Despite a fall in travel expense claims, the cost of paying and reimbursing Scottish Borders Council’s 34 elected members rose by nearly £5,000 in the last financial year.

A report to today’s full SBC meeting reveals that £757,172 was disbursed to councillors in the 12 months to March 31 – compared to £752,385 in 2013/14.

The rise is largely down to a 1% pay increase implemented on April 1, 2014, which saw the annual wage of a backbench member go up to £16,560.

That rise, in accordance with Scotland-wide legislation, was also reflected in the salaries paid to those senior councillors with special responsibilities.

For instance, leader David Parker’s wage went up from £32,759 to £33,123, while his deputy John Mitchell picked up £24,842.

Nine councillors with “executive member” status saw their annual salaries go up to £22,442.

The upshot was that the total paid out in salaries in 2014/15 increased by over £11,000 – from £648,566 to £659,844.

Although the wage bill was up, claims for travel expenses fell over the year from £62,370 to £54,835, although today’s report cautions that this amount, based on actual journeys, is “expected to fluctuate” year on year because of the timing of claims.

Telephone and IT expenses, including the use of Blackberries and electronic tablets, rose from £35,885 to £37,067 while the cost of sending councillors to conferences and training courses topped £5,133 – down from £7,441 the previous year.

The council has admitted the annual 2014/15 report on allowances and expenses should have been published by June 1 in accordance with Scottish Government guidelines. “Publication…has been delayed as the information had not been finalised, but it is now complete and is being taken to the full council meeting closest to the June 1 deadline,” explained a council spokesperson.

“There is no penalty for late publication which was, in part, due to the general election.”

What your councillor cost last year
Renumeration and expenses paid out in 2014/15 (last year’s total in brackets)

»Sandy Aitchison (Borders Party, Galashiels & District, education) £27,120.97 (£26,458.15).

»Willie Archibald (SNP, Tweeddale West, convener of licensing board) £23,247.08 (£22,879.75).

»Michelle Ballantyne (Con, Selkirkshire, leader of opposition) £22,881.40 (£21,709.46).

»Stuart Bell (SNP, Tweeddale East, economic development) £25,382.97 (£25,256.23).

»Catriona Bhatia (Lib Dem, Tweeddale West, depute leader health services) £20,794.75 (£20,221.11).

»Jim Brown (SNP, Jedburgh & District, community planning/vice-convener) £25,610.25 (£25,377.64).

»Joan Campbell (SNP, East Berwickshire) £20,105.59 (£20,082.12).

»Keith Cockburn (Con, Tweeddale West, elected October 2013) £18,904.80 (£8,721.09).

»Michael Cook (Ind, East Berwickshire, HR & corporate improvement) £26,584.37 (£25,780.81).

»Alastair Cranston (SNP, Hawick & Denholm) £18,340.37 (£19,871.73).

»Vicky Davidson (Lib Dem, Selkirkshire, culture, sport, youth & communities) £24,913.77 (£26,258.28)

»Gordon Edgar (Ind, Selkirkshire, roads & infrastructure) £24,812.11 (£24,284.69).

»Jim Fullarton (Con, East Berwickshire) £19,962.08 (£19,309.96).

»Graham Garvie (Lib Dem, Tweeddale East, council convener) £28,864.91 (£28,922.19).

»Iain Gillespie (Borders Party, Leaderdale & Melrose) £19,318.60 (£16,782.46).

»John Greenwell (Con, Mid Berwickshire) £18,902.85 (£18,451.14).

»Bill Herd (SNP, Galashiels & District) £18,374.94 (£17,538.76).

»Gavin Logan (Con, Tweeddale East) £18,792.63 (£18,637.59).

»Stuart Marshall (Ind, Hawick & Denholm) £18,226.56 (£18,193.94).

»Watson McAteer (Ind, Hawick & Denholm, elected May 2014) £14,966.37.

»John Mitchell (SNP, Gala & District, depute leader finance) £29,218.01 (£28,021.94).

»Donald Moffat (SNP, Mid Berwickshire, community safety) £27,203,36 (£26,434.62).

