COMMUNITY leaders in Selkirk are hoping to turn back time following the completion of major refurbishment work to the town clock.

Close to £1.5 million has been spent on improving Selkirk town centre over the past year.

As well as improvements to the clock and Town Hall, many other historic buildings have been refurbished, the Market Place has been reconfigured and new paving and street furniture will be added over the coming weeks.

The revamp has already led to two new businesses taking out leases during August.

And it is hoped that others will follow as community leaders hope to return to the hey-days of a bustling high street.

Alistair Pattullo, chairman of Selkirk Community Council, told us: "It has been a long haul with all of the works and undoubtedly our traders have suffered, but everything is starting to take shape.

"It's great that we have new businesses arriving in the town, the new Farmers Market is proving hugely popular and the pop-up shops are doing really well again.

"There are still one or two premises to fill, but we are definitely going in the right direction."

Many businesses suffered during the almost year-long improvement works and one of the first to close was Halliwell's Butchers.

But this week the shop reopened under new management.

John Taylor, who has run shops in Kelso and Edinburgh, believes the new-look town centre is the perfect location.

The 46-year-old from Jedburgh said: "Selkirk Market Place is looking great.

"People have been coming into the shop while we've been getting the place ready and everyone is complimentary about how Selkirk is now looking."

Mr Taylor, who has been a butcher since 1989, is employing two people within the new shop.

And he is confident the new venture will be a great success.

He added: "We have done a lot of planning over the past two or three months and we feel this is the right shop in the right town.

"We're just really looking forward to opening and getting to know people a lot better."

Another company ready to bring some welcome aromas to the High Street as well as taste is the Three Hills Coffee company from Maxton.

Since 2016 they have been supplying top quality, freshly roasted beans to businesses in the Borders.

And over the past month or two a relocation to a former boutique in Selkirk for their roastery and coffee shop has been underway.

The company is currently recruiting ahead of a planned opening over the next few weeks.

And the former Royal Bank of Scotland premises, which were vacated in June, is the new home for Ettrick Interiors.