Published: Wednesday, 9th August, 2006 12:44
Respect town's heritage plea
By Border Telegraph Newsroom
Print Article
LOCAL cultural heritage campaigners have mounted an aggressive battle to save an historic Galashiels mill from demolition.
Borders Heritage At Risk Campaign (BHARC) is outraged over plans to demolish the Lochcarron Mill in Huddersfield Street and build a retail park.
The group has already fought a battle to save the Government Buildidngs from demolition by Tesco.
BHARC spokesperson, Elliott Matthew, claims that Galashiels is “under siege from developers and from a council interested only in making the area a free-for-all gold rush for inappropriate development.”
He said: “Council members have so far shown themselves incapable or unwilling to challenge David Parker's ‘vision’ for the town - a vision which by all counts reduces the Border’ largest settlement to two supermarkets, a retail park and a roundabout on the A7.
“This vision will destroy the essence of the town, its unique identity and separate it from its proud past as a planned textile settlement.
“We are actively seeking to ensure that this vision never comes to fruition and that the town's heritage is given the respect it deserves.”
Mr Matthew added: “We have already reduced the impact of Tesco through the relocation of the Government Building's Facade, and we now seek to ensure a similar pattern of destruction isn't wrought upon the Lochcarron site — one of national importance and containing some rare and well preserved Georgian mill buildings.
“BHARC is not anti-development, indeed, we welcome the idea of money and quality retailers coming into town. What we will not accept, and we hope the people of Galashiels will not accept, is bad development.”
Patricia Ferguson, the Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport, has declined to meet with BHARC and says there is no need to make the mill site a conservation area.
Lochcarron will relocate in Selkirk over the next few weeks.
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