»Simon Mountford (Con, Kelso & District) £20,313.96 (£19,891.19).

»Alec Nicol (Lib Dem, Kelso & District) £18,074.83 (£18,399.66).

»David Parker (Ind, Leaderdale & Melrose, leader) £36,337.32 (£36,132.74).

»David Paterson (Ind, Hawick & Hermitage, environmental services) £26,307.01 (£25,400.59).

»Frances Renton (Lib Dem, Mid Berwickshire, social work and housing) £27,859.78 (£24,953.94).

»Sandy Scott (Con, Jedburgh & District) £18,618.35 (£18,077.60).

»Ron Smith (Lib Dem, Hawick & Hermitage, planning & environment) £25,280.05 (£22,925.73).

»Rory Stewart (Ind, Jedburgh & District) £17,377.23 (£17,361.73).

»Jim Torrance (SNP, Leaderdale & Melrose) £17,707.40 (£17,629.59).

»George Turnbull (Con, Hawick & Hermitage) £20,077.05 (£19,459.05).

»Tom Weatherston (Con, Kelso & District) £18,533.58 (£18,038.70).

»Bill White (Ind, Galashiels & District) £18,157.45 (£18,018.59).

Two members of the ruling administration at Scottish Borders Council have criticised the decision to not provide toilets at the railway terminus at Tweedbank.

Councillor Vicky Davidson, executive member for culture, sport, youth and communities, told us: “It seems to have passed the point for a toilet to be in Tweedbank: there were not going to be any, and there will not be any.”

Plans for the station were discussed in meetings with Network Rail in 2014, but most suggestions, including toilets, were ignored.

Councillor Gordon Edgar, executive member for roads and infrastructure, told Selkirk Community Council the option was discounted because there would be toilets on the trains.

Ms Davidson argued: “If it is a terminus, you’d hope there would be a toilets. If people were going to Edinburgh, they’d leave their cars at Tweedbank, or they’d be waiting to pick people up.”

Mr Edgar said there would be no manned information area for tourists, and no parking space for visitors’ coaches.

These decisions, he said, were not the responsibility of Scottish Borders Council, which was in charge of publicity.

The rural community of Ettrickbridge looks set to get mobile phone network coverage.

Plans to erect a 15-metre mobile phone mast at Hewat Horse Enclosure will bring 4G coverage to the area as part of the UK Government’s £150million mobile infrastructure project (MIP).

The feasibility of masts in four other areas in the Borders is also being investigated. A second mast proposal, in the Lilliesleaf area, is expected to be announced shortly.

Selkirk councillor and Ettrick Valley resident Vicky Davidson said: “We get no coverage for a 20-mile radius.

“The dominant issue is rural safety: if farmers are out on the hill and something happens, it could be hours, or more than hours, before they can get help.

“Now, subject to planning, Ettrickbridge will get a mobile phone mast. All being well, we should have it within the next few months.”

Councillor Stuart Bell, executive member for economic development, said: “I am pleased that we are now about to see the first planning application for a mast submitted.

“We have been working with local and national politicians from the UK and Scottish governments, and the respective companies and associations involved, to tackle mobile phone coverage in the area, in particular the five locations identified as part of the MIP where the funding is available to address these issues.”

A number of specific criteria have to be met for a mast to proceed, including power for the mast, landowner agreement and transmission to the wider network, which can be problematic in the Borders due to the topography of the areas involved.

However, Councillor Bell added: “Bringing mobile phone coverage to those areas in the Scottish Borders which do not have it currently is a priority for the council and our partners.”

Scottish Borders Council (SBC) is carrying out consultation to help plan more flexibility in future early years services across the region.

The Early Years Team wants to gather the views of parents and carers on services currently available and whether these are meeting their needs. They are keen to hear from families who make use of early learning and childcare services, including out of school and full day care.

Councillor Sandy Aitchison, SBC’s executive member for education said: “High quality early learning and childcare play a critical role in the formative years of a child’s development.

“I would encourage all parents to take the time to fill out the survey and tell us what is important to them and their families.”

