Borders council's share of £13.2 billion funding package

by DOUG COLLIE

Provisional allocations of Scottish Government funding for the country's 32 local authorities were being circulated as Scottish Borders Council invited the public to submit suggestions for next year's revenue expenditure, including how to trim £10 million from the outline budget for 2023/24.

The new municipal settlement for the next financial year is set out in a Local Government circular which will form the basis for consultation between government and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities [COSLA] which represents the councils.

In the case of Scottish Borders Council, the table of figures estimates total expenditure of £308.765 million on local government services. The equivalent figure for 2022/23 was £309 million.

There is a noticeable difference under the heading Updated Service Provision; the figure quoted for 2023/24 is £279.6 million compared to £288.919 million in the current financial year.

Councils rely on the Scottish Government for about 80 per cent of their funding. Councillors in the Borders are responsible for a five-year revenue budget of around £1.7 billion and a 10-year capital budget of almost £550million.

The new circular shows SBC will require £11.915 million to cover advances from the Public Works Loans Board, and to cover the costs associated with Public Private Partnership (PPP) school building projects in Earlston, Duns and Eyemouth. Overall, loan charges cost the council £12.405 million in 2022/23.

The region's council taxpayers are expected to contribute £48.689 million to the overall budget (£48.476 million currently). And General Revenue Funding from the government is likely to be £208.152 million...a decrease from the 2022/23 figure of £210.218 million.

The comparative total revenue funding available to SBC is expected to be £260.076 million next year against £260.529 million this year.

Total capital grants in 2023/24 will be £23.983 million with a further £507,000 for developments linked to cycling and walking. In addition, a flooding allocation of £7.847 million will meet the cost of the Hawick Flood Protection Scheme.

The various sets of figures contained within the settlement circular will be analysed and discussed by senior officers and councillors before next year's SBC budget is finalised in February.

However, there is unlikely to be any political wrangling between the Conservative-led administration and the other groups represented on the council, including the Scottish National Party.

In a highly unusual move all of the groups have agreed to work together to produce a 'united' budget.

A news release issued by SBC has the following quote from its leader Councillor Euan Jardine: "“With every Borders household facing financial pressures this is no time for your local Councillors to be playing party politics and I am really pleased that our colleagues from across SBC’s political groups have joined together with the aim of developing a single budget proposal that we can all sign up to in February next year."

Meanwhile, Councillor Elaine Thornton-Nicol who leads the SNP 'opposition' declared: "The Council’s Administration has made a commitment to work with all the political groups and independent Councillors to develop a budget plan and I welcome that opportunity to collaborate on one of the areas that truly impacts on every person living and working here."

Last year's budget consultation elicited over 750 responses from local residents.

Anyone accessing the online consultation form this time round is told: "The current rate of inflation is also having a significant impact on the Council's finances, in the same way that it is affecting household budgeting, with the costs of items and materials rapidly rising. This impacts on project costs, such as building new schools, right through to the cost of day-to-day items, such as ingredients for school and care home catering."

Borders culture takes a COVID hammering

by DOUGLAS SHEPHERD

The Scottish Borders' main provider of sports, leisure, and cultural services which is already having to cope with annual reductions in its management fee from the local authority, has published a set of  striking statistics showing how COVID-19 has decimated participation and membership. 

Live Borders, the charitable trust set up to take over the running of sports and leisure facilities from Scottish Borders Council in 2003 warn in their annual report for 2021/22  it will be months, if not years, before customer numbers return to pre-pandemic levels.

In 2019/20, before COVID struck, the number of participations/visits to sporting facilities totalled 1,261,019. But during the last financial year that number slumped to 705,907. That represents a 44 per cent drop over two years.

The decline in so-called culture visits to museums, libraries etc. was even more marked.

This sector clocked up 448,317 visits in 2019/20, but a mere 182,954 in 2021/22. The catastrophic fall in numbers works out at 59 per cent.

