OK, so success ran out! Monday’s Planning Committee didn’t go the way I would have wanted. Under discussion was an application to build 28 houses in two phases at Crumhaughhill – stretching between Crumhaughhill Road and Burnflat Drive / Haggis Ha’ Brae. You can find all of the details on the Planning Department’s Public Access website at http://eplanning.scotborders.gov.uk/publicaccess/tdc/tdc_home.aspx The Application Search references to put in are 09/01193/PPP and 09/01194/PPP You then want to look at Associated Documents.

Most of the objections raised by neighbours relate to potential traffic problems, either within the site, on the approach roads, or further away on Rosebank Road and Haggis Ha’ Brae. I understand and agree with these objections. A central point is that a link road is envisaged between the end of Longhope Drive and Burnflat Drive, at the little roundabout near the Golf Club. I fear that an increase in traffic will compound problems on Rosebank Road, that the link road will be unsuitable as part of the Vertish Hill bus route, and that Longhope Drive itself is not suitable for an increase in through traffic. The upper part of the site – Phase 2 – would be served by a cul de sac from Crumhaughhill Road. My preference would have been for the link road to have joined Longhope Drive to Crumhaughhill Road. This would effectively have created a crescent off Crumhaughhill Road, would not have been part of the bus route, and would have had no purpose as a ‘rat run’ for drivers.

However! The Adopted Local Plan has already earmarked this area for housing, and a Planning Brief (Supplementary Planning Guidance) was prepared in March 2007 on how the area should be developed. This Brief stated: ‘The proposed access should be from Longhope Drive and Burnflat Lane forming a loop road through the site’. The present plans therefore are only following the instructions previously given. A specific reason for this advice was that there is a particularly steep banking across the site above the Longhope Drive level, which would cause an unacceptable gradient if a connecting road was to go there.

The Local Plan suggested that the site should have 20 houses. The planning applications total 28. The applicant states that the semi-detached houses planned take up less space than 20 detached houses. My argument is that some of these houses could be removed to allow for a loop road to Crumhaughhill Road, with a gentler gradient.

The Committee agreed with the principle of housing on the site. Next step would be for full planning application to come forward, with all details of layout, access etc. That however would be the time for discussion about improvements to Rosebank Road and Haggis Ha’ Brae, perhaps through ‘developer contributions’.

Apologies for the length of this, but I aim to give you the background to what’s happening!

Another success this week, A small one in the scheme of things but, as I’ve said before, little localised problems can have a big effect on those who live alongside. This one I’ve also had to wait for a long time for completion, as it was passed by Teviot & Liddesdale Area Committee last September.

The problem was the constant puddle of water which lay at the bottom of South Liddel Street in Newcastleton, at the junction with Walter Street. This was a bad place: the beginning of the riverside path, the end of the area where people camp at Music Festival time, and on the bend where traffic strays on to the grass to let other vehicles pass. The earlier photo shows the problem, while the others show the new drain and road surfacing in all their glory, on the day the job was finished. Hopefully, this will clean up this area.

It does give some job satisfaction when I can help residents, so please do get in touch if there is some issue that you feel could be attended to.

Time to take stock again of where we are with projects. The townscape has suffered recently with works being done by Fastflow on behalf of Scottish Water, as well as by SBC itself using regeneration money which has been granted by the Scottish Government and must be spent by end of March. The combination of course has led to holes in streets all over town, with consequent traffic lights and delays. The Fastflow work had been delayed by the bad weather of January. Both organisations had kept the councillors in the loop over their intended plans and timescale, but the separately staged works came to clash with each other because of the earlier snow. Hopefully the town will look better afterwards, and the improved quality of the drinking water will be noticed.

However some schemes have very satisfyingly been completed. The first is the Drumlanrig Square project. I had promoted this on road safety grounds, as I was concerned at the situation at the top of the Square where five roads were to join together. The new layout is complete, and now needs only some street furniture and some colour to improve its appearance. Silver Street is also being worked on and this promises to clean up that part of the ‘Heart of Hawick’. I am now therefore looking for work to be done on the ‘missing link’, St Mary’s Place, which has a very poor surface, and will in its present state not complement the project.

The second scheme with which I have been associated and which has just been completed is shown in the photographs. It involves a break having been made in a wall between 202 and 204 Weensland Road, with the completion of a path. A small project you might think, but one with benefits outweighing the costs. Formerly the houses in the area could only be reached by a flight of steps and this was difficult for mothers with prams and for those with difficulty walking. The new path allows level access along the path which had been on the other side of the wall! It also allows more direct access to a bus stop. I’m very pleased with this outcome, and with the cooperation of SBLocal staff and of SBHA. I was prompted on this two years ago by an affected resident, and have persisted in looking for the work to be done. It’s been worth the wait!  

On this occasion there was certainly a need for residents to consider clearing snow and ice from their own accesses. Clearance by contractors could only come when machinery could get there, and when the weather allowed. Indeed in the clearance phase, payments to private contractors who had been engaged to help SBC crews were running at £80000 per day, and the overall cost of treatment and clearance has at 21st January reached over a million pounds. Fingers crossed that there’s no repeat of these conditions.

The other big event for us (Lib Dems) was the visit of Nick Clegg last weekend. He faced a public meeting in Tower Mill on Friday evening (15th) and then spoke at the South of Scotland Liberal Democrat Conference at Hawick Rugby Football Club’s premises on Saturday. This was an good weekend, with excellent networking and with participation by all of our elected representatives – Mike Moore MP and Jo Swinson MP, Jim Hume MSP, Jeremy Purvis MSP, and George Lyon MEP, as well as a selection of local Councillors. Maintaining the weather theme however, Nick Clegg met earlier on Saturday morning with representatives of Hawick’s Volunteer Flood Group. He was very impressed and stated that he wanted to introduce the idea to his own town of Sheffield. On Tuesday at Teviot & Liddesdale Area Committee meeting in the Town Hall, this Flood Group then launched its own website. Visit it at http://hawickfloodgroup.co.uk   It looks as if it will be a tremendous resource. This group is looking for sponsors at present, so if you feel you can help, contact me and I’ll put you in touch directly with the organisers.

May I wish constituents, friends and supporters a very happy Christmas and a healthy and successful 2010. I hope you’re able to have family and friends around you at some time over the holiday period.

This has been a difficult year, dominated by worries over employment and banking problems, and by poor weather – cool and wet – coming to a peak with the risk of flooding in November. There hasn’t been much fun around, has there? Recently however there seem to have been quite a few little successes in my efforts on behalf of constituents. I say ‘little’ in the greater scheme of things but I feel very strongly that such matters can have a very great impact on the life of the one most affected! Rubbish clearance, pavement repairs, drain clearance, bus cuts, heating problems, anti-social neighbours, planning decisions: the weekly pattern, but all recently showing successes. Successes lead to job satisfaction! Every one of those items just listed conjures up for me the face of an individual who was having problems or who was anxious .