Questionnaires have been issued through schools, childcare settings, toddler groups and via health visitors.

Despite police objections, a Galashiels man banned for drink driving in 2011 has been granted a licence to drive taxis in the Borders.

Graeme Weir had disclosed his previous conviction when he applied for the permit.

But in a letter to Friday’s meeting of Scottish Borders Council’s Civic Government Licensing Committee, the police claimed Mr Weir, 64, was not a “fit and proper person” to hold a taxi driver’s licence.

Appearing before the committee, Mr Weir said he had been driving for 40 years with no other convictions and had held a taxi driver’s licence from 1995 up until he was disqualified for 12 months – and fined £315 – at Selkirk Sheriff Court in December, 2011.

Asked to explain the circumstances of his offence, he said he had “parked up for the night” at a car park in Galashiels where he was attending the party of a friend.

“I saw blue lights flashing from the house and went out to see what was happening,” he told councillors. “It was the police who told me to move my vehicle as it was causing an obstruction or it would be towed away. I’d had two glasses of wine at the party and should have asked the officers to move it.

“I thought I was okay and stupidly got behind the wheel, intending to reverse it into a vacant space in the car park. As soon as I got into the driver’s seat, I was breath tested.”

Councillor Tom Weatherston successfully moved that Mr Weir’s application be granted. “Apart from this offence, which happened over three years ago, he has had a clear driving record for 40 years,” said Mr Weatherston.

“Hopefully he has learned his lesson.”

The estimated cost of erecting three new flagpoles outside Scottish Border Council’s headquarters at Newtown St Boswells is £4,000.

Money well spent? There are probably dozens of better things the council could spend £4,000 on, especially at a time when local authorities are facing significant financial challenges.

In the grand scheme of things, £4,000 probably won’t break the bank. The decision to erect three new flagpoles at ground level outside the building’s main entrance was more about symbolism than cost.

The council’s decision means the Rainbow Flag – which symbolises lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) pride – has been added to a list of ‘approved’ flags, along with others. All of this ought to be welcomed.

The council wants to be 
portrayed as an authority which “promotes positive messages, including pride, inclusiveness, respect and 
celebration”.

A noble a aspiration, of course. But councillors should not need to come up with a flag ‘policy’ of ‘protocol’ to meet this aim. They should not need a working group to discuss it either.

There are far more pressing matters for the council to be spending time and money on in the Borders.

A court has heard how an 80-year-old woman was robbed in her country home and was told she might be shot.

Sheila Turnbull was alone at Ladhope Farm Cottage in the Yarrow Valley near Selkirk when she was terrorised by gun-totting Taylor Wright.

The High Court in Edinburgh heard Wright had once been a neighbour oh his victim.

Jobless Wright, of no fixed abode, admitted assault and robbery at the isolated cottage on March 18 this year while possessing an imitation firearm and after being freed on bail in November last year.

He also admitted stealing cash and taking Mrs Wright’s bank card which he used to steal money from her account at an ATM machine in Selkirk after forcing her to reveal the PIN number.

Wright put the victim’s mobile phone in a sink full of water, disconnected her landline and removed her care alarm from a wall.

He then fled in the pensioner’s car after forcing her to show how to start the engine of the automatic Ford Fusion.

After demanding the PIN number he told her: “You’d better be telling me the truth or I’ll shoot you and made her repeat the number.

Wright also told her : “Don’t tell the police, or I will come bac and shoot you.”

Mrs Turnbull managed to dry her mobile and alert her family.

Police found the car abandoned in Selkirk with the imitation handgun in the back and Wright was captured at a house in Galashiels.

In victim statement submitted to the judge, Mrs Turnbull wrote: “I am so frightened, I fell I cannot live here for another winter when the nights are long and dark.

“The crime is on my mind all day.”

Lord Brailsford remanded Wright in custody while pre-sentencing reports are prepared.

The family of a man found dead in France nearly five years ago say someone could have got away with murder after a coroner recorded an open verdict on the death.

Coroner Andrew Tweddle found that medication Andrew Watt, whose family live in Ettrickbridge, was taking could have been a factor in his death.

