Salmond unveils Blueprint for the Borders

First Minister Alex Salmond unveiled his Blueprint for the Borders on a visit to the region on Monday, during one of his last official engagements before stepping down as leader - and then joked he won’t be around to be held accountable if it fails.

He was joined by local business and tourism representatives for the unveiling of his vision, which includes the creation of a Central Borders Business Park and new home for the Great Tapestry of Scotland on the site of the industrial estate in Tweedbank.

However, the proposals have yet to receive the full backing of Scottish Borders Council, which helped to produce the document, entitled Maximising the Impact: a Blueprint for the Future, in order to highlight the vision, aspiration and economic potential of the new line, between Edinburgh and Tweedbank.

Speaking at Abbotsford House, the former home of Sir Walter Scott, near Melrose, on Monday, Mr Salmond said: “When it opens next September, the Borders Railway offers a once in a generation opportunity to deliver major economic and social benefits to Midlothian and the Scottish Borders. By working together, we will achieve this vision and today’s plan sets out a bold commitment to making it happen.

“This is a vision which demonstrates that the region is more than the sum of its parts. It will help local businesses and tourist attractions along the railway grow by opening the area up to both commuters and visitors. Tweedbank also has potential to be turned into a Central Borders Business Park, with greener, high quality business and manufacturing facilities to attract new businesses and capitalise on the Borders’ outstanding reputation in textiles.

“We can expect the Scottish economy to benefit by tens of millions of pounds from the train line. By September 2017, the area around the railway line will be an exceptional tourist destination, with a steam railway service, National Mining Museum Scotland, world-class exhibition spaces, and the Great Tapestry of Scotland displayed in Tweedbank.” Some 600,000 commuters are already expected to use the new line, betweem Edinburgh and the Borders, in its first year. But, with plans to run steam trains on the line and improved access to existing attractions, it is envisaged there will be potential to grow tourism traffic.

Mr Salmond, who said: “Today I want to set a big target for the Borders. Edinburgh Castle attracts 1.4 million tourists each year. I see no reason why the Borders’ tourist potential shouldn’t take the number of journeys beyond the one million mark going down the line to see the magnificence of Midlothian and the Borders. That would be consistent with making this the greatest steam railway in Europe by 2020.

“There will be few, if any, railway journeys anywhere in Europe to match the outstanding scenery along the route of the new Borders Railway. I have no doubt that Borders Railway will be hugely successful, both in enhancing Scotland’s infrastructure and transforming business opportunities along the line. I look forward to being on the first train running in September next year.” It is envisaged the new business park in Tweedbank could be developed in two phases, with the first phase providing nearly two hectares of new seviced development land and up to 1000 square metres of office space for sale or let. In subsequent years, it is proposed further expansion will deliver an additional 2300 square metres of space.

Phase two, it is envisaged, will provide a mixture of refurbished and replacement industrial and office space and, in addition, provide up to an extra 3000 square metres of new mixed-use business space, “safeguarding current levels of employment and delivering additional jobs”.

And a marketing campaign is planned to encourage businesses to relocate to the area.

Scottish Borders Council Leader David Parker said: “There is quite a lot of work to be done (to transform Tweedbank industrial estate into a business park), a number of the current units need to be repurchased, they need to demolished and they need to be replaced, and we need to start to attract other businesses and change the mix.

“The whole development of Tweedbank as a business park will be over the next 10 years, it’s a long term vision, it’s not all going to happen overnight; but there is a clear blueprint for it, there is Government money supporting it, and we’re very keen to try to ensure we deliver it all.” Scottish Borders Council agreed to commission a business case for creating a permanent home for the Great Tapestry of Scotland in Tweedbank after a move to look at other locations, such as Hawick and Selkirk, was voted down.

And the details of the report are expected to be published before the end of the year.

Councillor Parker said: “The Tapestry is just one small element of the development at Tweedbank but certainly it is a very important element. The First Minister and the Scottish Government are supporting it, it’s certainly got a very strong business case, and it has been a huge success everywhere it’s been in Scotland.

“To be able to secure it for the Borders, over and above many other parts of Scotland is something very special and I am hopeful that members will see sense in making that very important investment.

“The tapestry is such a magnificent success that of course every community wants it but we have very carefully looked at where it should be positioned and we’ve had a look at other towns, and although many people have come forward to say it should be in my town actually finding sites for it have been very difficult.

“We do know that we’ve got a very good site at Tweedbank and that is one that is supported by the Scottish Government and the Tapestry trustees so I’m very hopeful that we will be able to deliver that.” Meanwhile, new ScotRail franchise operator, Abellio, has promised rail passengers “an unforgettable launch” ahead of the opening of the new line between Edinburgh and the Borders next year.

Jeff Hoogesteger, CEO of Abellio Group, said: “All of us across the Abellio family are thrilled at this unique opportunity to launch services for passengers using the first new railway in Britain for over 100 years. We will bring every ounce of our expertise to the delivery of exceptional services that will exploit the full tourism and business potential of this iconic new line.

“Celebrating the new route with steam services is an exciting and inspired decision that will give the Borders railway an unforgettable launch and drive its long term success as part of Scotland’s national railway.” Abbotsford House, which has recently undergone a multi-million pound makeover, is one of the local tourist attractions expecting to benefit from the increased number of visitors predicted to use the Borders Railway.

It recorded 40,000 paying visitors in its first full year since reopening.

Lord Sanderson, chairman of the Abbotsford Trust, which has overseen the development of the House, said: “When I was tourism minister, I found it very difficult, being a Borderer and coming from here, to find a catalyst for people to come to the Borders. Now I believe, particularly with the railway coming next year and having Abbotsford here, and hopefully the Tapestry of Scotland housed very nearby, this will be the catalyst for a lot of people to come to this part of the world and see exactly what the Borders has to offer.” With Mr Salmond also opening a new textile training centre at Johnstons of Elgin’s factory in Hawick during his visit, rail campaigners have called on the First Minister to commit to a feasibility study into extending the Borders rail link on to Carlisle.

Jim Hume, Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP for South Scotland, said: “Liberal Democrats in the Borders have always said that the rail link should continue on beyond Tweedbank to Hawick and eventually further on to join up with Carlisle.

“The First Minister has so far been cagey about agreeing to a feasibility study but in light of his ambition that a million passengers will be using the line each year by 2020, it’s time he puts his money where his mouth is and commit to taking this vital next step.”