vacant, leaving it at risk of deterioration.
Old School Thornhill has a vision to foster a collaborative community, combatting isolation and encouraging rural entrepreneurship and creativity in Thornhill and surrounding areas. The group’s first project, which AHF supported with multiple grants, has seen the derelict Category C-listed Old School building beautifully restored and transformed into a community hub, workspace, cinema and event venue.
For its next project, the group now wishes to acquire the nearby Thornhill Police Station and bring the building back into use to provide key services in the area. Current plans include the creation of a childcare/ nursery facility on the ground floor, with community-led affordable homes on the first floor. Police presence will also be retained in the building through hot-desking.
The Historic Environment Scotland-supported AHF grant will contribute towards a feasibility study, which will include a condition survey and business planning by South of Scotland Community Housing. It will also enable Old School Thornhill to explore options for a third party property management agency to manage tenant enquiries.