And he admitted that the family’s belief that he may have died after being chased was one of several possible scenarios.

However, he concluded that the cause of death could not be ascertained.

Mr Watt, from Durham City, was found dead about a mile from Vimarce, near Laval, in north-west France, in September 2010.

French doctors decided that the 31-year-old who was taken medication for mental health issues, died of heart failure.

At at inquest at Crook Coroner’s Court consultant pathologist Dr Paul Barrett, who conducted a post-mortem examination on Mr Watt, said a number of prescription drugs were in his system. He said the medication could have prompted a heart attack, but he was unable to provide a cause of death with any certainty.

Detective Inspector Mick Bird said he believed the French Gendarmerie had conducted a “reasonable” investigation.

However, he conceded that he would have pursued more lines of enquiry, including conducting house to house enquiries.

Mr Tweddle recorded an open verdict, telling Mr Watt’s family: “A possible explanation is that Andrew’s death may be linked to the medication that he was prescribed and taking.

“Possibly Andrew could have been chased at the time and that may have had an impact, but there equally may be other explanations.”

Mr Tweddle said there was no evidence to suggest Mr Watt had taken his own life or had been assaulted, adding: “The medical cause of death is unascertained. That inevitably draws me to only one conclusion and that is an open verdict.”

Mr Watt’s family have repeatedly highlighted inconsistencies and gaps in the evidence provided by the French police and doctors.

After the hearing, Les Sheppard, Mr Watt’s step-father, said the family felt abandoned by British officials.

“We feel it’s an insult to Andrew because of the lack of an investigation and reluctance to request that the French reopen the case.”

Julie Sheppard, Mr Watt’s mother, added: “An open verdict means they haven’t go enough evidence to make a decision, but they’re not prepared to ask the French for more evidence.

“(Someone in France) could have got away with manslaughter, murder or whatever.”

The coroner said he could reopen the case if significant new evidence was found.

Mr Watt’s family said they would continue searching for answers.

Gala’s Braw Lad and Braw Lass led the way last night on the Torwoodlee rideout for Gala’s Braw Lads’ Gathering.

Cameron Pate and Abbie Frankland led the cavalcade before the festivities continued with the fancy dress parade and carnival dance.

You may remember that at Shoogly Towers, we have three dugs. Two are rescue dogs and one was a freebie. Two big, one small.

Now, you might be forgiven for thinking that the two bigguns might be the most trouble.

True, the Big Brown Dog loves nothing better than flinging himself at the gate barking his doggy head off when horse-riders/cyclists/walkers/motorbikes go by.

So, to a certain degree and to certain passers-by, he is a pain in the bottom. Motorbike-filled bank holidays are his Nirvana.

The other big dog has his wee quirks, especially around food as he didn’t have the best start in life, but he’s a black lab and he does exactly what it says on the black lab tin – family dog, great with kids, keen to the point of obsession to retrieve things ... which can be quite wearing after a while. Even kids can get bored of it.

The bigguns may be a bit annoying at times. But compared to the small one, wee Jock the Patterdale, they are like lambs.

Wee Jocky boy is the cause of most of the trouble at Shoogly Towers.

He is the firestarter here.

And he kills a lot of stuff. But I guess that’s exactly what it says on the Patterdale tin.

Patterdales are not recognised as a breed by the Kennel Club (presumably because they come in so many different coat types and colours) and in my opinion, the breed is all the better for this.

Bred in their eponymous place of origin, Patterdales are a set of huge vampiric teeth with a dog attached to them. They are designed to kill stuff, originally foxes, but anything furry or feathery will do. Just the flash of a teddy’s paw as a child runs by with it is enough to send Jock into a killing frenzy.

Luckily we discovered tbis before he had grabbed a teddy and ripped it to pieces in front of a dumbstruck toddler. Not excatly a happy childhood memory in the making.

The YMs have always had to be careful with furry toys that moved, furry toys that beeped or squeaked, nay, things in general that squeak, and let’s be realistic, most small moving things.

