Plea to youth hostel boss
Scottish Youth Hostel Association chief executive Keith Legge will be urged to save its Broadmeadows facility from closure at a crunch meeting on Monday.Selkirkshire councillor and Ettrick resident...
View ArticlePipe band appeals for sponsors
THE Innerleithen Pipe Band Championships is appealing for sponsors after it was forced to reduce its prize money due to a lack of benefactors.The 11th staging of the event takes place on Saturday, June...
View ArticleKids happy to discover that church can be messy
A BUILDING in Lauder associated with a former church once again provided a Christian context for young people at a special event.The hall of the now-demolished West Church – known today as the Youth...
View ArticleCommunities watch with interest as youths diverted from disorder
A GROUP of teenage boys in Selkirk are at the centre of a groundbreaking initiative which seeks to sew the seeds of harmony across the generational divide, writes Andrew Keddie.If the 10-week programme...
View ArticleFoster fees raised to boost carer recruitment
NEARLY 100 foster carer households in the Borders will benefit from an increase in fees, ahead of a campaign to recruit more people to look after vulnerable children.Scottish Borders Council’s...
View ArticlePublic inquiry beckons as councillors reject Jed superstore bid
within 24 hours of councillors rejecting a planning application for a new supermarket in Jedburgh came the announcement that the unsuccesful developer is to lodge an appeal with the Scottish...
View ArticleChess pupils hoping to make all the right moves
Next week sees the 29th playing of the Borders Primary Schools Chess Championships with primary school teams from across the region be vying for the title. There will be 17 schools competing in the...
View ArticleMinister dashes Selkirk bypass hope
HOPES that Selkirk may finally get a bypass after a wait of 60 years, raised last year when the scheme was included for consideration by the Scottish Government, look to have been dashed again, writes...
View ArticleCouncillor’s ‘immense frustration’ as mast safety is excluded from planning...
A COUNCILLOR who supported the installation of a lamppost-style communications mast in a residential area of Galashiels has this week admitted he shares the frustration of neighbours concerned about...
View ArticleCouncil spending plans survive SNP ‘bile’
BIDS by opposition councillors to make last-minute amendments to Scottish Borders Council’s spending plans for the next financial year were roundly defeated on Thursday when a revenue budget of...
View ArticleAnimal ban for kitten-cruelty OAP
DRUNKEN Maureen Mountain stuffed two kittens into a bin bag and tossed them over a bridge before she went on holiday.A woman walking her dog spotted the black bag on the old railway line in Hawick. The...
View ArticleRaise a cup of tea to Melrose in Bloom
A CIVIC reception, hosted by Scottish Borders Council, was held on Tuesday to recognise a decade of achievement by Melrose in Bloom.It is the latest accolade bestowed on the community group which has...
View ArticleDirtpot realignment given priority status
ALTHOUGH the £3.4million realignment of the A72 at Dirtpot Corner between Innerleithen and Peebles is not set to get underway until 2018/19, Scottish Borders Council has agreed to categorise the work...
View ArticleHomeless figures moving in the right direction
THE number of homeless applications in this region fell by more than 50 per cent in 12 months, a Scottish Government report has revealed.A total of 216 were made to Scottish Borders Council from April...
View ArticleSBHA appoints new directors
THE region’s largest social landlord has appointed two new executive directors to its board.The Selkirk-based Scottish Borders Housing Association (SBHA), which has 5,500 rented properties, has...
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Bowhill’s new whisky club holds its first tasting on Saturday, pouring snifters of the five single malt cask-strength malts, bottled under the Duke of Buccleuch’s 20-strong Douglas of Drumlanrig...
View ArticleNew Heriot Watt block ‘a Stalinist monstrosity’
“This was one of the worst planning decisions of the last couple of years. Maybe it could be finished off with a statue of Stalin on the roof.” That’s the view of Borders Party councillor Nicholas...
View ArticleJudy takes starring role at Palace
The London sky is dark over the Thames when I awake. It not yet 5am, but I still have bits of sewing to do on my dress before we arrive at the palace at 10am. At nine, I’m putting the last touches to...
View ArticleHomes in Scottish Borders may have been targeted by bogus workers
Police have warned householders to be on their guard against cold-calling conmen, writes bob BurgessIt follows seven incidents in which suspected bogus workmen offered to carry out roof repairs to...
View ArticlePolice raid Galashiels homes in drugs-busting operation
Three homes in Galashiels suspected by police of being used by drug dealers were raided by specialised officers this morning, writes Kenny Paterson.A 36-year-old man is expected to appear in court...
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