THE fate of Hawick’s James Wilson statue is still up in the air as council officers still haven’t found it a permanent home.

A marble tribute to Wilson, who founded the Economist magazine, was created by Edinburgh sculptor John Steell in 1865 and until last year stood in the Economist’s old head office in London.

The 12ft-high sculpture was gifted to Hawick after the magazine moved office, and it arrived in town amid much fanfare in August last year, taking up a place of honour outside Tower Knowe.

In December the statue was damaged, with two fingertips from its right hand found to be missing.

Police were called in, but it was never established whether the damage was accidental or down to vandalism.

Hawick’s common good fund sub-committee have been looking at potential sites for the statue, with the Heritage Hub emerging as the frontrunner.

However, council officers have now raised concerns over the location, citing potential problems with the load bearing capabilities of the floors due to the building’s under floor heating system.

The Wilton Lodge Park museum was also looked at as a potential site, but again concerns with the structural integrity of the floors were raised.

Councillor George Turnbull (Con, Hawick & Hermitage) told the committee: “I think for one thing, it definitely needs to be put inside, just for protection against vandalism and the elements.

“If there’s a problem with this venue we may have to look at another location, but I think it has to be somewhere that is visible.

“The whole reasoning behind having him in the Heritage Hub was that he’d be looking along the high street towards his place of birth.”

Fellow Hawick & Hermitage councillor David Paterson (Ind) added: “It has to be inside. For his own safety, put him inside.”

Members of the Hawick common good committee voted unanimously to give council officers the authority to seek structural engineering advice on the load bearing capabilities of the Heritage Hub.

Council officers have also received quotes for repairing the statue, which will involve grafting new fingers to his hand and re-attaching a thumb, to the tune of £780.