Welcome to 'ghastly' Galashiels

But a community councillor this week described it as “ghastly”.

The new Transport Interchange, which will link bus and train services in the town, is due to be completed ahead of the opening of the Borders Railway in September next year.

However, concerns have been raised that a concrete wall which is being built opposite the new building to separate the rail line from the neighbouring A7 could clash with the multi-million pound development in Ladhope Vale.

Speaking at this month’s meeting of Galashiels Community Council, Councillor Sandy Aitchison, who represents the town on Scottish Borders Council, said: “The wall went up without 100 per cent agreement as to what is going there.

“There is a confusion of colours, I think it’s fair to say. It’s not an obvious match with what is there already. It will also clash with the new Transport Interchange building.

“The thing that concerns me is this is the entrance to Gala, and the exit once they sort the roads.” But he added: “They (Network Rail) are continuing to build it, despite the concerns of the planning authority.” The meeting heard a local planning officer raised concerns during a site visit when work first started. But construction work steamed ahead leaving councillors banging their head against a brick wall.

The community council was shown pictures of a new structure being built in front of the concrete wall to hide it from view. But it is not being built in the town’s traditional whinstone.

And now, it has emerged, a new security fence is to be built on top of it which will measure over five metres in height.

Community councillor Rick Kenney, chairman of the community council’s planning committee, said: “It amazes me that we don’t get any notification of one of the biggest building works in the Borders and yet we are asked for our views when a shop applies for a new sign.” But he added: “I was pleased to see the concrete wall getting covered up as I was worried it could become a haven for graffiti.” Councillor Aitchison said the council were faced with the choice of ordering the wall to be torn down and rebuilt, cleaning the old wall in an attempt to get it to match, or continuing as they are.

Community councillor Claire Howden said: “I think the whole thing looks ghastly.” Councillor Bill Herd, who also represents Galashiels and District on Scottish Borders Council, said: “What I have a problem with is we have four different elements (to the wall) now. Can they not just knock the whole thing down and do it again in new stone?” But Councillor Aitchison warned: “Network Rail are under pressure of time to get this work completed.” And community council chairman Ian Purvis added: “We’d get dogs abuse from the public if we asked them to take it down and all the expense that would entail.” It is not the first row to engulf the Transport Interchange, which is due to be wind and water tight by the second week in January.

Three years ago, Scottish Borders Council Leader David Parker accused supermarket giant Tesco of renaging on a a commitment to meet the costs of rebuilding the facade of the town’s former government buildings.

Despite protests from a local heritage conservation group, the 100-year-old edifice in Market Street, which began life as a textile college, was demolished in 2006 to make way for the superstore in Paton Street.

Councillor Parker said the local authority had been in negotiations with the company over the decorative facade being potentially used as the frontage of the new Transport Interchange.

Community councillors were also told this week that there had been a row over what to call the new Transport Interchange, with Councillor Bill White suggesting it could have been renamed Waverley Chambers, after the old Waverley line which previously linked Galashiels and Edinburgh.

“There was a huge debate about that,” he said. As it is, the new building will be called the Transport Interchange with a unit or units inside being named Waverley Chambers. And the colour of the building’s pillars will be “Gala maroon”.

Community councillor Murray Dickson, who suggested rail contractors BAM could have used whinstone taken from the cutting at Winston Road for the new wall, said: “I’m disappointed. It does seem ashame it’s not going to match the rest of the town.

“It anyone here (breached planning authority) the planning department would be down on them like a tonne of bricks.

“It does seem ashame it wasn’t sorted out before work started. I would have liked the whole thing to have been done in the Gala stone - whinstone. Now it seems it’s a fait accompli.”