Former councillor's outlandish dispute with Borders authority

EXCLUSIVE by OUR LOCAL GOVERNMENT EDITOR

A bizarre planning wrangle involving a former member of Scottish Borders Council's executive committee and the local authority, and featuring long lost paperwork and a sworn affidavit by a 94-year-old landowner has ended with a ruling in favour of SBC.

Nicholas Watson, leader of the Borders Party from 2007 until he left the area in 2013, had hoped a Scottish Government planning reporter would overturn the refusal by council officials to issue a so-called Certificate of Lawful Use so that Mr Watson and his three brothers could build a second cottage on land the family owns at Faldonside, near Melrose.

The Watsons and their father Andrew, 94, claim planning permission was granted to build two houses at the site in the 1960s. But only one cottage was constructed at the time and the second dwelling was never started. Their arguments have been rejected by reporter Paul Cackette.

Nicholas Watson applied to SBC for the certificate in July on the basis that the proposed use of the site for a house would be lawful because of a pre-existing planning permission. 

He became involved in local politics by campaigning to prevent housebuilding in the vicinity of Abbotsford, the home of renowned author Sir Walter Scott. Mr Watson served as a councillor for the Leaderdale and Melrose ward on SBC for more than five years.

The certificate application was refused, under delegated powers, by Scottish Borders Council in September. The reason given was that it had not been demonstrated, on the balance of probability, in the view of the council that a house on the land would be lawful by virtue of an existing, extant planning permission capable of still being implemented.

In a supporting statement lodged with the council, the Watsons said the granting of a certificate would normally involve production of a copy of the original consent, with proof that development had been commenced within the required timescale. 

"However, and as the planning authority is aware, files containing original planning consents were misplaced during the planning department’s move from Galashiels to Council HQ [in Newtown St Boswells] in 2011, and can no longer be located. A recent search of the Hawick archive has proved unsuccessful. 

"Nonetheless, even without a copy of the consent, we believe that the location and design of the existing cottages unambiguously demonstrates that the planning consent obtained for The Cottage was in fact for a pair of cottages, the second of which was never built."

Mr Watson senior clearly remembered the circumstances surrounding his putting a halt to the second cottage, and an Affidavit signed by him accompanied this submission. 

However, planning officer Alla Hassan recommended refusal after assessing the application.

A report stated: "It is important to note that given the age of the consent, neither the Council nor the applicants have been able to retrieve any copies of the original consent. This assessment is limited to considering whether the existing or proposed use or development would be lawful under the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 as amended. The relevant test is on the 'balance of probability' whereby the burden of proof regarding decisive matters of facts rests solely with the applicant to provide clear and unambiguous evidence to demonstrate truth of that assertion.

"Whilst the assertions made may indeed point to the intent to develop the site with the addition of a second cottage; as a matter of fact and degree the applicant has failed to demonstrate that on the balance of probability, there has been permission for the second cottage and that the consent remains extant. Though there is a 'possibility' of a consent having been granted and extant, that is not sufficient itself to be 'probable', based on the submissions made here. The Certificate of Lawfulness must, therefore, be refused."

In his appeal letter to the DPEA [Planning & Environmental Appeals Division], Nicholas Watson claimed the evidence the family submitted appeared to have been accepted by the planning authority. "We do not, therefore, comprehend why the application was refused. The decision notice gives no understandable reason."

The written decision issued by Mr Cackette following a site visit, and published yesterday (Monday) includes the following statement: " Overall though, I accept that the design intention at this site is likely to have had in mind the locating of two cottages as suggested."

"That however is not the complete question before me. Applying the tests in the (planning act) Circular, it appears to me that the council were correct in assessing that these indications and the assumptions or inferences as may be drawn from them do not establish, on the balance of probabilities, that the landowner at the time (not being the appellants’ father) sought and obtained planning permission for a cottage on the appeal site."

Mr Cackette believed the affidavit evidence related to a later period of time. In the absence of records indicating the duration of the permission as a planning condition (or not), it was not possible to say for sure when any unimplemented permission expired (or indeed when applied for and granted). But, if limited to the appeal site, it seemed clear – at least some 62 years later – that, if not implemented, it would have long expired. 

