KIRKCUDBRIGHT Parish Church is in line for a £500,000 makeover. Details of the proposed changes were unveiled at a special meeting last week. They include changing the seating layout and offering auditorium and multi-use facilities for the whole community. If given the go ahead, the work would be done in three phases and cost a total of £557,000 – which includes £140,000 of repair work. Parish church minister, Rev Douglas Irving, said: “I think it is achievable – it is not as much as we thought and there would be no structural alterations. “It’s really about safeguarding the future of the building for the use of the community and the church. It’s such an important building. “It would be a good, available space – the acoustics are very good and we have two big concerts coming up this year. It is flexible space and there can be different events going at the same time and there would be separate heating.” Last week’s meeting was attended by members of the congregation, local councillors and Kirkcudbright Community Council, Chamber of Trade, Forum and Incorporated Trades. Church architect Rebecca Cadie of ARPL Architects in Ayr gave a presentation about the proposals and said the current layout contained “cluttered areas, barriers and hazards, redundant space, tight entrance and draughts, poor sightlines and minimal ancillary spaces.” If given community and public funding and backing, the first phase of work would see all pews and dais removed, with individual seating installed and a raising dais put in to provide a variable height stage. There would also be a bigger vestry, providing a meeting room, with a further room at the back of the town end gallery. Phase two would involve a kitchen, café and disabled toilet at the country end, with new toilet facilities at the trades end. The third and final phase would involve raked gallery seating at the front of the three galleries, improving the sightlines. There would be a meeting room at the back of the trades end. Rev Irving added: “Further consultation with both congregation and community will now take place to firm up on phasing and priorities, develop technical details of proposals and engage in consultation with the Church of Scotland, Historic Scotland and Dumfries and Galloway Council, the latter concerning the formal consents process. “A renewed and revitalised building in the centre of Kirkcudbright is an exciting prospect.” | 