It’s worth noting signs of success as well on the High Street. There’s a bare patch of empty shops opposite the Town Hall in particular but along the axis of the town from Towerknowe to Bourtree Place and to Bridge Street there has been a succession of new shop openings. Perhaps some of these eight or so new establishments will be short lived, tapping only into the Christmas trade, but what the town has lacked for some time is the conveyor belt of entrepreneurs, those willing to take a shot at trading. We wish them well! The Christmas Lights also look so much better this year. Thank you, Hamish, Derick, and your teams, for all your work.

It’s important to recognise the part played by teamwork. Councillors Paterson, Turnbull and myself, have been taking every chance to work as a team and to support each other where we can. The saving of the early bus from Newcastleton to Carlisle was a case in point, where several jobs would have been at risk if workers could not reach their factories in time for their shifts to begin. Councillor Turnbull and myself, along with neighbouring Councillor Elliot and two others, backed Councillor Paterson’s call for a review of this decision by SBC Executive and were successful. Davie and George and I have also been cooperating closely on calling for a specific programme of improvement and maintenance works across the Hawick & Hermitage ward, prioritising these items, seeking costs from Council officials, and identifying funding, with a view to completion before the end of the financial year at the end of March.

Hopefully, by that date, we will be able to look back on the year, and past the difficulties, to say ‘We did that! We’ve had successes!’

Merry Christmas.

Planning issues are to the fore at present: especially the proposed crematorium next to Wairds Cemetery at Melrose, and the proposal for a 20 flats development in Bourtree Terrace in Hawick.

It’s clear that a crematorium is needed within the Borders to avoid long and stressful journeys to Edinburgh. That part was never in doubt. The opposition has been voluble however in seeking to have the application turned down because the site is in a National Scenic Area designation on the lower surrounds of the Eildon Hills. I visited the location a few days before the Planning Committee meeting to judge the position for myself. I was concerned that the capacity of the chapel might be too small, and wondered why there was not to be more parking within the grounds, but discussion at the meeting reduced my doubts, and I was happy to agree to the proposal. The decision made to approve is certainly in the interests of my own constituents in Hawick & Hermitage, as well as of people more widely across the Borders. The application now goes to Scottish Ministers for agreement as Scottish Natural Heritage had objected on the grounds of the National Scenic Area location.

At Bourtree Terrace, the proposal was for two blocks incorporating 20 flats. Block 1, nearer Bourtree Place, was to be two storey, while Block 2, up and around the corner, was to be three storey. I would like to see Bourtree Terrace developed, as the mix of empty or unused workshops and open spaces does nothing for this area near the town centre, or for neighbouring residents. These blocks would also contain sustainable housing, in that being near to shops and services would not require residents to use cars.

However, there were three problems – traffic in the street, the particular situation of the house at 5 Bourtree Terrace, and the impact on the residents of Douglas Haig Court, a sheltered housing block behind the site. I moved that the application be accepted, but with an additional condition that Block 2 could not be higher than two storey. This was unanimously accepted by the committee, and a consequence also was that the number of 20 flats was removed from the permission.

This safeguards the amenity of the residents of Douglas Haig Court, bringing the height of Block 2 back into line with other surrounding buildings. Planners were already unhappy with the proposed design of these blocks so the redesign could involve a review of the number of flats which can be placed there.

Traffic problems will be countered by the placing of a large turning area at the elbow bend in the Terrace, and perhaps by a reduction in the number of flats. These should also be ideal flats for those without a car.

The case of 5 Bourtree Terrace will have to be settled by negotiation between the developers and that house’s owner, and by a legal settlement, as walls are shared between the house and the garage next door which is to be demolished as part of the scheme.

Meanwhile, local MP Michael Moore spoke at Westminster of the problems of the textile industry in the Borders. His speech, and the response from the relevant Government Minister, can be found at   http://www.parliamentlive.tv/Main/Player.aspx?meetingId=4708     Highlight this web address and copy and paste it into your web browser.   Then find the start of the debate by sliding the time locator to 1.43.15   I recommend you look at this. It shows a little of how Parliament operates. The ‘debate’ is carried out in front of a very small audience, but this does get the matter into the public domain - reported in the media, and recorded in the proceedings of Parliament, including the undertakings made by the Minister.

I’ve been making a point of wandering around the ward, looking and chatting, and have had an opportunity to chase things up.

I’ve two specific ‘missions’ at the moment.

One relates to the situation some folk are finding themselves in when they move house and then, in the current economic climate, cannot sell the previous one. We all know of the dangers of bridging loans from the bank, but this is also a problem in payment of Council Tax. A concession is made for empty unfurnished properties – 100% exemption from paying Council tax for the first six months, then 50% discount for six months, and then 10% discount. That’s perfectly fine – in normal circumstances – giving those who are changing houses, or those who have inherited a property, time to sell. However, at present houses are taking time to sell and constituents can find themselves paying Council Tax on two properties.

Council employees are sensitive to this problem, and will assist in looking for ways in which relief can be obtained, but I do want this current problem investigated.

The difficulty of course is that if a way of bringing relief in genuine cases is found, there will also be those with a more commercial motive who will take advantage of it.

A second ‘mission’ relates to the provision of patient transport from the Newcastleton and wider Liddesdale area. Imagine the situation: a resident of Newcastleton suffers a heart attack. The ambulance responding to the emergency will take the patient to the closest hospital – in Carlisle. The patient is eventually released, but the aftercare will involve going for check-ups – again to Carlisle. That hospital will not provide patient transport from Scotland! Scottish Ambulance Service will not provide patient transport to Carlisle! An elderly non-driver is stuck, at a stressful time!

My preferred option is that when a patient leaves Cumberland Infirmary, their papers are transferred to Borders General Hospital for after-care. I recognise that this is a longer distance, but it brings them back under the supervision of NHS Borders, within which their own doctor operates, where support services such as physiotherapy and Social Work can be locally arranged, and where patient transport can be delivered. I have contacted Jim Hume MSP, and Mary Wilson, Chair of NHS Borders, to highlight this problem, and I have been informed it’s being followed up.

 Two main points arise:

This work was undertaken as part of a bigger project which will involve the reduction or removal of the island in midstream next summer. This will be awkward as the sewer pipe goes through it. There is also apparently a gas main crossing the river diagonally about the same area. I can however see the benefits for Mansfield if the river is straightened and cleared. Vegetation removal on the scale of what was done in the spring is unlikely to happen annually.

 This is because of the influence of SEPA / SNH. It would appear there was a trade-off when the licence was obtained for the current work at Weensland. Permission was given and in return environmental work had to be done: tree planting, grass sowing and significantly the leaving of the sandstone structure which had been the pillar at the entrance to Weensland Mill lade. This is apparently seen as a habitat for birds, bats etc..

 A representative of the SBC Flood Engineering team is being arranged to attend and speak at the October meeting of Teviot & Liddesdale Area Committee on 20th (6.30) probably in Lesser Town Hall.

