Ron Smith

Made it! Voters voted yesterday, counters counted today. The same three Councillors were returned for the Hawick & Hermitage ward: Cllr. Davie Paterson topped the poll, I came second, and Cllr. George Turnbull was third. Apart from being overall successful, I was pleased to have improved my placing from third to second.

My big worry had of course been that the national slump of Lib Dems would have harmed me, while the apparent surge in support for SNP over the past few years would have helped their candidate. I really do believe that ‘local’ government should be ‘local’, with decisions being made at the most ‘local’ level, and not influenced over much by national party politics. Our own Lib Dem group in the Borders has generally operated quite independently of national control, and indeed I myself just can not support several aspects of national Lib Dem policy. I was elected five years ago to represent a community, and have aimed to carry out that mission as my first priority.

The outcome of the Election of course means that I can settle into undertaking the second year of my two year term as Hon. Provost of Hawick. Wednesday was Cornet’s Election Night, or Picking Night, and saw Ross Nichol being appointed as Hawick Cornet for 2012. It seems no time has passed since last year’s events, but that is partly because the Festivals extend throughout the summer into August and September, giving only a short break. I gave the Toast to the Cornet and presented his Badge of Office, and reproduce my speech below:

Recently for fairly obvious reasons, related to tomorrow’s Election, I’ve been touring my Council ward a few times. I’ve visited further extremities such as Note O’ The Gate, Gorrenberry, and Blawearie and gazed out over absolutely lovely Borders landscapes. My Borderland, My Borderland, the sweetest spot I know’.

For reasons rather less well known, over the winter and spring months I’ve twice daily been visiting the Wellogate area, where my companion regularly chooses to stop and look over the grey old toon, quite clearly taking it all in: a panorama of St Mary’s Kirk, Drumlanrig’s Tower, the Town Hall and the remaining knitwear mills – all of them the emblems of the culture and tradition of our town.

In each of these scenarios we cannot fail to be conscious of history. – traditions handed down through the generations – dialect, verse, skills and challenges. Extremes ranging from the Scott family motto of ‘Let there be moonlight again’, and the evocative verse of Will Ogilvie’s ‘a troop of men rode up the glen and brought a horse for me’, to the present-day issues of afforestation and windfarms.

Our Cornets are symbols of the safeguarding of tradition, and draw the community together. Right and Left, Michael and Greg, performed those duties admirably, and this evening have again excelled by recommending Ross Nichol as our Cornet for 2012.

And so I turn to address Ross, and indeed to examine his credentials.

Ross comes of excellent pedigree, from an extended family steeped in the values of the Common Riding. Father Ian, Cornet in 1984, was blessed with myself as a mounted follower. Cousins and uncles have served in bands, on committees, on horseback and on foot. The Common Riding is in Ross’s DNA.

However there is always debate as to Nature versus Nurture. Nature must have begun the process of preparing Ross for his appointment as Cornet, but Nurture has also played a major part. Ross has the great good fortune to live up Leaburn Drive. Let’s look at the wonderful environment that provided. He has had to run a gauntlet past Ex Provost Tom Hogg, Ex Cornet Rory Culton, Ex Cornet Greg Easton, myself, and the spiritual adviser to the Common Riding Rev Lindsey Thomson. As a printer within Richardson’s, he has also been exposed to Ex Cornet Jamie Richardson and Ex Acting Father Murray Richardson.

My companion on the Wellogate hill, who very deliberately stands to take in the view across the town is a four year old filly called Belle. I have come therefore to see at first hand the stable environment – with Ross, with Ian, with a range of experienced Common Riding participants (your father, Ex Cornet John Hogg, Ex Acting Father Lawrence Marshall) and with younger riders developing their expertise with horses, and dreaming that in years to come they might one day stand in Ross’s place.

Let’s put all of the evidence together. Nature, nurture, upbringing, environment. Ross, you were born into the Common Riding environment, you were brought up in the Common Riding environment, and this is now your time.

It therefore gives me great pleasure now to ask you to stand to receive your Badge of Office. I hope to be able to share this journey with you, and I pledge to lead the town in support of you.

Gentlemen! The Cornet!

