- 01848 331435
- info@kptdevelopmenttrust.org
- Trust Office, Main St, Penpont
- 07548876433.
Our purpose is to create sustainable community projects for the villages of Keir, Penpont and Tynron that focus on the economic, rural and environmental regeneration of the area.
To further our aims, the Trust has set up two trading companies – KPT Community Trading Ltd (the Three villages Community Café) and KPT CEEL – Community Energy and Efficiency Ltd (the community hydro).
Please read more on our current projects below.
The Tracks and Trails Group of the KPTDT continue to monitor the Core paths within the three parishes and liaise with D&G Council’s Countryside Development Officer, and the Community Councils re path repairs and maintenance.
Funding was obtained from Penpont Community Council, Keir Community Council, D&G Environment Team, the KPTDT Benefit Fund and Scottish Landfill Communities Fund to repair the Penpont to Keir Riverside Path-Core Path 104. Work was undertaken by Keir -based contractors, Marchbanks.
Please use this link to access a downloadable copy of our Be Active! brochure which highlights walking and cycling opportunities within the KPT area as well as points of interest and a very useful map.
Phase 1A, the first in a multi-stage project undertaken by the KPTDT, has created a traffic-free path which stretches from Penpont to the Drumlanrig access road, and finished construction on the 22nd of December 2023. An official opening ceremony was held for the KPTDT Community, funders, councillors, the Deputy Lord Lieutenant and construction project managers on the 23rdMarch 2024. The ribbon was cut by MSP Oliver Mundell.
Phase 1B1 from the Drumlanrig access road to the east side of the Nith bridge and 1C from there to the outskirts of Thornhill aim to provide a 4km path which will connect Penpont and Thornhill, enabling residents to safely walk, wheel and cycle between the two villages. Construction of Phase 1B1 by Cairn Construction Ltd, commenced on 27th January 2025 and will be completed by 28th March 2025. Phase 1B2, the traffic signals on Nith Bridge, is scheduled within this financial year.
Thornhill Active Travel group hope to obtain further funding to extend an active travel friendly route from the outskirts of Thornhill to the town centre.
The major funder for Phase 1A was Sustrans’ Places for Everyone programme backed by Transport Scotland, with match funding from SWestrans, South of Scotland Enterprise, Dumfries and Galloway Council Communities Committee, Scottish and Southern Electricity Renewables, Scottish Land Trust, Annandale and Nithsdale Community Benefit Company (ANCBC) and Sustrans ArtsRoots Fund.
SWestrans are funding Phase 1B1 though grant funding from Transport Scotland’s Active Travel Infrastructure Fund
Funding previously secured from the Scottish Land Fund and Sustrans enabled the Trust to purchase the appropriate land for the path and Buccleuch Estates, Church of Scotland and David Kirkpatrick have provided support by leasing parts of the route.
The Arts Roots fund, generously supplemented by Thornhill Rotary and Penpont -based Business Micros enabled benches and bike stands to be installed at three placemaking areas along the path, enabling people to rest while enjoying views of the surrounding landscape. The areas were a collaboration among community artists, makers, and poets-see Placemaking Interpretation for details.
The path will provide more equal access for residents to reach Wallace Hall Academy and local colleges plus an active travel alternative to retail and leisure facilities, medical appointments, and onward travel throughout the region.
Leisure walking has also benefited from having an inviting mud free surface for outdoor exercise with all its health and mood enhancing benefits.
There will also be environmental benefits, with hedge planting and under-sowing of wildflowers along the new path enhancing local biodiversity and greenspace.
One of the first projects the Trust embarked on was the building of a micro community hydro in Penpont. Penpont Community Council had done a feasibility study on the installation of a hydro on the Penpont Burn and then asked the Trust to take it over. The Trust was successful in getting funding through the Green Energy fund from Scottish Power Energy Networks and the hydro started producing electricity in October 2020.
In June 2022 a separate company – KPT CEEL (Community Energy and Efficiency Ltd) was set up to run the community hydro and any other renewable energy projects that the Trust may want.
Since its inception to date (28th March 2025) the community hydro has produced 565 MWh saving 150 Tons CO2e.
Note: 1 Ton CO2e means the equivalent of saving in emissions of 1 Ton of carbon dioxide resulting from the scheme exporting all its energy to the local grid.
1 MWh (Megawatt hour) is 1000 electricity units (enough to power 9 kettles for 6 minutes a day every day of the year).
The net income (or profit) from the community hydro is paid to the Development Trust on an annual basis to be used for the Trust’s charitable, community development objectives. In practice, Directors have transferred these funds into a Community Benefit Fund which contributes to community projects throughout the KPT area. More information on the criteria for the fund and how it is being spent can be found at the relevant links below.
This project was established to address the issue of poor internet service and reception within the area. The original action plan proposed the construction of a broadband network but it soon became clear that such a complicated and expensive infrastructure project was not feasible. However, over the past five years most of the properties in the area have been connected to a reliable internet service through the Scottish Government’s R100 programme leaving only a small number of residents having to rely on other methods of receiving internet. For those yet to receive full fibre a leaflet was produced that provided tips and advice that people at home could easily try themselves to improve their broadband connection. These are available in the Trust office and can be requested via e-mail or downloaded here.
