Border Telegraph | News | Outrage over heritage snub

Tuesday, 6th January, 2009

Published: Wednesday, 4th January, 2006 09:58

Outrage over heritage snub

By Border Telegraph Newsroom

A NEWTOWN St Boswells residents’ group has slammed Scottish Borders Council for ignoring their calls for a village heritage centre.

The Newtown and Eildon Action Group (NEAG) and the community council have been investigating the possibility of opening a railway heritage centre for the past few years.

And with around 1000 new houses set to be built in the village, the bar has been raised for the community’s ambitions.

But the group’s favoured site for the project – Baxter Johnston’s oil yard – has been left out of SBC’s Finalised Local Plan.

Roger French, chairman of NEAG, said: “For some time now we have been interested in developing it into a railway heritage centre.

“That was where we started from, but the building is quite large, so we could develop it into a heritage museum for the village.

“But now Baxter Johnston’s has been left out of the Local Plan.

“The council keeps saying it is consulting with us, but it seems that they are making decisions and then telling us about it afterwards.

“This is only one example where we feel that we are wasting our time giving our views, since they are totally ignored by the council.”

An SBC spokesperson said: “If Baxter Johnston’s was vacated by the current user, the land would be allocated for new development.”

NEAG have distributed a questionnaire, funded by the council, asking people what they would like to see in their village.

NEAG have already commissioned a feasibility study into turning the oil yard into a heritage centre.

But Mr French says the council would have to set the wheels in motion for any deal to relocate the oil yard, and he is disappointed that the site has been left out of the Local Plan.

He said: “Without the council’s help with this, we can’t move forward.

“They have to take the first step, and they haven’t done that with Baxter Johnston’s.”

Community Council chairman, Eoin Frame, also thinks a heritage centre would make the most of the village’s situation.

He said: “You have Scott’s House, Dryburgh Abbey, Melrose Abbey and all these other places that people visit. One of the places that people go through to get there is Newtown.”

But although Mr French feels residents aren’t being allowed their full say, he is pleased that the council is taking an interest in the village.

He said: “Until recently, we really couldn’t get any interest from the council or anyone else. But we have got 1000 houses coming in, and we have become a village of great interest.

“We will come up with a wish-list and submit that to the council to say what we want before we get the houses.”

One thing that Mr French would like to see on that wish-list is a call for Swan’s auction mart to make way for some of the new housing.

Swan’s is safeguarded by the Newtown St Boswells expansion plan, and couldn’t be built on at present.

Swan’s managing director, Jack Clark, would only comment that the site is included in the Local Plan.

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