Borders heritage 'a largely untapped resource'

PART TWO OF OUR SPECIAL REPORT FEATURING DR CHRIS BOWLES, FORMER ARCHAEOLOGY OFFICER AT SCOTTISH BORDERS COUNCIL AND NOW IN CHARGE OF COLORADO'S CASH RICH HISTORICAL FUND 

The Scottish Borders may be one of the most blessed areas in the world when it comes to built and archaeological heritage, but the economic potential of Borders history remains largely untapped with the exception of a few shining examples, according to the region's former archaeology officer.

In a wide ranging interview with Not Just Sheep & Rugby, American-born Dr Chris Bowles told of his heartbreak when the burgeoning and highly impressive Borders Heritage Festival 'died on the vine' after most of its financial support was withdrawn in the wake of the hugely successful 2017 event.

And Dr Bowles who now oversees the USA's most generously funded historical preservation fund in his native Colorado, says he received little more than tacit support from Scottish Borders Council for his efforts to promote and develop heritage potential during his eleven years in post.

Dr Bowles said: "As Archaeology Officer, I was always keen to explore this aspect of heritage. I've always felt that heritage needs to 'pay its own way' as a resource in order to remain relevant to communities and visitors alike. It was this belief that led me to create the Borders Heritage Week, which became a month-long Festival over time.

"In the last year it was held, we had thousands of visitors generating significant economic impact in the Borders. Unfortunately, I never received the support this deserved from SBC and the Festival died on the vine despite valiant efforts by those involved. But despite little backing from the Council, I believe we proved the point - the Borders built and archaeological heritage is a rich and largely untapped resource for development."

The 2017 heritage festival cost £125,000 to stage with sponsors including the National Lottery, Museums and Galleries Scotland, Live Borders and the Roxburghe Estates/EDF Fallago Rig Environment Fund.

A report on the event published in Scottish Field in December 2017 charted the progress made by the festival. It attracted a modest 4,490 visitors in 2015, then 20,517 in 2016 followed by an impressive 33,000 over the month of September 2017. And it brought an estimated £1.45 million into the local economy.

The article carried the following quote from Ewan Jackson, chief executive of Live Borders: "It is important that the increased interest and volunteer engagement in the Borders Heritage Forum that has come through the 2017 programme provides a momentum to build on the success of this year for years to come".

But within a matter of a few short months the annual festival was consigned to history, so to speak.

Said Dr Bowles: "2017 was pretty bitter-sweet to be sure as far as the Festival was concerned. We achieved that level of success, and then found ourselves unable to capitalise on it. I put this down to several factors. 

"Since its inception in 2009 when I was the sole organiser, SBC only offered tacit support in that they let me do it and I was able to leverage a little funding we had for conservation and archaeology. Despite repeated attempts to get my Economic Development colleagues to buy in (some of whom ultimately did, but never the senior management), this situation continued for about 5 years. We were then faced with difficult choices on funding and explored a number of options".

A planning and consultation process helped in the creation of a Borders Heritage Forum whose remit would have been to organise the festival and lead collaborative heritage projects. 

"The success of the 2017 Festival proved what could be done with a dedicated resource and we truly hoped it would only grow from there", explained Dr Bowles. "That's actually when SBC did take some notice and Economic Development provided some funds for reporting and future planning. There was also a very small amount of political support, but this didn't translate into a strategic direction for dedicating the necessary time, energy and money needed to support the festival.

"So actually SBC didn't go cold in the end, they went lukewarm...but never really bought into the concept (as opposed to say the Book Festival) so provided too little, too late. Tied to this was the fact that Economic Development was morphing through the Borderlands deal, and the fact that the Lottery wouldn't support more than one year of the Festival."

He complimented Live Borders for giving the festival 'some fabulous support at least for a year'. But then after the Festival, other priorities took over and they were unwilling to support the event further. 

"I'm afraid the Heritage Forum never took off. There was a lot of good will there, but no one really wanted to take on the hard work of developing it. So we took the incredibly difficult decision to shelve the Festival. It was a bit heart breaking for me because of all the time I'd dedicated to it, and because I knew I did and would continue to work to bring not a little inward investment into the Borders, while at the same time encouraging local investment and stewardship of sites around the region."

We asked Scottish Borders Council and Live Borders for comment regarding the demise of the heritage festival. 

A Scottish Borders Council spokesperson said: “To tie in with the 2017 Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology an ambitious partnership bid for funding from various sources was developed. This was successful and enabled a much expanded Borders Heritage Festival programme for 2017 to be established.

“The work of a number of key individuals across the various partners, including SBC and Live Borders, was crucial to both the success of the bid and of the Festival itself.

“Unfortunately with limited interest in the Borders Heritage Forum and competing public sector resource pressures, both staffing and financial, it was not possible to sustain such an expansive and resource intensive Festival in future years.

“Scottish Borders Council is absolutely committed to supporting the establishment of new local events, helping to grow existing ones to become sustainable, and prioritising its investment to deliver the maximum positive benefit to the area.

“The Council would welcome discussions with any individuals, community groups or partners around the development of heritage-based events and would provide support wherever possible in line with the aims of our event strategy.”

THE FINAL PART OF OUR LOOK AT BORDERS HERITAGE STRIKES A MORE OPTIMISTIC TONE.