The Trust arranged for the village halls in Keir and Penpont to have internet connections in order to enhance their use by the community and to provide a link that can be used by presenters requiring internet access. It also widens the opportunities for activities that require access to education websites, making internet payments or film and music sessions. The contract payments for the village halls is paid for through the Trust’s Community Benefit Fund.
Initially funded by the Scottish Government’s Adapt & Thrive programme in 2021, the café is now run as a social not-for-profit enterprise by KPT Community Trading Ltd (a trading arm of KPT Development Trust).
Staffed by a mixture of paid staff and volunteers, community is very much at the heart of what we do – sourcing our ingredients locally (including produce from KPT DT’s community garden) and providing work experience for locals.
Please find an up to date menu here
Volunteers are always appreciated and welcome.
The KPT Community Growing Group was formed in 2020 with the aim of looking for unused land that would be suitable for growing fresh, pesticide free and seasonal fruit and vegetables for the community, community café and surrounding area. In September 2021 we were pleased to be able to sign a lease with a local landowner for a site on the Keir road which is now Bridgend Community Garden.
Armed with the community’s ideas for how the garden space should be used – both as a growing and a social space – and with the help of volunteers to tackle the overgrown weeds, thorns and rubbish on the site, we successfully applied for funding from Inspiring Scotland’s Rural Communities Ideas into Action Fund 2021/22 for the capital necessary to develop the site.
Galvanised by a visit from local celebrity residents, Joanna Lumley and her husband Stephen, our volunteers laid out the garden space with a polytunnel, raised beds, garden equipment, a watering system, solar panels and storage sheds and employed a part-time gardener to work alongside them. To develop the social space we erected an outdoor kitchen and kitchen garden along with spaces dedicated to children’s play and learning activities as well as benches on which to relax!
The garden has become a great focal point for the community, and we look forward to holding many more outdoor events and activities. We are always on the lookout for more suitable land in the area to use as a growing space as well as volunteers – experienced or not – enthusiasm is all that is required!
The area’s housing stock comprises a higher than average number of larger and older houses, with one in twenty being holiday or second homes, and only 59 socially rented houses or flats. Added to the relatively high cost of property (compounded by people searching for rural properties in the wake of Covid), this makes it difficult for younger people and new families to buy houses in the area while older people have less choice when it comes to downsizing and freeing up property for others.
These facts were determined by the 2017 Research Report which led to the establishment of the Trust. In drafting our initial Community Action Plan, it was agreed that providing a greater choice of suitable housing would help to encourage people to move to or stay in the KPT area and that this should be one of our priorities.
An affordable housing activity group was established as a consequence, backed by a needs survey of local residents, which established support to improve affordable housing provision. With funding from the Scottish Land Fund and the Scottish Rural Housing Fund, we have undertaken a feasibility study to identify a suitable site for housing, produced an outline design for the housing involved and consulted the community on this, and are now in the final stages of drafting a business plan to attract funding for the purchase of the site and construction of the appropriate housing.
We are always looking for ways to improve how we work with our community. KPT Development Trust welcome and value all feedback.
Thank you to all who attended the Glebe Field Housing project gazebo at the MUGA new-surface opening event on the 16th April and thank you all who attended the further housing event in the community cafe on the 17th of April, especially the teachers and pupils from the Penpont Primary School!
If you missed these events, please see the images of the Iron & Pine development concept by The Prospus Group Architects. Please tell us whether you agree or disagree with the concept as a whole and additionally please feel free to include your comments using the ’Survey Monkey’ link below, thank you!
If you are interested in getting involved with the housing project as a volunteer, we’d love to hear from you. Contact Michelle on 01848 331435, info.kptdt@gmail.com
With the KPT Development Trust area covering over 71 square miles of some of the most picturesque places in Scotland and the sparse population, it is no wonder that nearly every household has access to a motor vehicle.
However, community transport was identified as a key project in the community consultation published in 2017.
For some people this is about improving the bus service, others it is about electric cars. It may be about providing scooters for young people to get about on or about sharing cars and taking people to hospital appointments etc.
The Trust works in collaboration with the N76 Group of local authorities and community organisations – based in mid- and upper Nithsdale – to research, prioritise and act upon new community transport initiatives for people in the area.
To date, the Trust has worked on the construction of the Active Travel Path (described above) to create a sustainable link between Penpont and Thornhill, our nearest town, and also purchased a range of electric bikes (including a cargo bike) which it rents out to local residents and visitors to facilitate shorter local journeys.
While these initiatives are not an adequate substitute for the longer journeys that people need to make by bus and car, the evidence from initial surveys suggests that they have made a start in helping people to access facilities in Thornhill, including onward bus journeys, limited commuting and some school trips, while also offering safe and sustainable opportunities for leisure and exercise.
Do you have a few hours you can spare? Either regularly or just a one off/per project basis? Then we would love to have you join us. Please get in touch to find out more.