In its way, a hard choice. On the one hand there is the potential employment of over 250 workers, and a beginning to the development of Commercial Road – both of which can only bring good to the town and its economy. On the other, concern over the future for High Street traders.

The opportunity for economic development has to be taken however. The arrival of Sainsbury’s store will present a challenge to those traders, but many of them will have confidence in the service and product which they offer, and will rise to that challenge.

The paperwork accompanying this application quotes such phrases as ‘retaining spending within the town’ (instead of leaking out to Galashiels for example) and ‘linked shopping trips’, with ‘mutual trade and footfall’ between Sainsbury and the High Street. These must not be just pious hopes, but must be helped to happen.

I am determined that there has to be a commitment to improving pedestrian walkways between Commercial Road and High Street, via Baker Street or Round Close – attractive, clean, well signposted routes which will mean that the supermarket shopper can leave their car at Commercial Road and investigate the quality shops on High Street and its surroundings. . . . . and I’m not biased: this needs to be extended also to Bourtree Place, linking Morrisons with High Street as well.

An opportunity is to be offered to the visiting shopper: see what else Hawick has to offer. We have to think also of the 250 workers, who will also have money in their pockets to spend – and can choose to spend that money also in the Town Centre.

I did however sound warnings. It’s essential for the appearance of the town that this new development site is fully landscaped – a 274 space car park is not going to look attractive in the heart of town. The hope is to balance the green space and trees of the Wee Haugh on the south side of the river with something similar to the north. The rear of the site – the steep banking against Princes Street – also needs extensive landscaping.

Also, SEPA have commented that there will be increased flood risk. The supermarket and the three non-food retail units will be raised by one to one and a half metres to lessen flood risk (this rise will be balanced by the removal of the college building and mill buildings) but it has also been suggested by the developer that the car park would be raised. This seems unnecessary – leading to displacement of flood water to other areas, so at Planning Committee I recommended that this level remains as existing.

A hard choice? Maybe not. We simply have to take the chance of increasing employment, attracting visiting shoppers, and providing them with a service which will bring them back!

I moved that the planning application be accepted, and was seconded by Councillor Jock Houston. Approval was given. We simply have to have faith that the project will bring benefits. The status quo is an unattractive option.

Thanks to Euan Calvert, Assistant Access Officer at the Council who took on the project so enthusiastically, to Darren Silcock at SBLocal,  and to the Community Justice team who constructed the staircase very quickly, and in such a manner that even the most unfit walker should be able to make it up - as far as the seat which they so thoughtfully built in!

It was good to see the Civic Space filled with activity on Sunday afternoon. Let’s look for lots more events like this . . . but maybe also with more joined up thinking! There was scope for table service from Beanscene to cafe customers in the Civic Space, there was scope between races for live musical performances,and there was scope - as ever - for more floral displays in the Civic Space area. Let’s build on this even further . . . . .!

An opportunity to meet with our constituency MP, Michael Moore.

Thursday 30^th July at 7.30pm.

at Christ Church, Teindhillgreen, Duns

All welcome

Theme of evening

International Development

Come with your questions and suggestions and take part in what will be an interesting conversation.

Come — even if the questions or points you want to raise with Michael are outside the theme. It is hoped that he will have time to address some of these as well, time permitting.

Aiming to listen as much as to inform.

Saturday 19^th July was a good day in town. The weather dried at the right moments, and the Turnbull Gathering could take place unhampered. The main events were the unveiling of the Turn the Bull bronze sculpted by Angela Hunter in the Civic Space and the celebration Dinner, speeches and Scocha Concert in marquees in the Volunteer Park in the evening. There was a sense of occasion in the town, evidenced by the sightings of the red Turnbull tartan in kilts, trew and sashes around the streets and in the marquee.

President of the Turnbull Association, Wally Turnbull of Durham, North Carolina USA made reference to pilgrimages in his evening address – with far-flung Turnbulls able to return to see ancestral roots in Scotland, in the Borders, in Hawick but now specifically at the Turn the Bull bronze in the Civic Space.

As chair of both the Scottish Borders Area Tourism Partnership and the Scottish Borders Ancestral Tourism Forum, I feel this encapsulates what Homecoming Year 2009 is all about: coming back to see where the family started – the streets they walked, the schools they attended and the relevant church or churchyard.

Well done, Turnbulls, and best wishes now to the Elliots, whose gathering begins this coming week, and to the Scotts’ event in September.

The Millers Knowes is looking pretty good at present. The play area looks well tended and safe and secure for families. The benches and picnic tables have cleared grass around them and tracks leading into them. I’ve had comment that one or other of these is in an unexpected – i.e. less obvious – location, but so much the better – a choice for those who might like a picnic away from other people. The big change however is in the steps leading from the Weensland Road gate to the top of the hill. These have now been completed and the community service volunteers, working under Community Justice organisers, have made a marvellous job of them. It’s good that their work should be publicised,. The public may have little idea what ‘100 hours of community service’ might mean and here on the ground is the evidence! The steps, or stairs, make for a steep climb, admittedly, and I’d personally have a problem with this, but I do feel the main benefit is that they provide a safer route up, and perhaps especially down, on wet grass.

Next step at the Millers Knowes is again to cut back the grass on the actual track on the former BMX area, and then later in the year to do some more work on cutting back the gorse.

Meanwhile, work is due to start on Monday 20^th July at the Liddesdale Road end of the old railway line, where the Six Arch Bridge was, to create a safe route up the banking on to the railway walk, which I see as Waverley Walk Phase 2, allowing a round trip for walkers from the town centre.

The Council’s Flood Advisory Group has agreed that progress with the second set of Flood Protection Schemes (i.e. after Galashiels and Selkirk which are the first set) should commence with Hawick. Advantage can be taken of the work being done in procuring a design consultant for the Selkirk scheme. The same process can be used and it’s expected that, once the tender documents have been issued for Selkirk, a contract notice, for design work, can be advertised for Hawick. During financial year 2009/10 therefore the plan is to procure a consultant, to review studies, and to determine what the options are.

A draft programme shows the Flood Protection Scheme Order process being completed by August 2012. The FPS Order is an official stage. It means that the Government has given the go-ahead for work to be done, after there has been public consultation, and with parties who might be affected. For example, preventing flooding in one area could mean that someone else is at greater risk.

Meanwhile the Council has been investigating the channel of the River Teviot. It has suggested that the remains of the Weensland Cauld might be restricting the flow of the river, and that its removal, taken along with clearing vegetation on the river banks, and the removal of a gravel island nearby, could reduce flood risk to properties in the area. The vegetation clearance was done in March, the Cauld removal is planned from August and will perhaps take about eight weeks, and the gravel bar work will be done in 2010. This last piece of the jigsaw is complicated by a Scottish Water overflow pipe lying within the gravel bar. The removal of this gravel is being taken forward as a test case with SEPA. Consideration will also be given to possible widening of the river channel at Weensland.

