Councillor defends voting for new Gala school ahead of Hawick

Scottish Borders Council voted to put Galashiels at the front of the queue in a close 17-16 vote at the end of November.

It means that, while Gala will receive a brand new cross-generational campus in time for 2023, Hawick will have to wait until 2026.   

Hawick councillors Watson McAteer (Ind), David Paterson (Ind), Stuart Marshall (Ind) and Clair Ramage (SNP) all voted against the proposals, backing a motion to delay the proposals, while Hawick and Denholm councillor Neil Richards (Cons) voted with the ruling administration to get on with the schools building programme.

Explaining his vote, Councillor Richards said: “If I was to vote for the amendment, the possibility was that it would pass and it would delay the process.

“I have no real problems about voting with the administration. I don’t want to see a delay as this is about getting lots of money in the pipeline to continue the whole schools programme.

“Regrettably, if we were delayed, then the whole programme would have been delayed, let alone Hawick. Unfortunately for Hawick there is a lot of problems to work out before we can get the go ahead.

“It’s not a question of me saying that Gala is favoured for a high school, it’s more that Gala is ready to get a new school.

“The Scottish Government love councillors to come to them with things ready to go rather than not having plans ready. Once upon a time, councils built schools, but now 50 per cent plus comes from Scottish Government coffers. If we don’t get that money we won’t get schools anywhere.

“People think 'why didn’t I vote with the other Hawick councillors?' But I don’t see the point of delaying everything. I understand their concerns but at the end of the day, I had to decide that we really need to press ahead.

“We’re talking about a potential spend of £345m, it's huge, we can’t really afford to wait for one school to be put in place.

“As a councillor and a parent, who has two kids at Hawick High School and one about to arrive, I am very concerned about the school. But there are issues other than the school building which determine how good the education is. I find it a little frustrating it’s the only thing we focus on.

“If Hawick is going to be successful it’s because the Borders is going to be successful.

“Some people think that the world revolves around Hawick but we can’t afford to slow everything down.”

A report from council education chiefs explained that a bid for funding for Gala from the Scottish Government was ready to go, while officers had yet to identify a suitable site for a new Hawick High School due to flooding concerns.

The report states: “While both Galashiels and Hawick high schools are both classed as grade C in relation to their condition, Galashiels will require significantly more financial investment on an element-by-element fabric basis in order to remain a fully functioning asset with no impact on the delivery of the curriculum.

“It is recommended therefore that Galashiels is the first priority for investment given the current condition and suitability of the existing school in relation to the rest of the estate.”

However, the plans were met with fury by opposition councillors from Hawick, who claim the town was overlooked.

A rival motion, put forward by Councillor McAteer, asked the council to delay the report until a more detailed analysis of Hawick could be presented, but ultimately failed to stall the plans.

Speaking to the council while introducing his doomed motion, he said: “Was there ever the slightest chance that Hawick or indeed any of the others would be next on the list?

“This is not about pitching Hawick versus Gala or Peebles or anywhere else it’s about fairness, it’s about need, it’s about a future for a community that is quite simply feeding from the bottom of the tank.

“Hawick High School is not only not fit for purpose, but its current condition is an embarrassment to modern education and the youngsters and teachers who are required to attend this utter shambles are being let down by all in here who will not support them.

“And let’s be absolutely clear, with new high schools in Duns, Eyemouth, Earlston, and Kelso, and with work about to start in Jedburgh, when you agree this prioritisation for Galashiels today to you slam the door shut on any prospect of Hawick attracting teachers when they have a choice of modern versus old and dilapidated.

“This action today is a further step in annexing the southern Borders and is not acceptable to those who deserve more from this council.”

For Hawick, as in Galashiels, council officers are recommending the construction of a cross-generational campus, due to open in 2026, at a cost of £95.6m.

The campus would cater for 900 secondary school pupils, 50 additional support needs students, 1,200 primary school pupils and 350 nursery children.

The option to create either a cross-generational campus or just a stand-alone secondary school at a cost of £48.4m would be discussed with Hawick residents in a future consultation.

However, issues relating to flooding risk  and available space have led to Hawick missing out on first priority place as council officers do not currently have a concrete plan for where any new campus would be sited.

The report states: “There are other complex issues within Hawick aside from questions of scale and accessibility, in particular with relation to flood risk.

“While the existing high school site in Hawick has been included within the options appraisal, it is noted that further detailed investigations are required regarding the currently proposed flood prevention works at this site and the nature of permissible development works which could render this and other adjacent town centre sites undevelopable for an education project of this scale.

“The Hawick flood protection scheme will deliver protection to the town generally at a level commensurate with one in 75-year flood events.

“Early advice is that any new school provision on the same site or at the same level would require to achieve, a higher level of protection commensurate with its classification as a strategic asset.

“In addition, other sites are already identified within the local development plan in terms of business, mixed use or industrial zoning, and this could have a detrimental impact on the wider economic health of the town if utilised for educational purposes and an analysis would therefore be required.”