News of the intended closure of Martin’s Bridge at the junction of A7 and B711 has caused great alarm to the Borthwick Valley community. As the closure is scheduled to begin on August 7^th and last for 18 weeks, concern is being expressed that farmers will be given problems in sending stock out to market, that tourists who might pass through the area in the height of the season will be lost, that locals will face constraints on shopping, employment and school journeys, and that timber hauliers will be diverted on to other alternative routes where such wagons are not normally expected.

I have had very frequent and determined conversations with SBC’s Roads officers in trying to minimise disruption and am aware that a meeting has been set up with community representatives to look at the situation. I am also aware that a diversion route has been proposed, taking hauliers around by Tushielaw onto the Ettrick road. A problem for such proposals is that the Council must advertise diversions as using roads of a similar classification or status. Residents of course will know of more local alternatives and be able to use them. An example is the road from martin’s Bridge through Wilton Lodge Park. Here, new passing places are likely to be created, and a weight limit will be imposed and signed in advance so that heavy lorries will not be using this route.

D1/3 Road from Roberton to Craik

The closure is to allow work, paid for by the developer of the windfarm at Langhope Rig, to be done to strengthen the bridge to allow materials access, and the Council is taking the opportunity to make its own improvements to the bridge at the same time. I am however stressing to the Roads officers that everything must be done to minimise disruption, by facilitating other bypasses and by reducing the closure to the shortest possible time.

Last week there was a coincidental meeting of the Timber Transport Group, of which Cllr. George Turnbull and myself are members. We took the opportunity to push the problems being experienced on the B711 from Martin’s Bridge through Roberton, and the D1/3 westwards to Craik. Problems with the road surface, with verge damage and with convoying are being continually faced. Click on  Agreed Routes Map to check how Border roads are assessed for their ability to carry timber traffic. All A class roads are assumed to be able to deal with timber traffic and therefore are all ‘Agreed Routes’ (purple on map. Some roads are described as ‘Consultation Routes’ (yellow) and, for these, discussion should take place before they are used. The outcome of a smaller meeting which Cllr. Turnbull and myself had with Roads officers and the Timber Transport Officer for the South of Scotland immediately after the TTG meeting ended was that we would urge the reclassification of the D1/3 to Craik from Agreed to Consultation status, which would mean that Timber Traffic Management Plans could then be negotiated, and problems responded to, rather than there being carte blanche for hauliers to use the route!

Another matter which was discussed, and where Roads officers have been asked to investigate further, is the seeking of financial compensation from those involved with the timber extraction for the damage to roads. Very specifically the offshoot road from Deanburnhaugh to Girnwood. The problem can often be that it is difficult to determine which truck from which forest caused a specific piece of damage to a road. On this Girnwood section of road however, one wood is being extracted by one haulier and this could allow direct negotiation over payment for remedial work.

I agree entirely that the recent break in Vodafone’s mobile phone service in our area was completely unacceptable. Having the service, then losing it unexpectedly for almost two weeks, causes widespread problems as more and more individuals and businesses have come to rely on using mobiles.

I would want to emphasise however that there is still no service provision, at any time, in large areas of the Borders surrounding Hawick, and I find this also completely unacceptable. There are impacts on the business economy and on safety. The expectation nowadays is that travellers will be able to make contact with others wherever they are, for example when booking up accommodation or services. Our area is trying to promote outdoor tourism, e.g. in recreational cycling and walking, yet, should any mishap occur on more remote rural roads or on trails, it is not possible to get coverage to call for help. I stated ‘more remote’ but that situation also affects the A7 south of Hawick and the B6357 between Hawick and Newcastleton. Both vital lifelines.

Coverage does not exist in these areas as there are too few residents to make provision by the companies cost-effective. This does not allow for the needs of the additional visitors attracted to our area. Newcastleton could be a good example of the problem. Locals know they need to subscribe to Orange. Visitors to the 7 Stanes cycling at the village don’t know that! Surely however we should be aiming at full national coverage. There should not be ‘not-spots’. Let’s push for shared use of masts and other existing structures. Let’s push for agreement between companies on shared networks in ‘remoter’ areas. Let’s even have government subsidise coverage, at least, to begin with, alongside connecting roads.

Timber Lorry Convoy Poster A3

Clicking on the link above, and then on the thumbnail photo, will show the poster now being distributed by the Timber Transport Forum. This encourages drivers not to drive in convoys, and to leave a minute between wagons.