The data in the report and accounts also reveals how sports membership was cut from 6,107 to 3990 (34.6%) over the two years. In the same period active users of libraries dropped from 15,593 to 7,363 or 52.7%.

Live Borders' objectives include "expand levels of participation and access for all".

The report says that in 2021/22 the trust invested £10.7 million in "delivering safe, fun, educational and accessible cultural, physical activity and sport facilities and services to the communities in the Scottish Borders".

Following the COVID-19 restrictions all of the charity's services restarted by August 2021. But the trustees state "Participation numbers remain below pre-pandemic levels across all services. During March 2022 Live Borders paid sports membership was at 63% of the pre-pandemic level, with visitors (physical and digital) to libraries at 37%".

This downward spiral of customers had financial consequences with the cost per visit in each sector increasing significantly.

Each visit linked to sport cost Live Borders £7.16p in 2019/20. The equivalent figure for 2021/2022 was £10.87p. Meanwhile, each visit to libraries increased from £3.41p to £7.71 in the same period. And  in the case of museums, the rise in costs per visit was astronomical from £7.12p to £28.66p.

The management agreement between Live Borders and Scottish Borders Council means the annual fee paid by the local authority now diminishes by five per cent per annum.

"In 2021/22 SBC paid £5.06 million (2020/21 £5.2 million) in management fee to Live Borders. The fee for the next two years has been set to reduce by £251,000 per annum. Live Borders are required to fund all budgetary pressures, and continue to discuss the potential impact of these pressures with SBC".

The management fee was cut by £153,000 last year.

Live Borders' portfolio includes 13 sports facilities, among them six swimming pools; three sports halls, six libraries; 11 museums; 14 community halls; ten community centres; and a multi-function cinema, theatre and office complex.

The trust has also been tasked with running the recently opened Great Tapestry of Scotland gallery in Galashiels where visitor numbers in the first twelve months totalled 24,000 - less than half the predicted 51,000. The visitor attraction also suffered badly as a result of COVID-19.

Scottish Borders to get a "world's first"

by EWAN LAMB

Tens of millions of pounds will be invested in a three-acre Berwickshire field as global efforts continue to counter electricity shortages and reduce carbon emissions via advanced technology.

A planning application was lodged with Scottish Borders Council on Thursday seeking permission for the so-called Eccles BESS [Battery Energy Storage System] alongside Scottish Power's electricity sub-station near the village of Eccles.

The Borders project is one of three to be constructed in Scotland. The other two are planned for Blackhillock, Kincardine, and Hunterston, Kilmarnock, and will involve a total investment of  £750 million or $892 million.

Each battery within the BESS stores generated electricity drawn from the National Grid, and will then regenerate the stored fuel when required for delivery back to the grid.

The Eccles project is designed to provide a 50 megawatt battery energy store system.

A design and access report accompanying the planning application to SBC claims the BESS is essential to enable transition to low carbon/renewable energy which tends to be intermittent and prone to fluctuation.

The facility is expected to have a construction period of 16 months. After it goes 'live' at the beginning of 2026 the Eccles system will be unmanned and controlled remotely.

According to international specialist firm Zenobe these will be "the first commercial contracts in the world to use transmission connected batteries to provide short circuit level and inertia".

Between them, the three Scottish storage systems are expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than 13 million tonnes during their 15-year operational lifespan.

The design report from SLR Consulting who are promoting the planning application says: "Electricity in the UK has historically been generated in large, centralised power plants. However, as the country transitions to a low carbon economy and strives towards net zero, these older technologies are increasingly being replaced by renewable energy such as wind turbines and solar farms. These technologies, whilst low carbon, are not dispatchable power sources."

The proposed development will support the flexible operation of the National Grid and decarbonisation of electricity supply. It would be on standby to provide services like reactive power and frequency response to National Grid, enhancing control and flexibility. 

