Ron Smith

Ron has been pursuing a scheme with Council officers recently to improve walking access in the Liddesdale area. At present the Waverley Walk comes into town at Bucklands in the north east, and follows the old railway line to the Teviotdale Leisure Centre. End of story! However if we cross the Waverley Bridge then walk along Mart Street and up Linden Crescent to the bend, the railway walkway continues (in front of Waverley Terrace) behind the Melgund Bar, across Lochpark and then further along the railway past Wellogate cemetery and Stonefield and towards Liddesdale Road. This is where the problem comes in. At the eastern end of the old Six Arch Bridge, the walk ends with a scramble down a steep shaley banking which is unsafe for most users to negotiate.

Teviot & Liddesdale Area Committee has now approved spending £1900 for the Community Justice squad (using Community Service Orders from court) to construct a flight of wooden steps from Liddesdale Road up to the railway walk. This should provide safer access and will encourage the use of the old railway line for walks through the whole length of the town. Ron is referring to this as ‘Waverley Walk Phase 2′.

At present a search is being done at Council for ownership of this little section of banking. Railway property passed to Hawick Town Council after the demise of the line, and then to Roxburgh District Council and to SBC, so the track itself is owned by SBC. The question remaining is whether the area around the base of the pillars supporting the Six Arch Bridge came into the same ownership. When this query is resolved, the wooden steps will be installed.

I was honoured this week to be one of three local Councillors to welcome the former president of Zambia, Dr Kenneth Kaunda, to Hawick for a brief visit. Arranged by local resident Norman Chipakupaku, the visit was part of a tour being undertaken by Dr Kaunda to publicise the AIDS problem in Africa and to seek financial and other support. Dr Kaunda visited Hawick Town Hall and met with Honorary Provost, Councillor Zandra Elliott, and with Councillor George Turnbull and myself. After he had been told a little of the history of Hawick and of the Common Riding celebrations of the previous week, Dr Kaunda spoke of his beliefs and of the path which had taken him to leadership of his country.

I was very much impressed by him. As he related his meetings with the leaders of South Africa during the time of apartheid, it was very easy to feel that we were meeting with a person who had had influence on history, e.g. on the release of Nelson Mandela.

Let’s tackle this head on. I am totally opposed to the way some political representatives in London have been making money out of the system. It appears to me that some have been seeing their expense allowance as an entitlement, not just covering necessary outgoings but allowing them to live in a particularly lavish style at taxpayers’ expense.

Scottish Borders Council has now issued details of Councillors’ allowances and expenses for 2008-09. My own details are as follows:

Salary: £15821 as Councillor plus £1979 additional for the Vice Convener position = £17800. When my wife is asked if being a Councillor takes up much of my time, her answer is usually: ‘It takes up most of his time”.

Travel expenses: £1922, representing 4188 miles travelled on Council business (remembering that we cannot claim expenses for normal travel to visit people around our ward). The level of expenses is now 40 pence per mile. This amount covers maintenance as well as fuel charges.

Communications expenses: £987, which covers telephone charges and broadband provision for Council business. These charges are settled centrally and so no payment is actually made to Councillors.

It’s been very busy recently. That can be unsatisfying as there can be too many balls in the air and no sense that a task has been completed. The main problem is that journeying back and forward from Hawick to Newtown St Boswells can give the impression that less is being achieved in Hawick. That’s not necessarily the case as attendance at meetings can bring more knowledge of what can be achieved for Hawick!

Tourism seems to have been at the centre of my recent activities. I’ve been involved with three bodies in that sector – the Tourism Coordination Group which is the link between Scottish Borders Council and Visit Scotland, the Scottish Borders Tourism Partnership which brings together representatives of the different sectors such as B & B, Hotels, Activities, Attractions, Visit Scotland, Council and Scottish Enterprise, and the Scottish Borders Ancestral Tourism Forum. I was chair of the last one already but have moved up from being vice chairman of the Partnership to the chairing role. I do feel that the tourist industry will have an increasing part to play in the Borders economy over the coming years. This will be a positive move. Provision for tourists encourages facilities which locals can benefit from, such as restaurants, while tourist numbers can also support or underwrite local services such as transport. I do feel in a privileged position regarding the tourist industry as information picked up at these meetings can be used to cross-fertilise ideas.

In the same context, in my Council vice convener role, I was asked to welcome delegates to the National [UK] Federation of Sub Postmasters Conference at Peebles Hydro on May 11th, and to attend a function there on the 12th. Their president for 2008-09 was Mervyn Jones, sub postmaster at Hawick’s Sandbed branch. I was delighted to be able to participate as Mervyn is an excellent example of the local businessman who makes a difference to the community and should be encouraged. Over 300 delegates, some with partners, attended from Sunday until Thursday, not only helping the Borders economy at that time, but being so impressed by the weather (Beautiful!), the scenery, and the facilities that they were promising to return.

Let’s add proposals for a caravan and camping site in Hawick, a development scheme and lottery bid for Wilton Lodge Park, and another bid to the Scottish Government for regeneration money for Streetscape 2 (west end of High Street, Silver Street, Backdamgate, Howegate and Drumlanrig Square) and we can see that there are projects around to improve the attractiveness of our town for tourists, with benefits for the locals as well!