In Newcastleton, it is proposed to lay a new surface water road drain along the main street, South Hermitage Street. The drain will run from Douglas Square to a temporary outfall into the Short Sike, a small burn, which flows into the Liddel Water. This new drain has been designed to deal with problems associated with the existing combined sewer system in the village being unable to cope with flows during prolonged periods of heavy rain. This is a first phase of the drainage improvement works. Work on this has now started and is expected to take 26 weeks.

Future phases will involve a new channel to cut off overland flow from the hills to the west of the village and to divert flow from a number of small streams that currently run through the area known as ‘The Lakes’ before flowing into the Liddel Water. This channel will enter the Liddel Water downstream of the sewage treatment works, about 1km south of the village. When this is completed the Phase 1 drain will be extended to discharge into the new channel.

I have been approached recently by several people regarding the state of grassed areas and flowerbeds within the town. The situation is confusing with areas close to each other showing great differences in their maintenance. The position is that amenity areas belonging to SBHA are now maintained by a private company, which was awarded a three year contract from April 2009, and not by SBC as in previous years.

Residents’ attention is focusing on flowerbeds which are empty or unkempt. The situation is worsening as the summer growing season develops. Councillor Turnbull and myself met with representatives of SBHA in the Weensland area, where problems were considered, as well as possible courses of action.

SBHA is clearly conscious of this problem, but an appropriate plan needs to be implemented quickly, as visitors are given a poor impression of our town, while local residents don’t understand the politics which have led to the change. This is a double whammy as the demise of Hawick Community Council led to the suspension of the activities of the Hawick in Bloom group.

It is understandable that there might be teething problems under the new contract, but townsfolk will want to see the contractors getting on top of the maintenance situation very soon.

A SBHA statement has now suggested that SBC could take control of the flowerbeds while their own contractors would look after the grass. This needs further consideration, as this would add to Council costs without their being any input from SBHA. The Council of course will not have set aside a budget for this. However the SBHA point that their tenants should not be the only ones paying for these beds, which contribute to the attractiveness of the town, is fair.

This seems just another example of the problems stemming from the handover of council houses and surrounding grounds. In this case, as long as SBC had the contract to do the grounds maintenance work for SBHA, no difference was being noticed. The flowerbed problem has only come to light since the Council lost this contract. The extent of the work they were doing doesn’t seem to have been fully realised. The benefit of that work to the wider town is also now more obvious.

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 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.

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

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.’

In the light of the recent round of job losses affecting both my constituency and those of other members, can the Executive Member give detail of specific measures being taken by Scottish Borders Council to offer support to those affected by redundancy, and can she confirm that a Drop-In Event will be arranged urgently within Hawick to allow such individuals to meet with the range of agencies which could help them?

and received this answer from Cllr. Vicky Davidson, responsible for Economic Development:

The Council is concerned about the recently announced redundancies in Hawick and other parts of the Scottish Borders. We want to do all within our powers to support individuals and businesses in these difficult times. Members will recall that Council approved an Economic Resilience Action Plan in December 2008 and we are currently implementing the range of actions that were set out in that plan.

The Redundancy Response operated by PACE (Partnership Action for Continuing Employment) initiative is particularly relevant as it ensures that a range of services and support is made available to employees affected by redundancy. The PACE Team, which involves all the key local partners, provides advice in relation to career options, training and skills, unemployment benefits, and options for developing their own business ideas.

A special Redundancy Response event is due to be held in Hawick in early February to assist the workers affected by the recent Emtelle, Slumberdown and Thornwood Motors announcements. This session is due to be held in Hawick Town Hall and will also be open to anyone who has been made redundant recently. The date for the event is not yet confirmed but should be sometime between 5 and 13 February. We will make sure that the date and venue are widely advertised once confirmed. [Now confirmed as 16th February]

It is important to remember that individuals can get advice and guidance on seeking work from Jobcentre Plus at any time. People can contact Jobcentre Plus by going online to their website (www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk), calling them on 0800 055 6688, or dropping into one of their offices in the area (Galashiels, Hawick, Eyemouth).

The Council has also recognised the particular challenges facing Hawick and you will note that a report is on today’s agenda to amend the membership and remit of the Hawick Development Sub-Committee to better support and encourage economic development and prosperity in Hawick.

Notes:

The Scottish Government are currently reviewing the PACE initiative to ensure that it is as effective as possible in the current economic climate.

The PACE initiative is currently targeted at significant/major redundancies, although the government is considering broadening this criteria. Locally the PACE partners activate a response whenever possible.

A typical PACE event will have officers from the following partners available to give an overview and one-to-one advice:

• Skills Development Scotland – Training for Work

• Skills Development Scotland – Careers Service

• Jobcentre Plus

• SBC – Welfare Benefits

• SBC – Housing

• SBC – Business Gateway

• Citizens Advice Bureau

• Employers who may have vacancies they are trying to fill

Where possible, the events are held on the company’s premises.

Hawick & Hermitage councillor Ron Smith welcomed the announcement by Sainsbury that it was interested in developing a supermarket in Hawick. He stated ‘The 250 jobs promised, and the additional jobs required for construction, cannot be turned away in the present economic climate’. He also expressed a hope that the development of a store by this prestigious group would bring shoppers from other parts of the Borders to the town.

However he sounded several notes of caution. ‘The town is well served by supermarkets already, and there has to be concern that one or other of the existing stores could be forced out. I am also hugely concerned by the potential impact on Hawick’s smaller shopkeepers. Personally I prefer the service offered by individual shops, and I don’t want them to be overwhelmed by supermarkets. There might however be benefits for some local shopkeepers with distinctive merchandise. They will see such a development as either an opportunity or as yet one more threat’ . He noted as well that the size of the planned store is half of that planned for Kelso and queried whether this would reduce the Borders-wide impact of a Hawick development.

‘The local councillors have focused efforts recently in trying to provide a High Street which would attract shoppers and other visitors. The One Way System and the Heart of Hawick developments, as well as the Farmers’ Market, the Reivers Festival and the Buskers festival all organised by local community groups, have aimed at making High Street more vibrant. If Sainsbury build on Commercial Road, there will be even more need to highlight our High Street. Victoria Bridge could become one of the most important connections in the town!’

All six Hawick councillors are keen to let local community groups know of the Community Support Grants which they could apply for, for new projects which their organisation might be contemplating or for the support of the group if times are hard.

Grants are usually limited to sums of up to £2500, simply to allow more groups to be helped. Applicant groups must be able to provide their Constitution, along with their most recent bank statements, and where support for a particular project is being looked for this project must not have been started. Grants are not retrospective.

Each of the five Area Committees of the Borders – Hawick, Newcastleton, Roberton, Teviothead , Newmill, Denholm and Bonchester being part of Teviot & Liddesdale – is given an allocation of funds for Community Support at the beginning of the financial year in April. This should be spent within the financial year, and where not used is at risk of being taken back to support other Areas which might have shown more pressure on their own fund. Teviot & Liddesdale councillors want their allocation to be fully used and, as their fund still has a large amount of money which must be allocated by March, invite community groups to contact Alan Niven at Hawick Town Hall for further information and application forms.