"The battery can be fully discharged or can be operated intermittently for rapid deployment as and when required to keep the electricity network stable by balancing supply and demand. The battery will also enhance the capability of storing excess energy from wind generation at times when demand is low or wind is high – for instance at night and released at time of high demand and lower wind 

"The proposed development would import and export electricity but would not generate any additional electricity. The proposed batteries would store electricity that is generated by renewable sources, to be fed into the grid when required and would reduce fluctuations, thus improving stability and reducing the risk of power failures."

New housing on greenfield land to be Borders norm

BORDERS LOCAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN EXAMINATION

by LESTER CROSS

Eighty per cent of the established housing land supply in the Scottish Borders is classified as "greenfield" with the remainder currently accommodating so-called brownfield sites - in sharp contrast to the aims of revised national planning policy which strongly promotes the re-use of derelict plots and empty buildings.

But, in a submission to Scottish Government planning reporters who are examining the region's Local Development Plan (LDP), council planners claim the overwhelming emphasis on greenfield housing sites is unavoidable in a rural area with its limited supply of brownfield available for redevelopment.

The largest single greenfield development locally will be the construction of at least 300 houses plus infrastructure and commercial facilities on the 110-acres Lowood estate, near Melrose which the local authority purchased for £11 million four years ago.

As part of investigations into the many unresolved items in the new LDP, reporters issued a request for further information about the Lowood proposals which amount to a sizeable extension of Tweedbank village. The written response has been published this week.

SBC sets out its position on specific issues including the landscape impact and woodland protection as well as the possible affect to the River Tweed Special Area of Conservation (SAC).

The reasons for the lion's share of future housebuilding on greenfield sites is discussed in considerable detail with figures showing 6,625 housing units on undeveloped land and only 1,655 earmarked for brownfield.

The National Planning Policy, part of Revised Draft NPF4 states: " Development proposals that will result in the sustainable reuse of brownfield land including vacant and derelict land and buildings, whether permanent or temporary, will be supported. In determining whether the reuse is sustainable, the biodiversity value of brownfield land which has naturalised should be taken into account. b) Proposals on greenfield sites will not be supported unless the site has been allocated for development or the proposal is explicitly supported by policies in the LDP."

SBC has told the Government reporters that "The Council’s Housing Land Audit 2020 confirms that the total established land supply on brownfield sites is 1,655 units and 6,625 units on greenfield sites in the Scottish Borders, this includes sites of 5 units and over. 80% of the established land supply on large sites is on greenfield land and 20% on brownfield land. This can be explained by the rural character of the Scottish Borders and the relatively tight boundaries of existing settlements."

The Council goes on to acknowledge the drive within the Revised Draft NPF4 for the development of brownfield land but highlights that there is a finite supply of brownfield sites across the Scottish Borders which could not accommodate large scale housing development necessary to meet the housing land requirements of the region. 

"Furthermore, the development of brownfield land is not always the most deliverable. Whilst a number of brownfield sites are monitored within the annual Vacant and Derelict Land Survey, these sites are not of a scale significant enough to accommodate a development of this scale (Lowood/Tweedbank), they are not always located within the most sustainable location and often are identified for other uses."

According to the Borders local government planning team Supplementary Planning Guidance [SPG] and Design Guide approved for Lowood confirm a number of strategic objectives for the development including that it will lead by example in implementing the Scottish Government’s and the Council’s commitments to the achievement of net zero carbon emissions and to facilitate the establishment of a responsible, resilient, forward-looking community which responds decisively to the challenges of climate change, employing state-of-art technologies and producing its own renewable energy.

"The council is satisfied that the strategic objectives of the SPG reflect the ethos of the spatial principles set out within the Revised Draft NPF4."

The submission points out that any impact of development at this site upon local infrastructure and service providers has been considered in great detail through the site assessment process. 

"Through the process of the preparation of the Proposed Plan, the NHS advised that they will require to review Tweedbank in terms of likely potential for development and current health service provision based on the size of the development/proportion of the local population that the development would represent. Whilst the Council will continue to discuss and communicate with the NHS as development proceeds, it is the NHS’s responsibility to provide sufficient healthcare to the community."

