BORDERS councillors unanimously approved the region’s coronavirus recovery plan at a meeting last week.

Elected members discussed the papers at a full gathering of Scottish Borders Council (SBC) on Thursday (May 27).

According to the council documents, the 12-month COVID-19 recovery plan will “remain dynamic, flexible and under constant review”.

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Despite unanimously backing the plan, several councillors outlined a desire to see more detail on the recovery in the coming weeks.

The recovery principles for the next 12 months are:

  • Target recovery activity and support to where most needed through evidence-based decision making
  • Stabilise and accelerate the recovery for Borders people, places and businesses
  • Tackle inequalities to help our most vulnerable and disadvantaged citizens and communities overcome the negative impacts of the pandemic
  • Join-up and work in partnership to speed up recovery for the Borders
  • Focus on environmental challenges and use the recovery to accelerate our climate change ambitions
  • Apply lessons from the pandemic and utilise the learning and good practice to improve the council as an organisation & employer, strengthen place and partnership working across the Borders

At the meeting, Rob Dickson, SBC’s executive director, said: “The past 15 months have presented a range of challenges for the Borders, for the council and for each and every one of us like no other period that most of us have seen in living memory.”

According to council papers, “ongoing engagement with our communities, partners and staff is critical moving forward”.

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The papers add that the council’s recovery plan areas include making “sustainability and tackling climate change central to our recovery”, as well as helping children by “returning to in-person learning, enabling access to digital resources and tackling attainment gaps”.

SBC’s executive member for finance, Mark Rowley, said that the Borders will still be feeling the effects of the pandemic after 12 months.

“The pandemic has had a huge and long-lasting effect,” said Mr Rowley, a Conservative councillor for Mid Berwickshire. “It’s important to recognise the scale of change we’ve had is significant and will be ongoing.

“We absolutely can see the light out of this very long, dark tunnel now.”

SBC leader Shona Haslam, of the Conservatives, added: “As restrictions ease, precautions remain in place in order to continue to combat this virus.

“We know what we’re trying to get to, we know what we’re trying to achieve and we know how we’re going to measure it.”