Charities, community groups and businesses have been given six months to vacate a council-owned building described as the "heart" of a Dumfries neighbourhood.

Dumfries Women's Aid is among groups which have been given notice to leave the North West Resource Centre in Lincluden.

Local people told BBC Scotland News the facility, which includes a popular cafe, was a vital and popular community hub.

Children's charity Aberlour, which took on the building after Dumfries and Galloway Council declared it surplus to requirements several years ago, said it was relocating to premises more suitable for supporting children and families.

It sub-lets rooms to various groups and businesses, including Ami-Zone cafe and housing charity Riverside Scotland.

They said they received an email on Monday giving them notice that their lease would be ending.

Staff at a nearby care home, Abbey Gardens, regularly take residents to the hub and said its closure would be a "massive loss to the community".

Support worker Karen Hall said it gave their clients a "sense of purpose" to visit the café on a daily basis and socialise with others.

Chloe Oulton, a senior support worker, said: "It's a lifeline for everybody nearby. It's somewhere you can come and feel safe and accepted."

The nearest alternative café is a 20 minute walk away and would require staff to push residents' wheelchairs up a steep hill to Tesco.

One regular customer at Ami-Zone, Mike, said he started going to the cafe - run by Kelly Jamieson - after his wife died.

He was recovering from oesophageal cancer and was "really down".

"It saved my life," he said.

"Somebody told me to come here and make friends because I was on my own and making myself worse, because men don't speak, they don't open up."

The 77-year-old former tradesman said he got to know more people and added: "I was eight stone six, there was nothing on me. Kelly looked after me.

"She's been wonderful to me, absolutely wonderful to me. At weekends, when she's not working, she makes me up my meals for the weekend, so I'm eating. It's been wonderful."

Last year he was even invited to spend Christmas with Kelly and her family.

The facility also hosts visits from pupils at a nearby school for children with severe and complex additional needs, to help them with their social skills.

Kelly said she hoped to be able arrange to let the premises directly from the council, following Aberlour's departure.

If that could not happen, she said the cost to relocate would be too high and she would have to close the café.

The centre also hosts about 13 groups organised by Dumfries U3A, covering interests from genealogy to poetry.

Carol Moyes said the orgainsation, which helps retired and semi-retired people stay active in mind and body, has about 300 members in the region.

She said any closure of the building "could be quite problematic" as it would difficult to provide alternative accessible venues with good transport links.

Meanwhile Dumfries Women's Aid confirmed that it would have an impact on their service.

"We have been based there for several years giving victims of domestic abuse a place of safety and confidentiality to approach our service for support."

A spokesperson for Aberlour said its service at the North West Resource Centre would move to Moat Brae, George Street, on 31 March.

It expects its Stranraer service to move to "alternative suitable accommodation" in February 2027.

"The wellbeing of the children and families we support remains our priority," they added.

"We are planning smooth and well-managed transitions to enable us to continue to deliver services for the benefit of the local community."

Dumfries and Galloway Council have been approached for comment.