Development of Lowood is expected to commence within the eastern portion of the site, initially serving the business zones, where funding has been secured through the Edinburgh and South East Region City Deal. 

"The Council would refute the assertion that ‘it is clear from the draft SPG that the predominant mode of access will be by way of car and motor vehicles. This site is undoubtedly one of the most sustainable locations for development in the Scottish Borders due to its location at the terminus of the Borders Railway line with links to alternative modes of transport including public transport, paths and cycle ways. 

"The Scottish Borders is a rural authority and there will always be reliance on the car as a mode of transport to a certain extent. However, the site in question is highly sustainable in terms of access to alternative transport modes which will significantly reduce this reliance. Overall, it is considered that the site offers a strategic opportunity due to its immediate proximity to the railway terminus and its location within the Central Borders. The continued allocation of this mixed use site is therefore sought into the forthcoming LDP. The Council remains of the view that this is an effective and deliverable site which should remain within the Local Development Plan."

The target date for completion of the Borders LDP examination is given as May 2023.

Borders "workforce" shrinks by 9,000 thanks to COVID

SPECIAL FEATURE ON JOBS AND SKILL SHORTAGES

The number of people in employment in the Scottish Borders slumped by an alarming 18.8 per cent (9,300) between 2019 and 2021 as a result of the pandemic, according to the latest assessment of the region's skills needs for the immediate and long-term future. The equivalent figure for Scotland as a whole was just 2.2 per cent.

And the Skills Development Scotland (SDS) report reveals that the industries in the region with the greatest contraction of economic output between 2019 and 2021 were Accommodation and Food Service (-26.5 per cent) and Arts, Entertainment and Recreation (-21.3 per cent).

Prior to the pandemic, employment in the region decreased by 3.1 per cent from 2012 to 2019 (-1,600 people). This compares with 7.1 per cent growth across Scotland over the same period. From 2019 to 2021 the number of people employed in the region was estimated to have declined by 9,300, from 49,200 to 39,900.

These statistics will have far reaching consequences for those tasked with ensuring a regional workforce with productivity levels large enough to sustain the local economy in the face of an ever-aging population. The assessment report includes details of initiatives already being taken in a bid to guarantee a supply of skills for employers over the next ten years.

Current economic performance figures outline Borders Gross Value Added (GVA) - the measure of the value of goods and services produced in an area and an indicator of the economy’s health. In 2022, GVA was forecast to be £2,483m in the Borders, 1.6 per cent of Scotland’s output (£150,611). This share of GVA ranks the Borders in the lower third of RSA [Regional Skills Assessment] regions for GVA contribution to the Scottish economy.

Pre-pandemic, between 2012 and 2019 the region’s economic output, measured by GVA, grew by 2.1 per cent on average each year. This was a faster rate of growth than Scotland, which over the same period experienced a 1.6 per cent growth on average each year. Between 2019 and 2020, the region’s economy contracted sharply as measures were taken across Scotland and the UK to limit the spread of COVID-19.

The SDS assessment also points out: "Productivity is the measure of goods and services produced per unit of labour input. In 2022, productivity in the Borders was forecast to be £50,100. This was lower than the Scottish average of £54,100."

Figures for current employment show the following: "Total employment in the Borders (measured by people) was estimated to be 39,900 in 2022, 1.5 per cent of Scottish employment. This share of total employment ranks the Borders in the lower third of RSA regions. 

"In 2022, 27,600 people (69.2 per cent) were in full-time jobs in the Borders. This was a lower percentage share compared to Scotland where 74.6 per cent of people were in full-time employment. Part-time employment accounted for a higher percentage share of employment in the region compared to Scotland, 30.8 per cent compared to 25.4 per cent. Overall, there were 12,300 people in parttime employment in the Borders."

