SURF is delighted to announce that Peter Renwick will be supporting the development of its Langholm Alliance for Action initiative.
The part-time Langholm Facilitator post, which is initially funded for two years, will help support relevant local partners in the development of a range of practical regeneration activity. Following widespread agreement on an earlier feasibility plan, the focus of SURF’s efforts will be on enhancing collaboration on locally identified priorities, and linking Langholm’s challenges and assets to wider regeneration policy and resources.
Peter Renwick will take up the position on 1 October
Peter, who will take up post on Monday 1 October, was Programme Director of Dumfries and Galloway Arts Festival from 2009-18. He helped build the Arts Festival from a volunteer-run event into a professional organisation with a popular Arts Live touring scheme, which regularly visits the Buccleuch Centre and more than 60 other venues across the region.
Peter also worked for three years as ‘Dumfries: Our Town’ Events Manager for Dumfries & Galloway Council. He has held production management roles for various festivals, town centre events and cultural initiatives in the south of Scotland, Edinburgh and Glasgow, and holds a University of Edinburgh degree in forest ecology.
SURF Policy Manager, Derek Rankine, said: “We were pleased with the high quality of applications we received for the Langholm Facilitator position. After careful consideration by the interview panel, Peter came out top in a strong field. We were impressed with the depth of his track record in project management, fundraising, community engagement, strategic partnership working, town centre development, and tourism marketing. He will bring his strong knowledge of regional dynamics and a high level of enthusiasm to the role, and my colleagues and I look forward to working with him.”
Derek added: “There are, of course, limitations on the impacts a part-time position can deliver, but we are confident that our new Langholm Facilitator will provide a range of information, guidance, support, knowledge and new connections that will be practically useful to those already delivering and working towards further improvements in the town. Langholm is the fifth place of cross-sector collaboration that SURF is supporting through our Alliance for Action programme. Over the longer term, our Facilitators and Development Managers will be working together on various cross-site projects intended to provide additional value.”
In the coming weeks, Peter will be engaging with Langholm stakeholders to learn more about regeneration-related activities, plans and aspirations, and to discuss the sort of support that SURF can most usefully offer to local groups. That support will be informed by the outcomes of SURF’s 2017-18 Langholm Alliance for Action Feasibility Study, which identified tourism, economic diversification, and enhanced collaborations between community led activity as priority development areas.
With support from the David Stevenson Trust, Peter will be based in Langholm town centre. SURF is grateful to the Scottish Government and the Big Lottery Fund in Scotland as the ‘Alliance for Action’ programme funders, and also to Dumfries & Galloway Council for their additional support.
SURF operates a Langholm stakeholders mailing list, providing regular activity updates on local Alliance for Action programme developments. If you would like to be added to this mailing list, please contact Christopher Murray at SURF on christopher@surf-old.local or 0141 440 6391.
