Published: Tuesday, 29th July, 2008 12:00
Councillor's disgust at 'insulting' bell decision
By Alexa Brown
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A LOCAL councillor has hit back at Scottish Borders Council’s decision to halt the bells of Galashiels War Memorial, which has been marking the hours in memory of the lost soldiers of the town for more than 80 years.
The decision was made to silence the bells between midnight and 7.15 a.m. after the owners of a local guest house complained to the council that the noise of the hourly bells were keeping their guests awake at night.
But Councillor Bill Herd of Tweeddale East, who lives in Galashiels, said he was outraged by the decision.
Speaking to the Border Telegraph, Councillor Herd said: “I was absolutely infuriated to hear about the Council’s decision to stop the bells through the night.
“Every stone in that building was bought by people who had last someone in the world wars. It has a powerful, sentimental significance to the people of Galashiels and to stop the bells on the basis of one objection is ridiculous.
“There is going to be an earthquake in Galashiels when people hear about this. It is insulting to all of those families who lost someone during the wars and my heart goes out to them.”
Scottish Borders Council sent environmental health officers to Craigielea Guest House in Lawyer’s Brae following the complaint to check the decibel levels of the bells and concluded that the noise was above permitted levels.
Councillor Herd added: “I hear the bells every night and they don’t cause me any more concern than car drivers racing around the town or drunken louts shouting in the street. Are we going to make that illegal too?”
Ex-Galashiels councillor Bill Lamb echoed these sentiments, saying: “This decision showed no compassion for the hundreds of servicemen from Gala who gave up their lives during the war. I’m of the opinion that this complaint should be withdrawn.”
However, a Scottish Borders Council spokesperson said: “We felt that the complaint was not unreasonable and our investigation found that the noise level meant that the Council was breaking the law, therefore we had no choice but to act on that or face prosecution.
“We have called in the services of expert clockmaker Bert Weir from Edinburgh and a mechanism is being built that will be fitted to the clock in the next few weeks to stop the chimes during the night at a cost of around £850.”
abrown@bordertelegraph.com
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