So far as future employment is concerned, in the mid-term (2022-2025) the number of people in employment is forecast to grow by 600 in the region. Across Scotland the number of people in employment is also forecast to increase. Whilst positive, this growth will not fully replace jobs lost in the region as a result of the pandemic.

In 2022, Human Health and Social Work was the largest employing industry in the region. This industry accounted for 9,000 people or 22.5 per cent of the workforce. Wholesale and Retail Trade was the second largest with a total of 4,700 people or 11.9 per cent of the workforce. These industries are forecast to remain the main employers in the Borders in 2025 and 2032.

The greatest employment growth is forecast in Human Health and Social Work, with 200 more people expected to be working in the industry by 2025, followed by Accommodation and Food Service and Wholesale and Retail Trade (both with 100 more people). However, not all industries in the region are forecast to grow in the mid-term. Education is forecast to have the greatest employment contraction with 100 fewer people in employment in 2025. 

Manufacturing is forecast to have a decline of 100 people over the same period. This reflects the general trend of more capital intensive and higher value-added activity in the sector, which requires less labour-intensive methods. 

From 2025 to 2032, Human Health and Social Work is forecast to have the greatest employment growth with 400 more people working in the industry. 

According to the assessment: "Growth in Human Health and Social Work is driven by Scotland’s ageing population, along with the aim to protect the provision of frontline services. Other industries forecast to grow over the long-term are Professional, Scientific and Technical (200 people), and Construction (100 people). 

"The mid-term contraction in Manufacturing is forecast to continue over the long-term as the adoption of new technologies and production methods continues and the industry produces more but with fewer workers. The industry with the greatest contraction. over the long-term is forecast to be Manufacturing (-600 people)."

The majority of "job openings" between 2022 and 2025 will be to replace those retiring from the workforce 

In the Borders, 5,200 job openings are forecast from 2022 to 2025. The replacement requirement is estimated at 4,600 people on top of the 600 extra jobs. Job openings are expected to be concentrated in a small number of industries, with four industries in the Borders forecast to account for 3,000 (58.2 per cent) of the requirement. These are: Human Health and Social Work: 1,000 people; Wholesale and Retail Trade: 900 people; Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing: 600 people; Accommodation and Food Service: 500 people.

Moving on to the longer term (2025-2032) the report claims predictions for these years highlight that jobs growth should continue in the Borders.

"However, it is expected that there could be an ongoing requirement for skilled people to fill opportunities created by people leaving the labour market. This feature of the labour market, known as the replacement requirement, is a symptom of the demographic change strategic driver. In the Borders, 11,400 job openings are forecast from 2025 to 2032."

The same four industrial categories will require the lion's share of new or replacement workers.

"Job openings are expected to be concentrated in a small number of industries, with four industries in the Borders forecast to account for 6,500 (56.9 per cent) of the requirement. These are: Human Health and Social Work: 2,100 people; Wholesale and Retail Trade: 2,000 people; Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing: 1,400 people; Accommodation and Food Service: 1,000 people."

  

 

 

Blot on the Landscape? Not really, says Council

by EWAN LAMB

The construction of roads, pavements, street lighting and other infrastructure to facilitate the development of hundreds of houses on a beautiful Borders country estate will have a "negligible to neutral" impact on the wider landscape, according to an assessment prepared for the local authority.

Scottish Borders Council is currently asking its own planning department for permission to kick start their controversial proposals at Lowood, the estate purchased by SBC for around £11 million four years ago. Opponents say the multi-million pound project to extend Tweedbank village is economically unviable, and represents a threat to the local environment.

As part of the planning process the local authority has submitted a so-called Landscape and Visual Appraisal (LVA) although officers claim there is no requirement for an Environmental Impact Assessment because of the restricted size of the area to be used for the first phase of earthworks and roadworks.

The LVA, now available on the planning department's website, seeks to identify the effects of construction work on the Lowood estate.

The 22-page document explains: " The arrangement of woodland belts, trees and meadows framing views of distant hills with glimpses through the open pasture to pond and river together create a tranquil, harmonious and picturesque ‘rural’ landscape with a strong sense of enclosure.  

