The displays of house designs and estate layouts received positive comments, particularly on the colour schemes and the style of the houses.
One resident said: "The plans now seem to make the whole thing real, we thought at first it would never happen. New houses will transform the area, its quite exciting really".
Chair of Planning, Housing and Environment Services Committee Roger Gant said: "The event was originally planned to show the community the Dicks Hill plans, and receive their feed back . As the day progressed it developed into a family event with circus skills and other activities that brought the community together and resulted in a positive buzz."
On show was the winning design in the Dicks Hill design a postcard competition. People could also watch a film produced by Urban Croft - 'the Folk who Live on the Hill' which gave people the chance to reminisce about the past.
The day before the presentation, Galloway Gazette reporter Louise Kerr had the chance to look over the houses being built on the Ailsa Gait site to home the Dicks Hill residents during the demoltion and rebuilding of the area. The Gazette last visited the building work in November when work on the £63 million neighbourhood renewal scheme was just beginning.
The work has progressed from that time, when the first timber kits and roof trusses were being put in place to last week, when the builders were at the stage of putting in the finishing touches. The houses were filled inside with hard at work painters, decorators and kitchen and bathroom fitters.
The finishes have been specially chosen by the DGHP residents who will be moving out of their present sub-standard accommodation at Dick's Hill into the brand new two, three and four-bedroomed homes.
DGHP's Head of Investment Bob Chalmers said he was delighted to see the progress being made on site and stressed the quality of the workmanship in the new houses, where individual taste has been accommodated with different styles and colours of kitchen units being installed. He explained that over 50 construction workers are involved in the work, coming daily from as far away as Dumfries and Annan.
The last four-bedroomed house was having its foundations finished that day, ready for the kit to go up. When all the 56 new houses are ready, they will open their doors to become homes to local families.
But the work won't stop there as the next phase further up the hill is already being prepared for the next phase of 29 new neighbourhood renewal houses.
As that site is much steeper, preparation has to be meticulous. To secure the base of the tiers of land that will be used to build on, the construction company, Robison and Davidson, are using an fascinating interlocking wooden gabion-style structure filled in with stones, guaranteed for over 70 years. The site also boasts magnificent views over the town and the surrounding countryside. The new site will again have a range of styles of homes from two storey to bungalow style.