The last month’s activities have been very varied. Council meetings are tailing off as the election approaches: full Council on 29^th March, Planning Committee on 9^th April and Timber Transport Group on 18^th. This has allowed more time for reflection on specific issues, and for delivering election leaflets. It would be good to hope that I’ll be fitter by Election Day!

I attended the Timber Transport Conference at Penrith along with Cllr. George Turnbull. This was a most useful event, where we heard of the ways of dealing with timber transport in other areas, such as in Cumbria, North Yorkshire, Argyll and Sutherland. Timber Traffic Management Plans are in more common use elsewhere and I would like to see the potential for these more keenly explored in Borders. I’ll pursue this at the TTG meeting on the 18^th.

On 3^rd April, I attended the Hawick Schools / Army Cadet Force ‘Outreach’ event at Drumshoreland near Livingston. This had been a three day residential event for 37 P& and S1 pupils and the Tuesday visit was for their families to see what they had been doing. Unfortunately snow put paid to outdoor demonstrations, but it was clear that this had been a valuable event, aimed at encouraging confidence and resourcefulness in the young people.

Access from Lochpark Road to Waverley Walk

It’s always good to have some successes as a Councillor and I’m absolutely delighted that the work on the Waverley Walk pathway on the south side of the river has now been completed. The last link was the access from Lochpark Road to the stretch behind the Melgund. Where, before, only those who knew the path existed would have found it, the Lochpark Road access is now signposted, surfaced and gently stepped. Hopefully I will be able to promote extensions of such pathways in the future.

Another matter which is causing me thought at present is Replacement Windows. SBC has had a paper out for consultation on the policy for replacement windows and this was discussed at this week’s Planning Committee. The paper recognised that technology has moved on as regards double glazed windows and the aim is to relax some of the requirements, but the position relating to buildings in Conservation Areas is still very prescriptive and needs careful reading. In such areas, replacing ‘like for like’ is the starting point for discussion – materials, method of opening, glazing pattern etc. – but several new aspects are appearing. For example, could slim-profile double glazing be installed within the existing joinery?

The problems of timber transport were highlighted recently by the evidence of the destruction of the road in the Borthwick Valley from Deanburnhaugh up to Girnwood. Fortunately the Council’s Roads Department acted quickly and did emergency repairs which again allow cars to travel the route.

We are told that timber hauliers have as much right to use our roads as anyone else, but of course that carries a responsibility not to cause damage. Some Councils, notably Highland, use legal agreements with windfarm operators, with before and after photographic surveys, to enforce compensation for damage caused. In the case of forestry however, the problem arises that timber extraction can continue for a much longer period of time, can lead to debates over responsibility between the forest owner and the haulier, and indeed between different haulage companies. In the Borthwick Valley, logs are being carried out from at least five separate areas of forest, all however funnelling together on to the one road from Roberton down to Martin’s Bridge! Road verges in that stretch are seriously damaged.

Some of the most intense logging activity in the Borders affects our Hawick & Hermitage ward. Councillors are from time to time asked for their observations on proposals for new timber planting. I am consistent in my feedback in that I stress that attention needs to be given to the potential road issues before planting. Are the roads in the area likely to be adequate for the removal of lorry loads of timber in thirty years time? A specific example was along the Gorrenberry road between Hermitage and Fiddleton Toll on the A7.

This is also an issue for Hawick itself, with concerns over the use of Kirk Wynd bridge, Drumlanrig Square and Beaconsfield Terrace in the past, over the squeeze through the gap at Backdamgate, and of course over the Albert Bridge – Sandbed section.

Councillor George Turnbull and I are both on the Council’s Timber Transport Group and on Thursday 15th March are attending the Timber Transport Conference at Penrith. We will take the opportunity to raise our concerns about the problems being experienced in this area. Before windfarm construction begins, a Traffic Management Plan has to be agreed. We need the same for timber extraction!

Below is the text of my ‘State of the Nation’ speech to Hawick Callants’ Club at their Annual Dinner on Friday 2nd March.

”Let me start by thanking Derick Tait for his toast to ‘Oor Ain Auld Toon’.

It’s a great privilege for me to stand here tonight as a representative of that Toon and make a response.