Happy Christmas!

The group focused on matters which Mr Swinney had influence over and provided him with a Ten Point Action Plan.

Conversations after the meeting led to requests from local Councillors that the Hawick Development Sub-Group which has recently produced the Development Brief for Commercial Road should refocus on the pursuit of the Redundancy Action Plan produced by the local Councillors in July and on the additional Ten Point Plan from this week’s meeting. This suggestion has been taken up by Council Leader David Parker and is likely to be implemented.

Ron and fellow Councillors are disappointed that the feasibility study they had asked for on the possible site for the Caravan & Camping Club at the rear of Wilton Lodge Park has not yet been produced. Planning & Economic Development officials at SBC had been instructed some months ago to consider the potential costs of the scheme which might fall on the Council, such as upgrading of access roads, and the relocation of Changing Pavilions and associated utilities for sports clubs. He stated that all Hawick Councillors are behind an additional Caravan and Camping site for the town but want much fuller information. The Caravan & Camping Club seem prepared to make major investment in the town but in return require a site large enough for 75 or more pitches with a lease of 99 or 125 years.

Hawick councillors are all behind an additional caravan and camping site in principle. They understand that the Caravan & Camping Club favoured the site shown to them beside the Changing Pavilion at Wilton Lodge Park. However not all councillors feel that this site is ideal. For this reason, they asked Planning & Economic Development officials at SBC to carry out a feasibility study which would reveal the potential cost to the Council associated with the leasing out of this site for a period of around 100 years. These costs could include upgrading the access roads through the park, and from Martin’s Bridge, relocating changing pavilion and floodlights to another area of the park, and supplying services - electricity and water - to that new area if necessary. These costs also have to be set alongside public reaction to the scheme at this location.

Councillors would prefer to have several sites to show the Caravan & Camping Club. On their visit they were shown a site at the Moor as well as at Wilton Park. These were under Council control. Galalaw might also be an alternative. The need is to find a relatively level site with good road access within easy reach of the town centre. Private landowners could perhaps also offer suitable alternatives.

Recent reports of more job losses in Hawick’s knitwear mills have refocused attention on the Action Plan created by the local Councillors and by SBC’s Economic Development officers in July, at the time of Pringle losses and the visit by John Swinney MP. Clearly contraction in the industry is an ongoing problem, and the situation has not been helped by the more widespread economic downturn.

Straightaway Ron wants to disassociate himself – and all of his fellow Councillors – from the assertion made in Hawick News (in a letter 7/11/08, and in a contributor’s column 14/11/08) that the Councillors feel it is not their remit to bring jobs to the area. This is totally untrue. The statement appears to have been made some years ago by a former Councillor but gains currency each time it is repeated! The present Councillors do see it as in their remit, and are determined to improve the local business environment so that employers will want to come to our area and to stay there.

The paragraphs below include items from a report made by SBC Economic Development officers to the local Councillors. Neither Ron nor the Lib Dems have any more input into these than any other Councillor or Party. They are included on this blog only to give information to a wider public on what is happening.

Scottish Enterprise and SBC Economic Development have met with Pringle management to discuss the retention of Head Office and Design functions in Hawick. The company has stated it is keen to retain a working presence in Hawick but Design is taking place in London because of the availability of top designers. The company have also indicated that they would prefer to find alternative premises in Hawick as their property requirements are different in view of their reduced workforce and operations. An initial set of possible property alternatives has been sent to the company. The reuse of the Pringle buildings for employment uses also needs to be investigated, although flooding and other planning considerations need to be addressed. A To Let sign now is to be seen on the building.

SBC are working with Scottish Enterprise to make more employment land available and the recently published Amendments to the Local Plan show earmarking of several fields at Galalaw for future employment, amounting to 14 hectares. Increased employment land in Newcastleton however is still a major issue to be resolved.

A revised draft of the Commercial Road proposals is now out for discussion, and will be presented at the Area Committee meting in Hawick Town Hall on Tuesday 18^th November. This also offers opportunities for employment – short term in construction and long term through retail and other commercial opportunities.

A motion to be considered at the full SBC meeting on 20^th November calls for the Waverley Rail Project to be brought forward in the interests of creating employment.

SBC and Scottish Enterprise are working together (and through the South of Scotland Alliance) to develop projects that would take advantage of Broadband pathfinder investment, and are also working with the private sctor and other agencies in relation to energy and biofuel ideas.

Economic Development officers would find it helpful to be updated on Scottish Government plans for any relocation of Government jobs, but the possible loss of HMRC jobs through the closures of their offices in Galashiels and in Hawick goes against this.

Scottish Enterprise are working on support for the Textile and Knitwear Industry, but further work is said to be needed to improve the links between Higher and Further education in the region and local (knitwear) businesses.

The final aspect of the Action Plan was to create an initiative (The Small Towns Support Initiative) that could support the regeneration of small towns, particularly focusing on town centre investment. Proposals for such an initiative are under discussion, the research having recently been completed, and SBC will suggest that, in view of the pressures being faced in Hawick, one option could be for the Government to use Hawick as a pilot area – a testing ground for new approaches.

The Transforming Children’s Services programme has continued to take up a lot of time. Over 247 responses were received by the closing date of 27^th October. These were circulated online to all councillors, with names and addresses omitted because of the lack of security involved in such e-mailed communication. It was of course possible to work out the source of some of the messages from the context. Ron has now read all of these submissions and formed clearer ideas of the main areas of concern.

It has become obvious from discussion after this October 27^th deadline that the document will be significantly altered, and the new date for submission of the revised draft to the full Council is to be 18^th December. Ron will certainly be looking for specific changes and is contributing fully to the discussions with a view to bringing these changes about.

Ron, as a member of SBC’s Flood Advisory Group, met last week with officials from Technical Services department to discuss flood prevention issues. He conveyed the concern expressed by the five councillors from Hawick who are part of the Council’s Administration, that the pace of development of flood prevention measures in the town was too slow.

Since the October 2005 flood, three measures have been installed – the flood wall at the High School, the flood gate at the Lawson Bridge, and a small diversionary wall behind Oliver Park aimed at returning floodwater to the river. The local members had however agreed with the Flood Advisory Group that work should be done to remove the remains of Weensland Cauld, that the removal of an island in the watercourse at Weensland should be investigated, and that higher level flood relief channels past Weensland Mill and the Rugby / Football grounds should also be developed. Licences are being sought from SEPA to allow some of this work, but it appears that the ‘weather window’ for the work may have been lost by the time licensing is approved!

Ron discussed with the officials the urgency of work being seen to be done, and asked them to prepare for demands at the next FAG meeting in late October that plans for low walls instead of railings along the river from Waverley Bridge to Trinity Bridge be developed, with costings and a timescale. Walls of 1.2 metres in height might be proposed.