Which of course means that we can never have a cat, and that no bird is safe, even on the bird table, as being very light in his loafers, Jock can stand on his back legs in a meerkat-stylee.

Anyhoo, back to Jocky boy and tbe trouble he causes. Remember our rescue chickens? Well, thanks to Jocky boy two of them have had a very short – but hopefully happy – new life of freedom.

Somehow, last week, one escaped and ended up by the house. Mr E was in the conservatory at the back, closest to the chicken run. He heard a muffled sqwawk and a puff of ginger feathers. Patterdale 1, rescue chooks 0.

No holes found in the fence, we put the unfortunate incident down to bad luck. Until a few nights later, the same thing happened again. To another rescue chicken. Gulp. We had to pick up what seemed like a ton of feathers once we had retrieved the poor chook from a very excited Jock. Patterdale 2, rescue chooks 0.

The remaining rescue chickens are now safely tucked away in a separate (covered) run. And last night Jock had to be content with murdering a rat.

After a glorious week in the Highlands amidst snow-capped mountains and azure blue lochs (I know it’s unbelievable!), it was back to reality at the weekend.

The temperature plummeted from 23 degrees on Friday to six on Saturday, getting this year’s “summer” back on track.

Once the overgrown garden was back to rights, I couldn’t wait to revisit my favourite riverside haunt to see the changes there.

Since my last visit, all the vegetation was about a foot taller and the spring flowers were replaced by a stunning display of summer blooms, predominantly red campion, leopardsbane and stitchwort.

The usual bird cherry trees were covered in cotton wool webs, created by tiny ermine moths to protect their thousands of caterpillars, which go on to completely defoliate the trees.

It always seems to be the same trees and it doesn’t seem to do them any lasting harm.

Sitting on a riverside seat enjoying the tranquillity, I heard an odd cooing noise from the wood behind.

Last year it had been visited by a cuckoo for the first time and I wondered if it was back.

The call I heard was a bit croaky, but definitely not a wood pigeon or collared dove.

I had a quick look round to make sure nobody was about and did my cuckoo impression by blowing through clasped hands.

Amazingly, within seconds, a male cuckoo flew over my head and disappeared into the wood at the other side of the river – result!

Thinking that was the highlight of my walk I headed for home, but more was to come.

At a bend in the river I heard a great commotion from the opposite bank.

Two pairs of common sandpipers were extremely agitated, jumping up and down calling loudly.

At first, I thought that one pair must have had chicks and the other pair had moved into their territory, but the fracas seemed too long and frantic.

I watched for several minutes through my binoculars until eventually I saw the cause. A stoat was weaving in amongst the rocks and vegetation, obviously looking for hidden chicks.

I was struck by the bravery of the adult birds which were acting like decoys, trying to draw the predator away from their offspring.

Eventually they succeeded and I saw the stoat slink away up the bank through the undergrowth, empty-mouthed.

A few minutes later, a couple of tiny fluff balls emerged from a cavity under some rocks.

Yes, it was good to be back on home ground again.

A Glasgow-based firm has been awarded the contract by Scottish Borders Council to create two synthetic sports pitches at a cost of nearly £595,000.

W. H. Malcolm Ltd was one of five companies who submitted bids to construct a 2G sand-dressed pitch at Pringle Park in Selkirk and a 3G dual-use pitch at Volunteer Park in Hawick.

Following the devastating fire which raged through the Gordon Arms Hotel, nobody would have blamed owners Tommy Roseburgh and Susan Cree for throwing in the towel.

Instead, the blaze on May 12 has made the couple doubly determined to rebuild the 200-year-old coaching inn and restore the building to its former glory.

“What’s made our decision easier is the wonderful support we’ve received, both from the local community and from all over the country,” Tommy explained. “We’d like to repay this kindness and encouragement by reopening for business as quickly as possible, no matter what difficulties might lie ahead.”

In the meantime, Tommy is using his musical connections to help get the Gordon Arms back on its feet.

For the past 15 years his recording company, Big Sky Studios, has released CDs for a variety of artists, and Tommy has put together a compilation CD featuring a selection of this music to help raise funds for the hotel’s restoration.