I will admit I have looked forward to this evening for some considerable time. It gives me the opportunity to speak of the course of the year in the town, but it also indicates that it’s not long now until the beginning of another Common Riding season.

The year seems to have been marked by three topics – crime, local politics, and the business economy.

The quality of life in the Borders as a whole is excellent. Hawick has normally been a comparatively safe place to live. During the last year however, we were all shocked by a particular series of criminal acts which have taken place – two murders, the mugging of an elderly lady in Hunter Terrace, a spate of housebreakings in the Weensland area, and vandalism at the Horse. Our town was shown in an unusually bad light.. Perhaps we should take comfort however from the high profile reporting of these incidents. They made news because they are uncommon in our community. We don’t however want to see crime increase. This does concern me as I have noted a decrease over the last two or so years in the solvency rate. As reported to Teviot & Liddesdale Area Committee in the monthly police report, solvency rate used to be consistently in the 60s % but more recently has been between 40 and 50 %. Improvement in these figures requires greater community support. The community needs to give out a strong message that it will not tolerate law-breaking and that it is prepared to play its part in bringing law-breakers to justice.

Under my heading of local politics I include concerns over the future of Teviotdale Leisure Centre, over the security of Hawick’s Common Good, and over the existence of Teviot & Liddesdale Area Committee. In each of these as well, the community had a part to play. A packed Town Hall showed the depth of feeling regarding the threat to our swimming pool, if not to the TLC itself. A campaign to obtain guarantees that Hawick Common Good would not disappear into a central pot eventually produced commitments to that effect. I recall a meeting of the Councillors representing the town meeting together with David Parker seeking guarantees: standing together for the town. Then only last week came a Council report which recommended that all five of the Council’s Area Committees should be re-established. Only Cheviot and our own Teviot & Liddesdale had continued – partly because the community had supported the Committee by turning up for meetings and therefore shown interest. The common thread here is that the local councillors had worked together as a team and that the community had got behind the issue. It is possible to change things if we all pull together, and the examples I have given emphasise the positives of a close-knit community.

The business economy has of course to be at the centre of the life of the town. I note with relief that several of the mills in the town seem to be doing well at present. I hear discussion of development plans, I see advertisements for knitwear workers, and I know of the demand for skills training to counter the shortfall in available workers. These are positive signs. I do however also note that such developments depend often on the tourist market. Lockie’s shop and the plans for Johnstone of Elgin are examples. So the tourist must be attracted to the town. I cannot speak highly enough of the Welcome Hosts who give a tremendous service to the town. However does our High Street and town centre measure up. Two weeks ago I received a letter from an accommodation provider in the town.

‘’Guests who have stayed with me recently, both new and returning, have all commented on how run down the High Street is looking. I have to agree with them: it is looking rather grim. It’s such a shame to see, and it would be a tragedy if it fell beyond the point of redemption. No one seems to care anymore.’’

Can we do more to create an attractive town centre. Let’s think first of what we do do! Christmas lighting, plant troughs, seating, a Council shopfront improvement scheme which has brought several examples of traditional and attractive frontages: Robt. Pringle, Irvine House, Honey Pot, Dobbie & Michie, Dorward’s. There are others, but the common factor is that the shopowners are local. I do feel the multiples let us down – with standard, clone town frontages. Even worse, when the business closes, distant landlords seem to show no interest in the impact of vacant and untidy premises on our High Street offering.

We really must target the High Street for improvement but you’ll note, my theme of community involvement being required for the good of the town is maintained. Commitment to the success of the High Street is most frequently shown by members of the local community.

It’s too easy to look back and then say that things have changed for the worse. Circumstances have changed. Internet shopping on the present scale would never have been envisaged. Internet allows us product information, price comparisons, and fast home delivery. The successful shop on Hawick High Street in the future is going to have to use the internet for its own advantage, and is going to have to appeal to the visitor with a product range which is just a little bit different, a bit quirky.

I am not a negative person. My glass is always at least half full. I have picked out positives in what I have already spoken of, and I could well have added the glories of the whole Heart of Hawick campus, the busier and more attractive Town Hall facility, the town centre’s new Wifi status, the proposals for Wilton Lodge Park, and for the Bill McLaren Centre for World Rugby. I have immense praise for the Vision 2014 project and specifically for the wonderful Olympic torch which has drawn so many children in, with involvement and excitement.

