Ron Smith

So what’s been happening? It’s been a bit quieter recently as Council has had a summer recess, and therefore there has been no need to go across to Newtown St Boswells several times each week. That’s allowed me to catch up in several ways with outstanding business and other things. Much appreciated as I don’t like to feel I’m always running to catch up!

Two ongoing issues have been noticeable: flooding and planning.

There have been several scares over flooding – once in Hawick itself but the others in Newcastleton, along the B6357 between Hewisbridge and Saughtree, and in the Teviothead – Carlenrig area. The reasons for the incidents have been quite varied – heavy rainfall, blocked drains, felled trees washed down and blocking bridges – but the outcomes of immediate distress and ongoing anxiety are identical. Plans are progressing quite quickly for action on the drains and intervening ditches in Newcastleton, but the division of costs has still to be finalised. Plans in the Hawick area focus on lower Mansfield and include the removal of the remains of Weensland Cauld, as well as progressing flood alleviation channels, higher level routes between bunds, to catch floodwater and send it further downstream instead of spilling over surrounding land. Where rivers go through farmland, responsibility for protection lies with the landowner, although SEPA is likely to have a view! Discussions I’ve attended recently seem to be reopening the possibility of upstream action on floods, catching the water in land which can safely be flooded, to reduce the peaks arriving in towns and villages.

Planning matters are also varied. Permissions have already been granted for many blocks of housing in the Hawick area, but others arrive in the system every week. Naturally neighbours of the sites are usually very concerned at the potential changes to their situation. If an application meets the requirements of planning policies there can be little scope for withholding permission, as this would just be overturned later on appeal. The most common grounds for refusal are loss of amenity for neighbours, overdevelopment of a site, or parking and access problems. Possibly the most frequent issue is an application for new housing in the countryside, where very specific rules apply. Recently a Reporter appointed to handle an appeal against refusal of permission to develop an eight-apartment block in Oliver Crescent made points very strongly against the (in)appropriateness of the planned building which would be in a Conservation Area, commenting also on the parking problems. The strength of his opposition to the proposal might provide a precedent which would support Councillors in turning down schemes which they might consider unacceptable. Approval by SBC’s Planning Committee of the Sports & Leisure Club building conversion to ten flats has made front page news, but here different policies apply in that conversion of existing town centre buildings is favoured (compared to demolition and new build). No parking will be provided however and that will threaten to put pressure on nearby on-street spaces. I tried to engineer a condition of approval which would state that advertising of the flats must emphasise that parking was not available so that buyers were fully aware of the situation.