The small town hoping to stop its young people leaving

On a sunny day, Gatehouse of Fleet looks a pretty idyllic place to live. There is a bustle about the main street and sitting with a coffee by the banks of the River Fleet feels like a good place to leave your worries behind you. However, it is not a straightforward place for young people looking to set up a home of their own. Hopes are high that an old garage site at one end of the town could have a part to play in solving that problem in this picturesque part of Galloway. Julia Weston is a member of the Gatehouse Development Initiative (GDI) which has recently taken community ownership of the Woodside land and secured planning permission for its £3.4m vision. It would create seven two-bedroom homes for rent on land which has been empty for some time. "It's been vacant and derelict for over 20 years," she said. "I've been looking at it for ages, thinking, why does nobody do anything with this site? "It's in the middle of the conservation area, it's opposite the War Memorial, opposite the Mill Pond, quite a key location - it's the first thing you see when you come into the town." Previous plans had involved building flats or luxury homes but GDI - working with South of Scotland Comm