DEPUTY First Minister John Swinney has said the government may consider extending the Borders Railway to Carlisle.

“There would have to be a comprehensive assessment undertaken prior to that, “ he told the Border Telegraph earlier this week.  “But we are certainly open to the case for further extensions.

“The lesson we've learned from previous rail developments we've undertaken is -when we complete them-  the usage of the railway is significantly greater than the initial projections. And I think we'll see that again with the Borders Railway.”

The Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and the Economy was in Galashiels to officially open the SNP hub in Bank Street, along with local candidate Calum Kerr.  

Earlier he had met Mike Gray of Energise Galashiels, where the the issue of vacant shopfronts in the town was high on the agenda. 

“It is quite clear there is an acute problem with occupation of retail properties within the town,” he said.   

“There are a number of principles around how we take town centres forward.  The Town Centre First principle encourages development to take place in town centres before it takes place anywhere else.  

“We also need to ensure we use the business rates regime in a flexible way, to try to support development and that councillors are incentivised to take those decisions to improve retail occupancy as a consequence of how they administer business rates.”  

The minister also said that the new railway has the potential to transform the town centre and could act as a catalyst for development in the region.   “There are many opportunities for people to come into Galashiels and to access the town by virtue of the new connection,” he said. 

“With cross community effort, we can ensure that the railway becomes a spur for development in  Galashiels and across the Borders.”