The reporter added: "The appellants counter that by assuming that the absent and unseen permission must have related to both cottages and accordingly that proof of commencement can be assumed from the existence of the paired cottage, built in 1964. There is however no evidence of this. What may have been intended or done can only be unverified speculation."

After receiving the decision, Nicholas Watson told Not Just Sheep & Rugby: "This is disappointing, because Reporters’ decisions are usually mini lessons in good planning judgement, but it seems that yet again the only thing that really counts is the correct bit of paper.

"Since the council lost the original planning documents, we were simply asking them to look at the evidence - and there is a lot of it - which points to a pair of cottages being intended for the site.

"The Reporter, like the council, accepts the pair of cottages evidence, but for some inexplicable reason does not think it likely that the original planning permission was for both cottages.  I can’t think of a single reason why anyone would apply for permission to build only one house in a pair, involving more work, cost, time and risk.  The test in these cases is supposed to be the “balance of probability”, but it doesn’t seem to have been applied here."  

Jedburgh seat of learning reduced to rubble

by DOUG COLLIE

Former pupils who received their education at Jedburgh's abandoned grammar school site will have to rely on memories of their alma mater from now on as the bulldozers work to flatten the collection of buildings where generations of youngsters were taught for almost 140 years.

Jethart ex-pats and locals alike may feel like shedding a sentimental tear when they see our pictures of the rubble which now dominates the landscape along the entire length of The Pleasance as the demolition squad clears the classrooms, dining hall and sports centre in preparation for redevelopment of the five-and-a-half acre site. Here's what it once looked like:

Scottish Borders Council's selling agents D M Hall have been marketing the property since October with the entire area set to be free of all vertical structures by next month. Offers of over £800,000 have been invited.

The only building to survive the carnage is the listed original single and two-storey block, built in 1882-84 to the designs of Henry Hardy and John Rutherford Wight in a Neo-Jacobean style with Gothic details. The building is recognisable from its square-plan bell-tower, positioned over the entrance door (see below).

Historic Environment Scotland's Statement of Special Interest includes the following: "The 1880s block of Jedburgh Grammar School is a notable and relatively early example of a burgh school built in the decade following the Education (Scotland) Act of 1872. It has some good quality Gothic detailing, largely concentrated on the main elevation, including gables breaking the wall head to create a varied roofline and carved window rosettes. The bell-tower over the main entrance is a distinctive feature. The building itself is of special architectural interest".

The 'new' school building was opened on 21 July 1884. The final cost, which came in under budget, amounted to £5,200. The school was initially built to accommodate 300 pupils. However there were soon plans to add a further two classrooms, thereby increasing its capacity to 500.

On the Pleasance on the opposite side of the road stood an Art Deco E-plan block by Reid and Forbes, which was built in 1935 as a primary school. Built at a cost of £10,300 the block was constructed of harled brick walls with synthetic stone facings. The building was used by the Grammar School for Social Dining purposes but unfortunately it was excluded from the listing in 2017 and has been knocked down.

The proposed demolition of the school was halted in 1996 following a last minute intervention by Historic Scotland, as the agency was then known. 

A plan for a £8 million replacement school had been scrapped 18 months earlier as a result of education spending cuts with alternative proposals for demolition and rebuild at The Pleasance to rid the site of dilapidated classrooms.

But it would be another quarter of a century before the new £32 million Jedburgh Grammar Campus opened its doors.

Among the luminaries who spent their formative years in the old school are Roy and Greig Laidlaw who both distinguished themselves as Scottish rugby internationalists, Steve Hislop, a champion motorbike racer who died in a helicopter crash in 2003, elite swimmer Lucy Hope, and TV presenter Jill Douglas.

Before the site was advertised for sale, the council conducted a public consultation in which a majority of respondents voted for a new supermarket to be built on part of the site. Other favoured suggestions included a care home and a sports park.

We asked SBC for an update on its efforts to unload the cleared site. These are the questions we asked and responses received from the local authority:

1 - The site has been on the market since October. How would SBC describe the level of interest so far?

There has been some interest in the site and discussions are progressing. A closing date has not been set.   

2. The top priority among those who responded to the council’s 2022 consultation was for a supermarket on the northern part of the site. Has there been any interest shown from supermarket/major retailers?