Quite a big issue cropped up at Council meeting on Thursday 23^rd April. What was being discussed was the Implementation of the Planning Etc. (Scotland) Act 2006 and how the Council would need to change its practice to deliver this. One recommendation was that the Council ‘agrees that with effect from 3^rd August 2009 planning and related applications that require to be determined by Committee will be presented to the Planning and Building Standards Committee and that with effect from that date applications will cease to be presented to Area Committees.’ This is an issue because at present Area Committees examine applications which have attracted between three and nine objections (inclusive). The discussion of these gives applicants, objectors and interested members of the public the chance to hear the presentation of the Planning Officer’s case for approval or rejection and the ensuing discussion. This happens at local level during the monthly - evening - meetings of each of the five Area Committees.

The recommendation could lead to such applications being dealt with at the P&BS meetings which are at present held at Council Headquarters at Newtown St Boswells on a Monday morning. This might make it difficult for the three groups listed above to attend. The applicant might well be able to do so, but it could be difficult for objectors and those simply interested to take time off work.

After lengthy discussion at the Council meeting, the Lib Dem group moved that this recommendation be rejected. Of the six Hawick Councillors, Ron, his Lib Dem colleague Jock Houston, and Independents Stuart Marshall and Davie Paterson voted for rejection, Zandra Elliot abstained, and George Turnbull was absent from the meeting on other Council business, but indicated that he would also have voted for rejection. However the 12 votes mustered for rejection were outnumbered by the SNP group, almost all of the Conservative group, the Borders Party and two other Independents. A defeat, but the Hawick councillors showed a united front, and they, the other Lib Dem Councillors, and Tory Fiona Lackenby who also abstained, can hold their heads high in trying to preserve local democracy.

Just back from holiday. Don’t say: ‘Not again!’. Our main family holiday has always been at this time of year, matching with the school Easter holidays and before the beginning of the Bed & Breakfast activity in which we were involved for eighteen years (until retirement in October 2007). Anyway, we were in Tenerife, hoping for reliable sun and warmth. That’s how it worked out, and there was no excuse not to do our usual hiking, using the public bus service to take us one way and to walk the other – across desert and wasteland, over hill and mountain, and around the coast. I’m fitter than I’ve been for months.

So what’s that got to do with the content of this blog? There’s nothing like being in another area to focus attention on the differences from your own. In this case, there were two things I really noticed – one positive, one negative.

The positive was the importance of the bus service. It was cheap, it was well used, and it was reasonably dependable. If you were armed with the timetable – and they were located at each bus stop, including a few with the electronic indicator of when the next bus is due – it was possible not to have to wait more than half an hour! It was of course noticeable that the tourists were subsidising these buses. I am a believer in public transport. Lessons learnt therefore – keep the prices down so that they provide an attractive alternative to the car, and give maximum information on when next bus is due. Who would wait when they don’t know if they’ve just missed the one bus of the day, or at least how long they have to wait for the next one. How can we increase the use of buses by tourists in our own area?

The negative aspect I focused on – and by that I mean that Tenerife came out of it badly – was the amount of litter! As urban areas, Playa de las Americas and Los Cristianos are maturing. Soft landscaping of trees and plants are spreading. However little attention seems to be paid to loose litter, debris and mess. There would be major outcry in our local papers if we allowed this in the Borders. SBC would be vilified for neglecting its duties. We’re lucky therefore in the quality of the Environmental Services, or Cleansing, activity in our area. That’s why exceptions to this rule stand out. That’s why fly tipping, dog fouling, overspilling of litter bins attract our eye, and our condemnation, and that’s why all of us have a role to play in recycling and in appropriate disposal of our rubbish!

Seems a heavy note to end on, so enjoy this photo taken on holiday (at Masca, for those of you who know the island). Life’s tough, isn’t it?

Time to look back over some recent issues with which Ron has been involved and to check on progress.

The Bottle Bank at Weensland has been installed and is being used. It’s not as close to Weensland Road as Ron would have liked, as there were land ownership issues, but hopefully it will make recycling of glass a little bit easier for nearby residents.

Weensland Road has been the focus of several improvements. A year ago, Ron organised for a parking lane to be marked off near a row of houses at the edge of town, and the centre line of the road to be moved over. Damage to parked cars has greatly decreased. More recently, after pressure by the ward councillors, a length of Weensland Road was reinstated to the Roads programme, then resurfaced during late February and March 2009. However not only has this section a shiny new surface but so also has a short section nearer town and a long-term problem area just short of the Mart Street roundabout, after representations by Ron.

The Drumlanrig Square project has moved more slowly than expected. However funding has now been identified and traffic regulation orders will soon be consulted on. Hopefully the remodelled Square will be in operation during financial year 2009-10.

The management plan for the Millers’ Knowes has moved forward. The children’s playground has been cleaned up and made more secure. Paths and steps have been improved. Additional benches and picnic tables have been installed. The broom which had spread all over the former BMX track has been cut away, and the gorse on the hillside has been trimmed to provide a path through it, and open zones around benches. The open BMX track is now a blank canvas – open to suggestions!