"The proposed development would introduce areas of new hard construction into this previously undeveloped landscape, providing road infrastructure for future mixed use development within the estate.  Footpath and road networks will connect the estate physically to Tweedbank commercial area, the railway station and Tweedbank settlement immediately to the south.  Greater visual connection will be created through the southern point of access in the boundary wall reducing the sense of enclosure to some extent."

It is claimed that in general due to the levels of containment and landform the site has a relatively limited 'visual envelope' both locally and from a distance.  The greatest potential visibility will be in close proximity to the site within the parkland itself, adjacent to the site entrance and for a short distance from across the River Tweed to the north east. 

The assessment considered the likely impact of development from a number of viewpoints on the estate itself and in the surrounding area. In a number of cases the effects are recorded as negligible.

However, when it came to viewpoint number four - close to Lowood driveway entrance - the impact was judged in the following way: " The development will be in a large part of the view, seen in close association with the existing estate drive introducing a ‘developed’ appearance to the landscape and having a high negative effect on the quality and tranquillity of the parkland landscape and this attractive approach.  

"Once operational the new route will introduce vehicular traffic on a regular basis.  The site will become the focus of attention, negatively impacting on the sense of concealment and surprise as the view opens out into the estate at this location and the perception of a harmonious picturesque landscape will be reduced."

According to the LVA the overall the scale of visual effect on viewpoint four could be judged as high with an increase in effects at night and in low light levels when car headlights and street lights are switched on.  Although hedgerow and tree planting will reduce the visual effects a little the overall scale of visual effect would be likely to remain high. 

 Under a heading Landscape Resource, the report says: "The landscape is assessed to have a high susceptibility to the kind of change proposed as the development is uncharacteristic of the baseline situation.  However the changes are not of a scale or nature that would cause notable impact on landscape resources on a regional or national scale and although the development would fundamentally change the appearance and nature of the site it would not cause a notable change in the wider landscape character of the study area.

"Overall the proposal would have a medium degree of effect on the character at the local scales and a negligible to neutral effect on the wider landscape character."

The document includes a comprehensive list of mitigating measures aimed at lessening the overall impact of development.

These are:

•             Sweeping nature of road in the views through the parkland, reflecting the organic nature of the parkland character and avoiding the mature parkland trees wherever possible.

•             Positioning of the proposed road against the wooded backdrop to the rear of views, away from the river Tweed and Borders Abbey Way to limit dominance of the road from sensitive viewpoints.

•             ‘Low key’ road design reflecting the existing estate road character and minimising prominence in views by avoiding a heavily engineered approach; using minimum road width; limiting use of road kerbs to site entrance only and creating ‘soft’ road edges of grass verges.

•             Protection of the historic containment features of woodland belts and the stonewall boundary feature as much as possible to retain the limited visual envelope of and the enclosed character of the parkland.

•             Retention of the historic driveway to Lowood house providing a safe, attractive and more ‘tranquil’ pedestrian and cycle route through the parkland separated from traffic with safe access to the new road link.

•             Hedge planting to screen pedestrians and cyclists from noise and air pollution and to reduce visual intrusion of the road development from views to the north.

•             Retention of individual mature parkland trees wherever possible and new plantings of individual/small groups of parkland trees to enhance the setting and provide successional planting within the designed landscape.

•             New planting of native hedgerow along the east and northern edge of the route

•             To soften the impact of the road in views, reduce traffic dominance and provide an element of separation between the more ‘developed’ new road and the existing ‘rural’ estate road.

•             New areas of verge and wildflower meadow mix associated with the road embankments, swales and disturbed ground to minimise visual impact and heavy engineering and provide nature based solutions to drainage.

•             New areas of predominantly native shrub, perennial planting and wildflower grass areas associated with embankments water bodies and swales to improve biodiversity and integration of the proposals into the landscape.