We cannot comment on discussions with potential purchasers at this time due to commercial sensitivity.

3. A document in the collection which accompanies the planning application shows the demolition contract is being carried out by Central Demolition Ltd., of Bonnybridge. What is the value of the contract awarded to that company/total cost of demolishing and clearing the site? 

The Contract Value is £449,166.00

4. Was Central Demolition Ltd handed the demolition contract without competition or was there a contract notice published, inviting bids for the work? If so, how many bids were received? When is the clearance of the site expected to be complete?  

We used the Scotland Excel framework for Demolition and Deconstruction and called off from lot 2 due to the estimated value. All suppliers within lot 2 who had the ability to service the Scottish Borders were invited (15 suppliers in total) to provide the most economically advantageous tender based on price and quality; we received 7 bids. A Contract Award notice was published on the 17th of September.

Another £1 million loss for Live Borders

by OUR LOCAL GOVERNMENT EDITOR

The cash-strapped sports and culture trust which provides leisure services for Scottish Borders Council recorded a £1.1 million operating loss for 2023/24 even after receiving an extra million pounds from the local authority to help with increased running costs.

This latest deficit is revealed in accounts filed by Live Borders at Companies House and with the Scottish charities regulator. Income totalling £11.7 million was outstripped by expenditure of £12.8 million.

Live Borders' loss for the last financial year is 36 times greater than the shortfall recorded by the Jedburgh Leisure Facilities Trust [£30,500] which Borders councillors voted out of existence in November by rejecting pleas for further financial assistance. 

The Jedburgh trust is now in the hands of liquidators following the closure of the town swimming pool while an assessment of all facilities run by Live Borders (LB) on behalf of the local authority is expected to be complete by March of next year. The outcome may see at least some of the LB portfolio being brought back under direct council control.

A report by the LB trustees which includes a number of councillors says: "Live Borders in line with many other similar charitable leisure and cultural trusts continued to face challenging trading conditions following the pandemic, significantly exacerbated by other external factors outwith its direct control including significant increases in energy costs, general cost of living pressures and changes in customer behaviour.

"It is also dealing with the impacts of managing and maintaining an ageing property estate as required under the terms of its leases".

LB did manage to achieve a growth in sports participation - 1,131,303 participants against a target of 1,112,401. At the same time cultural involvement saw 405,407 participants against the hoped for 424,723. Health referrals totalled 670 against a target of 600.

According to the trust, membership numbers are being affected by increased competition and the lack of investment into the membership product, impacting on retention rates. These income streams are described as 'business critical'.

Jedburgh Castle Jail and the town's Mary Queen of Scots House continued to be among the most visited cultural venues while the Great Tapestry of Scotland, housed in Galashiels, also grew its visitor numbers.

Scottish Borders Council paid the trust a management fee of £5.8 million in 2023/24 including that additional payment of £1 million to meet the rising cost of providing the service, principally increased staffing costs, utility costs and expenditure on building maintenance.

LB had been handed an extra £800,000 in the previous financial year to keep it afloat and has received further bailouts since the end of the last fiscal year in March.

A financial review which forms part of the accounts declares: "Current forecasts on patterns of consumer behaviour, the level of competition for services locally and competition in key markets suggest it will be several years before our customers return to pre-pandemic levels if investment into key facilities and products is not made". 

The report warns that consistently one of the biggest risks facing LB is maintaining financial stability and sustainable service delivery in the context of managing its large, ageing property portfolio and ambitious income generation targets alongside reduced levels of local authority funding.

LB is currently responsible for 15 sports facilities including six swimming pools, two sports halls, one outdoor sports complex and bowls hall, six artificial sports pitches, two high school sports centres, one school community campus, six libraries, 11 museums, one visitor attraction, 14 community halls, 10 community centres, one archive hub, office buildings, and a multi-function cinema, theatre and offices with cafe bar. The trust had an average of 395 employees on its payroll, up from 354 during the previous year. 

Will Borderers back 10% council tax hike?

by OUR LOCAL GOVERNMENT EDITOR

An extra £19.2 million in grant aid from the Scottish Government, representing a 7.2% uplift from last year, seems unlikely to ward off a threatened ten per cent council tax increase and local government service cuts for Borders households in 2025/26.