It would be overstating things to say that I look to the future with confidence, but I do have faith that our local business economy, our High Street and our town will move forward positively, carried on by individuals who have the best interests of the town at heart. Individuals brought up in the town, with a commitment to the town.

The high points of my first year as Hon. Provost were of course related to the Common Riding. Time and time again during the events, I was conscious of the immense privilege it was to carry out my role. I attended all of the other Borders festivals, noting how things were done elsewhere. As an example, at several festivals, opportunity is taken to introduce the visiting Principals, and give them recognition, which I felt was a nice touch.

I would want to pay tribute to last year’s Principals for the exemplary way in which they carried out their duties, here at home and at the other Borders towns.

Now however, it’s time to look ahead to this year’s Common Riding. My first duty related to this is to advise you of the identity of the Chief Guest for 2012. I am absolutely delighted to be able to bring to you someone who was brought up in the faith, with a father and grandfather who made their mark on the town and siblings who are still doing so. My Chief Guest, was educated at Wilton and the High School, but academic success led him by way of Edinburgh (1^st Class Honours), Cambridge (PhD), University of California at Berkeley (post doctoral Fellow) to Canada, where he has lived since 1995. Gentlemen, I am pleased to announce the Chief Guest for Hawick Common Riding 2012 is the Professor of Physics & Astronomy at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Douglas Scott.

Douglas may now be an expat, but you will well know of his very frequent returns as an exile, and of his major project to create ‘A Hawick Word Book’. Douglas has in no way lost sight of his origins, and I have confidence in his being an excellent Chief Guest, well aware of the significance of the role. You can take the man out of Hawick but you can’t take Hawick out of the man!

Derick, I thank you again for your toast. In my response I have emphasised the importance of having committed individuals in the community who can help the town to move forward, as well as a community which wants to be involved. I look around this evening and see such individuals who have shown just such commitment. Thank you all for your contribution to the town. I actually see the future for Hawick as exciting. I look forward to the Common Riding season, and in my choice of Chief Guest I feel I am offering you just such an example of a committed Teri.

Ron and local MP Michael Moore look over Hawick Town Centre together

I’ve been selected again by the Borders Liberal Democrat grouping to fight May’s Council election.

Elected in 2007, I was appointed Vice Convener of the Council at that time, and have frequently chaired Council’s meetings. In October 2010, I was also given the role of Executive Member for Children & Strategic Services (which includes Housing, Welfare and Criminal Justice) within the Social Work Department. Finally in May 2011, Hawick’s Provost’s Council elected me unanimously as Honorary Provost of the town.

‘It’s been a real privilege to have represented the people of the Hawick & Hermitage area for almost five years, and to have been given additional roles which have allowed me to progress matters on behalf of Hawick and the Borders. There’s much more to be done however and I hope the voters will give me the chance to carry on.

After the 2007 election, it was commented that Hawick had lost out by having no one on the Council’s Executive. I was fortunate to have been given a place there in mid-term, and so have been involved in Borders-wide issues as well as in the more local ones.

I value teamwork. The group of six Hawick Councillors has, more or less, worked together as a team for several years for the benefit of the town. We have supported each other. I have also established a good working relationship with Council officers at all levels, and am able to turn to them for advice and for assistance in pushing projects forward.

I have been the chair of the Area Tourism Partnership, the Ancestral Tourism Forum, the Working Group on Foster Carers, the Strategic Corporate Parenting Partnership and have also been a member of the Flooding Advisory Group, the Timber Transport Group, and the Planning Committee.

I’ve been particularly pleased to have had success in promoting environmental issues such as in the Millers Knowes area, and in the use of the Waverley Walk from Weensland Road through to Liddesdale Road. I feel the main challenge however for the Hawick & Hermitage Councillors has to be the High Street!

Further details available at

http://www.scotborders.gov.uk/councillors/35/ron_smith

A number of local residents attended a public meeting held in Trinity Church Hall on Wednesday 25^th January 2012 to consider further the traffic problems being experienced in Brougham Place and the measures which had been favoured at the first meeting on 12^th December. The meeting was chaired by Cllr. Ron Smith and attended by Cllrs. David Paterson and George Turnbull, and by SBC’s Roads officers Brian Young, Jim McQuillin and Sean Peffers. Further e-mails and telephone calls had also been received by the chair in advance of the present meeting.