In the Terraces area of Hawick, Ron has been much involved with an area of ground between Park Street and the old railway line, now a walkway behind Melgund Place. This was a fairly rough area with access hidden behind a wall of vegetation. After discussions with neighbours, Ron has encouraged the removal of this vegetation, the collection of litter and the use of the area for garden and allotment ground. An environmental improvement!

None of these developments could have progressed without the help and cooperation of Council officers. Ron is extremely grateful to a selection of these officials. To name them risks leaving someone out, so, simply: ‘Thank you’.

On Tuesday 3^rd March, Ron, as chairman of the Scottish Borders Ancestral Tourism Forum launched the Back to the Borders website. The Forum is a collaboration of private businesses throughout the Borders who have joined together, and with agencies such as Scottish Borders Council, Scottish Enterprise and Visit Scotland to attract the ancestral tourist and in so doing bring economic benefit to the area.

The Forum grew out of a workshop on ancestral tourism held in Hawick in March 2008 and has been helped by three very distinct factors:

funding by the three agencies named above

the splendid facility of the Heritage Hub, Scottish Borders Council’s Archive Centre, and

the coincidental timing of 2009 as Scotland’s Year of Homecoming.

www.backtotheborders.com gives information on accommodation, attractions and events in the area, as well as directing website users to an ancestral toolkit which will help them prepare for their research into their ancestors, as well as making the most of their visit when they get here.

The economic downturn may well help the two year project as British visitors may well want to holiday at home, while attractive currency exchange rates may encourage those from further afield.

At the launch, Ron spoke of the vast market which might be targeted, likening it to the layers of an onion: from those who had themselves been born and educated in the Borders but left in pursuit of employment, through second, third or more generations with Scots ancestry, possibly with famous Borders family names, and those who had a fondness for things Scottish and wanted to investigate a possible link.

The project will assist them in their quest, aiming to bring satisfaction in growing the family tree, as well as having a full and enjoyable stay, which would encourage them to return.

Members of the Forum pay a small fee, which will bring the benefits of a course in ancestral tourism. While the funded project is for two years, the intention is that the Forum will continue into the future. Businesses or organisations which would like to work with the Forum are invited to contact Ron at rsmith@scotborders.gov.uk

Time is running out for applications to be made for Community Grants! See the ”Moneybags” post below for much fuller details, then don’t delay - contact Ron, Alan Niven (01450 375991) at Hawick Town Hall, or Jean Robertson or Linda Cornwell ( 01835 826543 or 826659) at Scottish Borders Council headquarters for full details.

At a meeting of Newcastleton School Partnership held on Wednesday 4th February, it was evident that uncertainty existed over the position of the two councillors for Hawick & Hermitage who are part of the Administration Group – Ron, and George Turnbull (Cons.). Hopefully they clarified their stance to those present at that meeting, but want to ensure that this is shared with the wider community.

The meeting of Scottish Borders Council on 18th December considered 138 recommendations coming from the Transforming Children’s Services proposals. Recommendation 39 states ‘The number of Primary Headteachers in the Authority is reduced to 42 and they are all non class committed.’ The accompanying comment stated: ‘Full details of the proposed Headships are attached as Appendix 3. These will now be discussed with Parent Councils and Elected Members where appropriate will be invited to attend discussion on schools in their Wards.’ As you will see therefore, it was the principle of ‘shared headships’ which was voted on, and the nuts and bolts now need sorted out. Ron sees some advantages in the principle, as headteachers can have more time to supervise their school(s), they will have no class which will be interrupted for other business, yet they will still be encouraged to work in class with their staff more flexibly when opportunities arise.

The problem is however that, in the draft document which circulated between June and November, Newcastleton was to have a stand-alone school, without a shared headship. The School Partnership response was built on that, emphasising that this was what the parents and staff wanted. The situation changed only a few days before the 18th December meeting, when the papers for that meeting revealed that it was proposed that Newcastleton share a head with Stirches in Hawick. There was then frantic activity behind the scenes with Ron lobbying staff in the Education Department to change this proposal. Appendix 3 however remained the same, with Newcastleton and Stirches together.

George and Ron do not think this is viable. The distance between the two schools and the time taken to travel that distance, in all weathers, offer poor opportunities for joint working between them. The School Partnership did not have the chance to respond to the changed circumstances before the December meeting, and will want to fight their case. Glenn Rodger, Director of Education & Lifelong Learning, has written to NSP Chair, Julie Armstrong, acknowledging faults in the consultation, and offering to meet with the School Partnership to discuss the matter. A meeting has now been arranged. George Turnbull stated: ‘We welcome this approach to meet with the parents. The parents and the councillors must have the opportunity to present their case for Newcastleton having a stand-alone school. This is one of the most remote schools in the Borders, and should be looked on as a special case. The first draft of the TCS plan seemed to recognise this. The case was good enough then! Ron and I are committed to giving the parents and staff our full support in their campaign.’