A warning has already been given that most of the additional cash to be handed to Conservative led Scottish Borders Council is already being used in the current financial year to fund pay rises and the ongoing council tax freeze.

According to senior finance officers and leading councillors, the £292 million settlement for SBC is complex and shrouded in uncertainties. 

Over 100 queries about the national settlement for 32 councils have already been lodged with the Convention of Local Authorities [COSLA] and will have to be resolved before a clear financial picture emerges, according to Suzy Douglas, SBC's Director of Finance.

She told councillors the increased settlement would only partially meet the existing funding gap, and further revenue savings will be required to allow the authority to set a balanced budget in February.

And the money allocated by the SNP administration in Edinburgh will not fully provide for the UK Government's controversial rise in employers' National Insurance contributions. It has been estimated the public sector in Scotland will have to find £700 million to cover additional NI payments but will receive only £300 million as part of the settlement.

The Borders budget planning assumption is for a 10 per cent increase in council tax bills which will cost local taxpayers an additional £7 million over the coming financial year. 

Before launching the council's annual budget consultation exercise at the weekend, Leagh Douglas, SBC's Executive Member for Finance, told a meeting on Thursday that difficult decisions lay ahead.

In a statement issued by the council to mark the beginning of the consultation process, Councillor Douglas says: "A cross-party group of Councillors along with officers have been meeting regularly to draft plans for the 2025/2026 budget, but we are just part of the process, it’s crucial that we get the input of local people of all ages from across the Borders sharing their views and taking an active part in shaping their communities”.

Council Leader Euan Jardine commented: "“The Council has implemented a range of innovative measures to save money and improve efficiency. However, we continue to face significant challenges, including rising costs of essential services, the impact of inflation and the unique geographical and demographic factors of our region.

“Despite these hurdles, we are committed to remaining financially sustainable in the face of ever-growing challenges and must identify at least £5 million in savings for the 2025/26 financial year to ensure we can continue to provide high-quality services for our communities."

Councillors will have to make financial headroom for a significant increase in interest charges following record levels of borrowing for capital projects in 2024. As previously reported, SBC arranged a series of loans from the Treasury Debt Management Office totalling £136 million in the first eleven months of this calendar year.

Among the questions posed in the online survey is this one: To what extent do you support or oppose the following proposals? An increase of up to 10% in Council Tax to protect local services? The options on offer are 'strongly support', 'support', 'oppose', 'strongly oppose' and 'don't know'.

 

Borders Railway booming along its entire length

by LESTER CROSS

The five stations closest to the northern end of the Borders Railway experienced an even larger increase in passenger demand last year than their booming counterparts further south, figures based on ticket sales have shown.

As we reported yesterday, the stations at Gorebridge, Stow, Galashiels and Tweedbank experienced an uplift in user numbers ranging from 19 to 32 per cent in 2023/24, according to recently published data from the national railway authorities.

But the statistics are even more striking when the latest usage totals for stations at Brunstane, Newcraighall, Shawfair, Eskbank and Newtongrange are set alongside the equivalent numbers in 2022/23.

Here is what the tables of data show:

Brunstane - 2023/24 162,702 (2022/23 109,944) increase 47.9%.

Newcraighall - 250,388 (177,804) increase 40.8%.

Shawfair - 64,520 (44,362) increase 45.4%.

Eskbank - 274,640 (202,734) increase 35.4%.

Newtongrange - 153,434 (114,918) increase 33.5%.

Supporters of the campaign to have the 30-mile rail route extended at least as far as Hawick in the short-term claim this set of figures should pile pressure on the UK Treasury to stump up £5 million as their half of a £10 million project to assess the feasibility of the proposed extension right through to Carlisle.

Local MSP Christine Grahame (SNP) whose constituency includes the four southernmost stations on the existing line has already indicated she will be writing to the UK Government urging them to match the Scottish Government's commitment to fund the study.

Meanwhile Marion Short, who chairs the Campaign For Borders Rail told us: "The stats certainly make for very interesting reading and are indicative that there is now an even stronger demand for train travel within the Borders.