The Hawick councillors also asked that the FAG meetings, which are held at two month intervals at present, be changed to monthly, to reflect the seriousness of the situation. Ron stressed to officials that there was urgent need to ‘up the pace’.

Ron attended the Scottish Borders Awards ceremony for 2008 at Springwood Hall, Kelso on October 3^rd and with 410 others celebrated the successes of Borderers. It was especially pleasing that so many of the finalists, and the winners, were based in Hawick & Hermitage ward. First up was Liam Beattie of Hawick, who,  with his colleague Iona Stevenson from Earlston, were declared Scottish Borders Young Ambassadors of the Year for their work as Members of the Scottish Youth Parliament. Then Hawick Knitwear were one of two runners up in the Award for Excellence in Skills & Learning. The Award for the Best Community Project was won by Newcastleton’s Community First Responders, and a party of 18 from the village celebrated that well deserved success. One of the three runners up in the category is also based in Hawick & Hermitage ward: Artbeat Studios, of Buccleuch Street. From across the Teviot, in ‘Hawick & Denholm’, Burnfoot Community School took first place in the Award for Promoting Health & Wellbeing, and this was also celebrated by a large group of parents and staff.

An excellent night, with plenty of opportunities for mingling and ‘networking’, and a chance for recognition to be given to these and other groups who have tried to develop their businesses or organisations.

Original proposals were for a six minute section of Borders news after 6pm as part of a Tyne Tees news programme, but a delegation to London of councillors and council officials from all across the Borders TV area, which included Hawick & Hermitage councillor Ron Smith, made a case to ITV bosses, and were ‘rewarded’ by amended proposals bringing a fifteen minute section for the South of Scotland, with a nine minute programme for the original Borders area around 10.30. This proposal included the location of a ‘video journalist’ in the Borders, responding to local stories.

Borders has provided an excellent service to our area, helping to encourage the identity of Borderers as somehow set apart. While based in Carlisle, it offered a service for a mainly rural area, being the outlet for good-news stories, when national bulletins were more likely to focus on disasters. It promoted local events and helped with the marketing of local festivals and sporting events, while also recording the achievements of Borderers: sporting, centenarians etc. It’s inconceivable that a Tyne Tees based service will be as responsive.

The news on Tuesday that so many of the staff based in Carlisle are to be made redundant adds to the dismay. These have become familiar faces to Borderers, and their impact shouldn’t be underestimated. They had built up contacts and an understanding with local people. They had been present during the floods, or at the time of Foot & Mouth, and had also been seen out and about at agricultural shows and festivals. Older and less mobile Borderers saw them as weel-kent faces who shared their living rooms.

It’s a sad day, and another erosion of the local services we all prefer.

However he noted that he had felt unable to agree to the wording of the question put by the parents’ lobby group led by Rory Bannerman. That question was ‘Are you as a Scottish Borders Councillor committed to supporting the Parent Council’s position to the extent that there should be no cuts in the education budget for 09/10 and you support the education budget at the very least remaining the same in real terms as that imposed in 08/09’.  The councillor stated:  ‘The present situation cannot continue, and all initiatives need to be individually considered. Expectations should always be of improvements in services such as education, but costs are constantly rising. With the freeze on Council Tax, the Council is being required to trim all services to the bone and education is competing against social work, roads etc. for scarce funding. Unless Council Tax is allowed to rise, savings will have to be made somewhere – in headquarters staffing, in energy consumption, in transportation costs etc.. I am opposed also to any staffing reduction, unless created by a major decline in pupil numbers’. 

Councillor Smith, for 12 years head of Geography at Hawick High and then on the school’s senior management team for a further 18 years, has had first hand experience of the curricular and financial pressures, while he also gained knowledge of the additional needs environment.  

In speaking of the Transforming Children’s Services review, currently out for consultation, he said: ‘I am not opposed to the shared headship initiative within Primary Schools. It can be difficult for ‘teaching headteachers’ to balance the needs of both jobs. They should have time to allow them to manage, and this also allows them some flexibility in their day to day cooperation with their staff. This initiative is also likely to be cost-neutral as new classteachers will be employed to replace them in class, giving pupils more continuity.’ However he did go on to express concern over the proposals to reduce the number of principal teachers in secondary schools. ‘I can understand that occasionally a subject might disappear, as the need for it might have reduced, but I just don’t support the faculty system at all. Three departments under the management of one teacher who may have limited qualification, experience, or even interest, across the set, doesn’t make sense.to me’. However let’s wait and see what responses come forward from schools on this issue. 

He concluded: ‘Hopefully the campaign against cuts last year will lead to a more sensitive approach to budgeting in the coming negotiations’.

Over the past year, I’ve been trying to promote changes to Drumlanrig Square and to the upper part of Beaconsfield Terrace, for safety reasons. These are described earlier on this blog. Progress has however been slow! At Beaconsfield Terrace, more signage has been erected, and has been refreshed on the road surface, to highlight the 20 mph speed limit. Initially it had been hoped to extend the pedestrian barrier futher down the hill to restrict casual crossing at the wide junction , but this was said by locals to have the potential for creating problems, especially on the days when refuse or recyclates were to be uplifted. Comments more recently seem to suggest that greater police involvement is needed at this point, as it is the speed and style of driving which is being highlighted, as well as the number of drivers using mobile phones. Speed bumps are also being looked for but the advice from Roads officials is that these would be unacceptable at this particular location, as they create noise problems for adjacent residents but also because drivers in turning the corner would be crossing them at an angle and therefore four wheels would be individually bumping across them rather than two sets, again adding to the noise disturbance.

At Drumlanrig Square, the road layout plans are pretty well finalised and it is the parking situation which is causing the delay. Residents and business proprietors have made clear that they do not want any less parking than was previously available. On the east side of the Square, two scenarios are possible and these are being examined to decide which would allow maximum parking while allowing deliveries to businesses and the free movement of buses. I feel it is better to take longer to study the scheme than to make mistakes and have to go back to the drawing board!

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.

All parties agreed that the meeting was a constructive one and gave an opportunity to clarify the reasons for ITV’s proposed changes and their potential impact on the region. Tim Stoddard, Leader of Cumbria County Council, said:
“Lookaround is one of the most valued and well-loved of any of ITV’s regional news programmes. The depth of support for its local coverage is proved time and time again in both the audience viewing figures and our own surveys of local people. Losing Lookaround would have a major impact on the identity of the region. Today’s meeting has helped quantify some of the economic and social effects of the proposed ITV changes and has also been an extremely useful guide to the rationale behind the proposed regulatory changes. We have agreed to meet again with ITV so that we can prepare a fully-informed response once the next stage of Ofcom’s consultation begins in September.”

