Dumfriesshire MP David Mundell is feeling positive following this week’s special Langholm summit that he convened, and which was attended by senior officials from Dumfries & Galloway Council Chief Executive Gavin Stevenson; Jeff Ace, chief executive of Dumfries and Galloway NHS and Alistair McKinnon from Scottish Enterprise.
“I called the meeting to ensure that our major public sector organisations were aware of the seriousness of the situation there, and were fully focussed on the issues now affecting Langholm.
“There has been the loss of over 80 jobs there, which is the equivalent of hundreds of job losses in an urban area, something which would have seen a government task force set up to assist. I want to see some equivalent amount of attention being paid to Langholm.
“And after Wednesday’s meeting I am satisfied that the various local bodies do understand the seriousness of the situation.
“It was agreed there has to be a clear vision for the future of Langholm and that employment has to be sustained. That means all stakeholders and the community working together to agree what that is. Then the process can begin, which will include attracting both public sector and private investment in the community.
Everyone is clear health and care will play an important part in this vision and I’m pressing that everything possible is done to ensure that a new care home for the community can go ahead. This will not only provide vital care for local residents but also much needed jobs.
I am committed to working with everyone, with all interested parties, to make sure that things progress and that there is action to back up this vision for Langholm.”