"I would be hopeful that this encourages people to travel into the Scottish Borders for tourism purposes.  I will definitely be cascading this information to my many contacts politically, those in transport agencies, Borderlands Growth Deal Group as this overall increase from 22/23 has to have a significant impact on the decisions of both Governments relative to the release of the feasibility study funding".

She said the campaign members had been delighted to hear the announcement of a proposed new Center Parcs [700 lodges and assorted holiday facilities] development near Hawick and were hopeful that would strengthen the case to build the second phase of the railway from Tweedbank via Hawick and onwards to Carlisle.  

"The criteria publicised by the UK Government for any new project is that it would lead to economic growth and certainly this new development would enhance that criteria and correlate with the railway towards the regeneration of the whole Scottish Borders area", said Ms Short. "It is seen locally as a terrific boost."

Notwithstanding visitors attending the Center Parcs village, the provision of the railway would be most helpful for anyone working there, facilitating transport connectivity.  The process for determining the Center Parcs planning application would run ahead of the railway feasibility study, and the Transport Assessment which would form part of the planning application would have to outline the impact on existing road infrastructure. 

Massive rise in Borders rail passenger numbers

EXCLUSIVE by LESTER CROSS

Campaigners for an extension of the Borders Railway beyond the Tweedbank terminus will have welcomed newly published figures which show numbers of travellers increased by more than 30 per cent at some stations during 2023/24.

Following confirmation of the strong sets of data for stations in her constituency, Borders MSP Christine Grahame told us she would use the figures to put pressure on the UK Treasury to release cash for a long-awaited investigation into the case for reinstating the rest of the former Waverley route.

While nationally, Scotland enjoyed a 16% uplift in passenger journeys, local figures for stations on the southern section of the Borders line exceeded that impressive rise by a considerable margin.

Estimated passenger entries and exits by station, based on ticket sales, revealed the following statistics for four of the stations along the route:

Tweedbank - 399,460, a 32.4% increase on the 2022/23 figure of 301,528; Galashiels - 320,406, up by 19.2% on the previous year's total of 268,720; Stow - 75,818, 26.7% above the 2022/23 number of 59,806; and Gorebridge - 122,968, 32.9% more than the previous year's estimate of 92,486.

According to the publication which covers every railway station in the UK, some ticket sales and ticketless travel are not included, which may mean that usage at some stations is underestimated.

A £10 million feasibility study to see whether an extension of the railway through the Borders to Carlisle would be financially viable remains on hold after the UK Government 'paused' its commitment of £5 million following this year's General Election.

Christine Grahame, the SNP MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, told us: "These figures prove what myself and all those campaigners always knew, that the railway would be a success. 

“This demonstrates the potential for the Borders people and the Borders economy with an extension through to Carlisle.

“ The Scottish government remains committed to its £5 million contribution to that feasibility study for the extension, but the UK government has not committed to its £5 million contribution and as of September 2024 has put this “on hold”

Ms Grahame, who was at the forefront of efforts to have the Edinburgh-Tweedbank line rebuilt and brought back into service in 2015 added: “£5 million is a drop in a bucket in the UK finances and I am writing to the UK Treasury to request this small sum in the light of these figures, be reinstated so the first steps to the extension and growing the Borders economy, can begin."

The study forms part of the multi-million pounds Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal. But Labour politicians have rubbished claims that the previous Tory administration had allocated funds for the study, and allege such claims were 'a work of fiction'.

Earlier this year, Scottish Borders Council agreed to proceed with the appointment of a senior project manager to oversee the various stages of the study. 

Councillors who approved the appointment were told the role will cover a three-year period at a cost of £220,000, funded 50/50 by the Scottish and UK Governments. The procurement of the Senior Project Manager would progress using the £110,000 available to draw down from Scottish Government until the full allocation was confirmed by the UK Government.

A report to council stated: "It is expected that the next step following the appointment of the Senior Project Manager will be the establishment of a dedicated Project Support Team, cash flowed upfront by the Council and the costs fully recovered from the £10m funding provided by UK and Scottish Governments via the Borderlands Deal."

The Campaign for Borders Rail, which backs efforts for a better service on the existing Borders Railway as well as pushing for the extension to Carlisle was approached for comment on the new passenger figures.

Meanwhile, there was an equally healthy increase in usage of the recently reopened Reston station on the east coast main line in Berwickshire. Numbers there rose from 13,190 in 2022/23 to 21,130 last year, an increase of more than 60%. 