Ron felt this was a useful meeting. It gave an opportunity for these councils to come together making common cause to protect their own regional news programme. The plans envisage a 6 minute opt out at 6.05 pm from the Gateshead originated news programme. This opt out would cover the whole of South of Scotland, while Cumbria would have their own opt out at this point. The group were promised that any major story for the area – i.e. of wider regional interest - would be covered in the remaining 24 minutes of the programme. Similarly there would be a 9 minute news programme for each area at the close of the national 10.00 pm news. The success or failure of the proposal would be measured by local residents in Teviotdale or Liddesdale by the amount of news coverage of Newcastle or Middlesborough for example, which would be of little interest within the Borders.

While the greater scheme of amalgamation of Border and Tyne Tees seems to be established (led by cost savings), Ron, who was accompanied by Douglas Scott from SBC’s Chief Executive’s office, believes that the points for pushing are

• an increase in the opt out allocation from 6 to 15 minutes (as this will include both Borders and Dumfries & Galloway

• the retention of a news-gathering facility in the Borders are, responding to local events

• a commitment by the amalgamated company to producing feature programmes of Borders interest, such as in the Reivers series.

Further meetings will be taking place.

After extended discussion, the team of councillors, in association with Bryan McGrath of SBC’s Planning & Economic Development staff, had prepared an action plan which lays out their points of concern as well as areas where they are demanding supportive action from Scottish Borders Council and from Scottish Government.

1. Assurances are sought from Pringle that Head Office and Design functions will remain in the town.

2. The councillors stressed their intention that the Glebe Mill site should remain zoned as employment land in the future.

3. They emphasised the need to make additional employment land available, whether brownfield or greenfield, and that additional financial resources would be required to deliver this.

4. They agreed that the redevelopment of Commercial Road should be accelerated, with appropriate land transactions completed, development briefs agreed and planning applications lodged.

5. The councillors felt that further investment in infrastructure was critical, and look for work being brought forward on Borders railway, the A7, broadband etc., and on the investigation of biofuel and other energy projects: all of which aimed at making the Borders more competitive.

6. They demanded that Government consider locating Government jobs in the town, particularly for any new agency being set up.

7. Within the textile sector, and to support remaining businesses, they seek to develop new marketing approaches, building on the success of the cashmere Club – targeting export markets. They also look to Higher and Further Education institutions to work with local industry to provide required skills for the workforce and to help spin-off businesses.

8. They finally stated their wish to be part of the Government’s Small Towns Support Initiative which supports the regeneration of small towns, and focuses particularly on town centre investment.

This discussion, and the ensuing Action Plan, was all preparation for the five councillors – Zandra Elliot, Stuart Marshall, Davie Paterson, Ron Smith, and George Turnbull – to meet later on Wednesday afternoon with Cabinet Secretary for Finance John Swinney, who was accompanied by Christine Graham MSP and John Lamont MSP. David Hume, Chief Executive of SBC, and two Union representatives were also present.

Councillors opened by stressing the ongoing history of job losses in Hawick and in the surrounding area, and invited Mr Swinney to comment on the position. The Minister stated there were three aspects to consider: could closure of Pringle manufacturing be resisted, could the affected workers be absorbed elsewhere in the industry, and could a wider programme of support for employment in the area be developed? The first was not thought to be feasible. The second aspect would be explored through Union and SBC / SEB support teams. Cllr. Marshall and the Union representatives examined these points in detailed questioning with the Minister.

Mr Swinney began looking at the wider picture by emphasising that it was not beneficial to have an overheating Edinburgh economy while the remainder of Scotland was in ‘the deep freeze’’. He said that steps had to be taken to support the remaining companies in the textile sector, through skills development, access to support services, and through cooperation within the Textile Forum. It was also necessary to encourage other employers to move into the Borders, for example through the reshaping of programmes for capital investment, and through SEB initiatives, and he mentioned that the recent reduction in small business rates should help. Cllr. Smith commented that the threshold for businesses to benefit from this scheme was set too low and should be reviewed, and Mr Swinney and Ms Graham accepted that the scheme would be revisited.

Mr Hume pointed out the potential for innovative development work, combining textile technology with that in other Borders industries, and the Minister responded that the Government did indeed want to give local authorities incentives to take innovative action on business development.

In considering the points raised on the councillors’ Action Plan, he stated that the Scottish Biomass Scheme might allow the Government to make a contribution if this was pursued, and that he hoped to work with the Scottish Public Pensions Agency at Tweedbank to extend the range of work being covered, bringing potential for more employment there. He also emphasised the importance of the college infrastructure.

Cllr. Turnbull, in the chair, thanked the Minister for his visit, which Cllr. Paterson had helped to arrange. Cllr. Elliot then obtained a commitment from Mr Swinney to return in a few months time to consider progress. In conclusion, Mr Swinney said he had wanted to come for a first hand view, that he had a list of actions to take away. Proper support was required for those affected, other textile companies should be supported through the Textile Forum, and developments in other sectors of the local economy also required support.

Jim said “Organising the reception was a great pleasure and hugely important because we need to constantly highlight the excellent quality of the textiles industry in Scotland. The textiles industry represents a significant part of Scotland’s economy and this is particularly true in the South of Scotland whose economy is more reliant on manufacturing and land based activities than in the national context, and so it’s crucial to support, retain and develop this traditional industry.

“It’s clear that there are challenges – other parts of Europe and markets further a field are more cost competitive. Scottish design talent and the range of innovative and high quality textiles being produced in Scotland continues to go from strength to strength. Therefore competing on quality and design would seem a sensible conclusion. In the same way that Scotland produces some of the best quality food and drink in the world, I hope that the textiles industry will further excel on the already excellent range and high quality of products sold in and out of Scotland so that we build on our international renown.

“And we need to make sure that our marketing is spot on so that we take every advantage to build on opportunities at home and abroad. I know that Scottish Textiles has been doing a lot of work in that area and I saw quite a few companies from the Cashmere Club, an excellent initiative started in 1998. This initiative recognised that it’s not two companies competing against each other in the same town that we have to address, but the challenge of World competition, as the world becomes smaller with globalisation and competitive advantage of nations.

The MSP continued: “I was delighted to see Hawick and Langholm firms displaying a selection of their excellent products. The House of Cheviot, Peter Scott, Lochcarron, Johnston’s and Hawick Knitwear all from Hawick and Reid & Taylor of Langholm each had tables displaying their products and it was wonderful to see such top quality items on show. It’s really important to keep the focus on the textiles industry and I’ll be taking every opportunity to do so through representations to the Scottish Government.”

Problems are mainly at the upper end of the Square, and are likely to become worse when the new housing development there is completed.

• On the eastern side of the Square, there is a Give Way arrangement at the bottom, but not at the top. Neither side has ‘Right of Way’ at this point.

• Unofficial parking happens on the lined triangle at the top of the garden, creating blind spots for drivers, who may not be able to see other traffic approaching up the other side of the Square.

• It is difficult for pedestrians to cross the Square at the top, as it is such a wide area.

• The developments at the West Port and at Drumlanrig Hospital at present each have their own outlet to the wide area at the top of the Square. There are therefore five roads coming together at this point.

