Update about The Bank – proposal to become a multi-functional, community owned, arts and hospitality venue.

The plans for the ex-Bank of Scotland building on the High Street in Dunblane will be outlined in 2 public meetings. In the next week, we will be going 'live' to the public and inviting them to become free members, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on social media.

Background For the past 9 months, a team of volunteers have been working to put together a plan for the building to be kept within the community and turn it into a destination that will be a positive addition to the town, taking in account feedback from community engagement. While some aspects of the proposal are similar to existing businesses, such as a café, it is our intention to minimise competition and instead to offer something new and exciting, to drive increased footfall and to contribute to the existing community efforts to revitalise the town centre. We will welcome collaboration with local businesses.

The Bank was bought in May 2023 by a local charity in order to save it for the community and funding is currently being sought through the UK government’s Community Ownership Fund to transfer ownership to Dunblane Square, a not-for-profit community company which will be owned by its members. Membership is free and open to anyone living in FK15. The company will be run by a board of volunteer directors, with all profits generated being re-invested back into the community. The project has already gained letters of support from Dunblane Community Council, Dunblane Development Trust and the Dunblane Centre.

Next Steps
The next step is to launch the vision to the public, enrol members (it's free) which will help us to secure funding to make the vision a reality. Critical to this development is ensuring that we communicate and engage with the local community and convert their support into membership as without large number of members, the initial funding for this transfer will not occur, putting the entire project in jeopardy.

If we are successful in the transfer and then successful in gaining further funding for the renovation, we hope to start works on site in early 2024 and open fully in late Summer 2024, pending planning permission.

The Vision
The vision is to redevelop the building into a multi-functional, community owned, arts and hospitality venue, named The Bank. It will be made up of two core areas:
1. A music/cinema/lecture room
2. A café/restaurant area

Additionally, a staff area, toilets and a professional kitchen will be included. The building design and overall running ethos will be focused on zero waste - through sustainable building and energy practice and then applying this to the café/restaurant management.

Area 1 (the old Bank Hall) - Cinema and Music Area 1 will be for a community cinema, music performance and lectures. It will be open plan with a high ceiling and external access. The room will be sound proofed though acoustic barriers and will contain a large retractable screen, PA system and a removable stage. We envision initially running three films per week - one weekend evening film, one weekday afternoon film and a family-friendly film on a Sunday. This would be a matinee movie every Sunday, running at the same time as a lunch offering, to provide an opportunity for parents to enjoy a meal out while their kids are watching a film in the cinema. We hope to start with at least one music event per week, and plan to host a variety of music genres. Talk and lectures will cover a whole variety of topics including, but not limited to, local history, sustainability, and ecological revival. We welcome all suggestions. The space will also be open for rental by the community.

Area 2 (ground floor of the Bank House) - Cafe & Restaurant Area 2 will be used for food and drinks. Additionally, a large glass extension on the west side of the building will provide a further seating area and some welcome sunlight. The Bank will use this space to host a ‘Supper Club’ style restaurant with guest chefs, initially one evening every weekend. The ‘Supper Club’ evenings will be done collaboratively with the guest chefs, including marketing, giving opportunity to showcase The Bank, and therefore Dunblane, to a wider market. The Sunday lunch offering will also run from this space. During the day, a café and small delicatessen will run for 6 days/week, serving exciting café food from 10am-4pm and with the deli having a weekly rotating selection of limited supply produce from a local small enterprise (e.g. a specific cheesemonger). There are plenty of opportunities here for collaborations with existing vendors through promotions and advertising, and these will be actively sought. The space will be dog and family friendly, and Area 1 provides a space for parents to come with their children during the day which is large enough for them to play safely. Additionally, this room will function as a bar and extra seating area during events. The kitchen will also be designed such that it can be used for training, cooking classes or a start-up food business (e.g. small bakery).

Helping Dunblane Thrive
Through this varied and new offering, it is expected that The Bank will attract increased numbers of visitors and more of the local community to the town centre regularly. By drawing more people to Dunblane town centre all businesses will thrive and prosper. As stated, we want to support local businesses and help put Dunblane on the map as a destination.

Located at the gateway to the historic centre of Dunblane, The Bank is ideally situated to be the new central focus point in Dunblane, attracting both tourists and the increased numbers and demographics from the local community down to the town centre. Due to its size and location, The Bank could be used as a new information point for Dunblane and be the starting point for historic tours, day-walks and cycles, thus attracting increased numbers down to the town centre. We have started engaging with Visit Scotland to make sure we are aligned with any local and regional tourism plans.

Next public events
We plan to hold two informal public Town Hall events in The Bank on Monday 2nd October from 2-3pm and 7-8pm to invite residents of Dunblane into the premises and for the existing committee to give a 20-min presentation on the plans and offer the opportunity for questions and input.

Following this, the bank building will be open for the Christmas Extravaganza event on 30th November 2023, where we will showcase the vision and invite further community engagement on the project.

How you can help
You can help support the project by joining as a free member and helping us spread the word in the community. One way of doing this is supporting us through social media and sharing posts.

Contact us
We would actively encourage you to reach out to us with any comments or suggestions.
Our main email contact is: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Our key people can be seen on the Who We Are page on our website.

You can read more on our website: https://thebankdunblane.org/
Our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/TheBankDunblane
Our Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/thebankdunblane/
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.