Revised Teviot wind farm remains "unacceptable"

by EWAN LAMB

The scaled-down proposals for a giant wind farm in Teviotdale with the number of turbines cut from 62 to 53 would still have a detrimental impact on the area's conical-shaped hills and steep-sided valleys, according to a landscape expert who also condemned the original plan.

Scottish Borders Council is expected to finally reach a decision on Muirhall Energy's Teviot Wind Farm scheme south of Hawick in early 2025 after being granted several extensions by the Scottish Government's Energy Consents Unit.

A key element in the decision-making process will be the opinion provided by Siobhan McDermott, the council's landscape architect. 

In a report last year, Ms McDermott wrote: "Although there are no designated landscapes within the site, I suggest that the landscape of this area has a high local value arising from its perception of remoteness and relatively wild character, and an increased sensitivity due to the important routes in close proximity.

"The number and spread of turbines is threatening to turn this area into a wind farm landscape, with a consequence change of the landscape character from Uplands with Wind Turbines/No wind turbines to a Wind Turbine landscape. This increase in windfarms to the extent that it would become a windfarm landscape is, in my professional opinion a significant cumulative landscape effect.   The visualisations from many of the viewpoints (VPs) demonstrates how prominent and character changing a wind farm of this scale would be."

Her revised report, now published on the council's website shows Ms McDermott has not altered her views. She recommends that the council should object to the scheme.

The new report concludes: "I do not support a windfarm of this scale and with such large turbines on a group of hills that, in my opinion cannot accommodate them without unacceptable negative landscape and visual effects."

Ms McDermott explains that although her comment concentrates on the turbines and their landscape and visual effects, it is acknowledged that the dropping of the draft solar array proposal will have a positive landscape and visual impact on the immediate area where it was proposed. 

But she says the revised scheme does not markedly reduce the visibility of the array when seen from the selected viewpoints – there is no additional topographical containment achieved with the amended scheme. 

"The ZTV [Zones of Theoretical Visibility] mapping and visualisations provide a useful demonstration of just how little screening there is from surrounding areas, and this lack of containment coupled with the horizontal spread of turbines makes it highly visible and highly prominent in the landscape."

According to Ms McDermott, the complex topography of the site, seen by the juxtaposition of hills and ridges with an extensive network of watercourses in deep and steep-sided valleys suggests  that a wind farm of this scale cannot be accommodated without unacceptable effects on the landscape, both fabric and character. 

"These effects will especially diminish the character of the cone shaped hills such as Skelfhill Pen, Penchrise Pen and to a lesser extent, Maiden Paps, by virtue of surrounding or engulfing them with turbines.   While the remoteness, wild character and grandeur of scale currently remain the underlying character of the receiving landscape, these have already been modified by scattered forests. The addition of 53 very large turbines will further reduce or eliminate these characteristics".

The reduction in the number of turbines from 62 to 53 has not, in her professional opinion, mitigated the effects on the landscape. 

The turbines will affect a significant change to the perception of the landscape over a wide area,  with the spread of large turbines along the ridges, often engulfing the more characterful discrete hills, diminishing the character of the natural assemblage and from several viewpoints appearing to step down into the smaller scale upland fringes and valleys that separate the ridges and tops. 

"Even with a reduction of the number of turbines, the proposal remains very prominent and character changing in the landscape. 

"The revised visualisations demonstrate that despite the removal of nine turbines, with a very slight reduction in the horizontal extent of the view occupied by turbines, the proposed wind farm remains very prominent along the skyline from the majority of the representative viewpoints. Nor do I think there has been a significant reduction in the magnitude of change."

Despite the reduction of the number of turbines from 62 to 53, there has not been a notable reduction in significant effects on sensitive receptors both near and further afield, adds Ms McDermott.

"The array remains prominent in many views and dominates the hills onto which it is being located and in the worst examples diminishes what are widely seen as feature hills within the hill group. From Rubers Law, almost 15 km from the array, the discrete hills seen in the middle ground are dominated and diminished by the turbines that occupy a very wide horizontal extent of the view, with one turbine appearing to be sticking out of Skelfhill Pen."