• Children walking up through the Square to get to school have to cross a wide opening at this point without the safety of a pavement.

• Parking in the area is important and therefore any suggestions for change had to deliver at least the same number of parking spaces.

I have met several times with the Council’s Roads officials to look at what might be done to make the area safer. Proposals have been amended two or three times to try to deliver a workable scheme which would help road safety while hopefully maintaining an attractive appearance for the Square.

The map shows a possible design for such a road layout. The key point is that it confirms the main route through the Square as being on the west side. The east side would still be entirely accessible for deliveries, buses and for parking, and the West Port and Drumlanrig Hospital developments would meet to give only one junction with the road through the Square.

Please let me know what you think . . . . . .

Do you think this layout is workable, or would you like to suggest changes?

I have delivered a leaflet around homes and businesses nearest to Drumlanrig Square, have spoken to the Hawick News and the suggestions will then be brought to meetings of Teviot & Liddesdale Area Committee and Hawick Community Council.

Constructive comments will be considered as they are received and the proposals ‘tweaked’ where appropriate.

Comments will therefore be welcomed and can be sent by e-mail to rsmith@scotborders.gov.uk

or by post to Cllr. Ron Smith, Scottish Borders Council, Newtown St Boswells, Melrose, TD6 0SA

The year 1979 saw Ron’s first outing as a mounted follower (behind Cornet David Brown) and his last foray was behind Cornet Bruce Richardson in 2000. The newly appointed Councillor in 2007 then saw things from a different perspective, but this year, as one of the four Bailies, the situation was again very different. Much closer involvement emphasised the traditions and the responsibility of those, like himself, in privileged positions. This was felt most of all at the Singing of the Song in front of the farmhouse at St Leonards after the Friday morning Hut, and at the return of the flag to the Council Chambers on Saturday afternoon. This last is always a sombre occasion when sympathies go out to the Left Hand Man in particular who is ending his association with ‘The Big Three’, but Ron felt that it has also to be seen by the LHM as a moment of success! The time when he takes leave, having completed his mission successfully, and with tremendous credit for a job very well done.

Common Riding time is always special, but the feel-good factor was added to this year by an excellent Cornet in Ben Graham and by the splendid summer weather. The Moor was indeed the location for the best party in the world. Ben had been taken to their hearts by the people of the town, and he will be a tremendous ambassador for Hawick at all the other Borders Ridings and Civic Weeks across the summer.

Meanwhile Ron can look back on a wonderful week. Thank you.

The service will leave Saughtree at approximately 11.15 to Hawick arrive 11.55. Return transport will leave from Hawick Mart Street at 13.50.

A leaflet will be produced showing the above information.

A response sent by those council officers to John Lamont MP who recently queried the situation states: ”We have been actively supported …. by Councillor Ron Smith who has provided valuable information at a time when information is at a premium”.

This has been a good outcome, but the service will only succeed if it is used. Please help by spreading news of it.

Ron has asked council staff to develop a programme for cutting back the overgrowth and reopening paths. In addition the proposals would see some paths resurfaced with environmentally friendly materials, more litter bins provided, and picnic tables placed at a range of suitable spots. It’s also hoped to extend the steps which already lead part of the way uphill from the Weensland Road gate.

No consideration was given to more formal facilities as the Millers’ Knowes is a natural parkland and it would be inappropriate to introduce artificial features, although the way would still be open for cycling enthusiasts to come forward with a plan for rejuvenating the former BMX track in some form in the future.

The central areas would remain as open grassland, while around the outskirts there would be linked paths for dog walkers and for those seeking exercise.

Ron did however sound a note of warning that users should accept some personal responsibility for keeping the parkland attractive. He stated: ‘ Youths were clearly camping on the hill one Friday evening recently and, while no one would argue with that, the remains of two tents, food containers and broken glass bottles ruined the football field area until council workmen cleared the debris on the Monday’. He went on: ‘Litter can be a major problem, especially when young drivers leave the evidence of their fast-food and their drinks where their cars have been parked on the crest of the hill’.

SB Local staff later took advice from the Council’s Wildlife Officer who advised that extensive cutting of the gorse on the hillside should wait until the end of the breeding season in August. Management of the overgrown pathways can be done now however if completed carefully and with no disturbance of nests.

At Council, Ron supported, along with fellow local councillors Zandra Elliot and Stuart Marshall, Davie Paterson’s amendment to the budget which would have seen around half a million pounds taken from reserves to support the schools, and reduce the impact of cuts. This move failed. However the drive for savings was reassessed. Hawick High School still has to make 2% cuts / savings amounting to £86557 (and this must impact on the service to be provided), but the local Primaries saw their position improve, with for example the planned saving of £14918 at Drumlanrig Primary becoming £8951, and £13428 at Trinity becoming £6983. At the smaller schools in Hawick & Hermitage ward, the amounts to be saved are proportionally smaller (but this was always said to be the original intention). At St Margaret’s RC Primary, £380 has to be saved, and at Roberton £181.

Ron has been consistently concerned that the amount which headteachers have been allowed to carry forward from year to the next has stood against them. To drain completely the budget for one financial year by the end of March would require commitments to be made by January, and this does not allow for the unexpected event in February or March. Also, headteachers have perhaps saved from their budgets towards particular projects, such as redecoration of the school, or re-equipping of classrooms, and this ability to manage their budget is being taken away from them. It has been said that, if they can carry forward a large amount of money, they obviously do not need that much in the first place!

It now seems likely that the pool at Wilton will reopen in mid-May and this is to be welcomed. This is very much part of a facility for the Special Class pupils at Wilton, and at Hawick High and for other identified children with particular special needs. The most important thing is to have this pool reopened to meet those needs. The facility is very specialised, and the plans for its reopening identify very specific improvements which are aimed at the needs of the disabled etc. The hoist, the Kiefer board and the general issue of the water temperature are more focused on the disabled. If other young children get to use Wilton Pool, for example to learn to swim, that’s great and is a bonus. Several voices are being heard calling for the pool to be available for a much wider range of children but let’s get it opened, and available as a therapy pool for those in most need and then take it from there.

Well, John (both of them). I don’t feel out of touch. I know that shopkeepers in my area welcome any move which helps them stay viable businesses. I know that the cut in business rates will help. I also know that the extra parking allowed by the One Way High Street and the extra traffic to the town generated by the Heart of Hawick project, the Reivers Festival, the farmers market etc. will also help. We have to make the High Street environment welcoming to the business community, to visitors to the town, and to our own townspeople so that they feel less need to travel elsewhere to shop.

I do have one gripe however and that is that many of our shops and businesses will not qualify for rates relief. It’s unfortunate that all premises operated by a firm, regardless of where in Scotland they are and what nature they are (as this includes storage premises), have to be added together when calculating rateable value, as it means that businesses which I would assess as small in Scottish terms are raised to a level where they gain only minimal benefit. The bands are set too low!