Roads officers had previously agreed:

to examine the existing signage which was installed some time ago, and, having lost its reflective capability, did not have sufficient clarity and impact.

to renew the speed bumps in Brougham Place, which also had been installed some years ago and had been worn down or subsided, to leave them with little current effect.to consider the possibility of the street being designated as ‘one way - downhill’ which would remove the possibility of drivers finding the High Street busy and choosing to use Brougham Place as an escape.

The officers had prepared a slide presentation, to aid consideration of these points, and a further suggestion, which had been put forward by a resident, of blocking off the street at its top.

After much discussion of the slides, with residents questioning officers on the detail and on potential variations, there was agreement that:

• The one way system was not favoured, as it raised other concerns such as the likelihood of faster speeds when it might be assured that no traffic would be coming towards the driver, as well as a perceived implication that one-way signage could be seen as authorising through passage.

• Signage at lower and upper ends of Brougham Place which indicated that traffic should be for access only [illustration of car and motor bike, with script Except for Access] would be updated, with signs on each side of the street for greater clarity.

• Speed bumps, or pads, at lower and upper ends of the Except for Access section should be raised for greater effect, and should be added to by installing a third bump outside the door of Trinity Church Hall, these all being aimed at reducing the speed of through traffic.

• Fresh lining of the bend from Melgund Bridge into Melgund Place was agreed, with white marking to stress the course of the road should turn to take traffic in the direction of O’Connell Street.

• The additionally raised issue, of blocking Brougham Place at the top, was favourably received and is to be investigated further in the following terms: the wider area at the top of the road should be controlled through a means of blocking the road on one or both sides, to emphasise that entry is being made into a more private area, and parking spaces could then be created within part of that area. This would still allow for turning areas on each side of the barrier.

Officers will now report back on the preferred package of measures, with a plan showing detail.

Health care, flood prevention, timber traffic, windfarms. The big issues. Sometimes big answers follow, such as this week’s news that the appeal by the promoters of the Broadmeadows windfarm has been refused by a Government Reporter. Matters such as this can cause widespread concern to Borderers. However I am convinced that ‘small’ issues can also cause great personal anxiety.

Earlier this week a tall tree in my own garden was made unstable by the strong wind. If it had continued to fall over, a few neighbours’ cars could have been history and the road blocked. Fortunately I was able to arrange for it to be felled quickly. The incident did however get me thinking. Firstly of the impact (sorry!) on the neighbours if their cars or properties had been hit. I also started thinking of the whole environmental issue relating to trees and undergrowth. It can be very difficult as a Councillor to get agreement to remove trees, prune them, or clear overgrown areas. A plant can start out as ‘a weed’ but if not removed seems to gain official protection. Trees, bushes and grass need managed. For them to show to best advantage they need to be shaped and cared for. On many occasions, I’ve been approached by residents regarding trees near their boundaries which are causing concerns, by overshadowing a garden or threatening to break and cause damage.

Yet, there is a window in which such work would be considered by the Council. September to February is seen as the more acceptable time to cut back greenery, as this is the quieter period for animal and insect life, outwith the breeding and nurturing season. I’ve met this situation when wanting gorse cut back on the Millers Knowes, or encroaching vegetation on the Waverley Walk between Stonefield and Liddesdale Road. That one was interesting. It was said initially that cutting should not be done because this was a habitat area for a rare butterfly but then it emerged that the butterfly had not been seen there for many years, and that cutting back growth should also encourage its main habitat, the kidney vetch plant!

There’s a danger in letting greenery get out of hand. Failing to manage it stores up problems for the future. I think of vegetation growth on the banks of Slitrig and Teviot, of trees needing crowned at Duke Street and Heronhill Bank, of laurels needing lowered in Teviot Crescent to allow light and visibility. We need to maintain a balanced approach. In no way am I against the wildlife which lives there, but I want to see control – which will allow managed growth, and which will not leave us with a problem in the future when there are no funds to remedy the situation.

I had taken my eye off the ball for my own tree. I should have managed it earlier.