“It has become clear extra finance will be needed in addition to the insurance settlement,” said Tommy.

“So we’ve launched this CD, called ‘Rebirth’, to try and raise enough money to give us a head start in getting the hotel back up and running.”

The CD, which costs £10, features 19 tracks by artists such as John Wright, Rallion, Stevie Lawrence, Hilary Bell, Tommy’s own group Real Time, the Dull Fudds, Selkirk Silver Band and the children of Yarrow Primary School.

Copies of “Rebirth” can be purchased at www.friendsofthegordon.com or by visiting one of the following local outlets – La Beaute, Elm Row, Galashiels; Tartan & Tweed, Bank Street, Galashiels; Honey Cottage Caravan Park, Ettrick Valley; Glen Cafe, St Mary’s Loch; The George & Abbotsford Hotel, Kings Hotel and the Ship Inn (all Melrose); Denholm Folk Club; Colin Turnbull Shoe Repairs, Selkirk; Ross Douglas, fish merchants, Peebles; Simply Delicious, Peebles; Northgate Laundrette, Peebles; Eastgate Theatre, Peebles.

It’s a sad fact that, while we may still like to think of ourselves as a nation of animal lovers, the need for animal rescues and shelters is greater than ever.

And it is a never-ending battle for those involved in rescuing animals and finding homes for cruelty cases, or for those pets abandoned or those whose owners, for whatever reason, can no longer keep them.

It is only matched by the constant struggle to raise sufficient funds to continue this work and that is why we are delighted to reveal that your favourite local newspaper is linking up with Borders Pet Rescue to help promote this amazing local charity.

Starting next month, readers will find a regular column from Borders Pet Rescue dealing with a host of animal and pet-related issues.

Originally launched under the banner of Borders Animal Welfare Association in 1989, it may have changed and have a smart new logo, but its mission remains the same - the rescue and re-homing of domestic pets in the Borders and to promote responsible pet ownership through education and training.

Based at Craigsford in Earlston, the charity’s work is overseen by general manager Simon Cullum.

He took on the role in February last year and is already overseeing ambitious plans for a dog park and an exciting four-year project to improve and expand existing premises.

As well as Simon, there are four part-time centre staff and a list of 60 volunteers who give up varying amounts of their free time to help out.

And with the centre costing £120,000 a year to run, those volunteers play a crucial role.

“There’s no way we could run this place without our volunteers and we’re always looking for names to add to that list,” explained Simon, who comes from a retail background although with considerable experience of volunteering for animal causes.

Of the volunteers, some give up just a few hours whereas others will work several shifts a week. The charity also runs two fund-raising shops in Galashiels and Duns.

As well as the four main groups of animals dealt with - dogs, cats, rabbits and guinea pigs – the centre also takes in vulnerable hedgehogs in early winter.

The centre finds new homes for about 60 dogs each year and last year every single dog plus around 175 cats seeking a new home were found a family.

The premises can hold six dogs and 26 cats at any one time and the animals remain in its care until a home is found.

“If they have to stay with us for several months or even years then that’s what will happen. There’s no time limit.”

And Simon says the reasons animals are given up are varied: “When I first started I thought it would be all cruelty cases, but it’s not like that at all.

“The vast majority of animals we deal with are much loved family pets but for various reasons their owners can no longer look after them.

“Couples splitting up is a huge reason; someone has died, had an accident or have to leave their current home and can’t take their pet with them. Most people are lovely and would do anything to keep an animal, but sometimes circumstances mean they just can’t.”

As well as the planned development of the dog exercise park on land bequeathed to the charity on the edge of Earlston, there is also the four-year project to improve and expand the facilities at the current centre which would double its animal capacity.

Simon added: “We’ll need a lot of support from a lot of people to make this dream a reality, but it would create a fantastic facility and take care of all the animals on our waiting list.”

Latest figures show the number of road traffic fatalities in the Borders has decreased, despite a national rise in deaths and serious injuries.

The figures were released this week by Transport Scotland.

They show that the number of fatal and serious accidents in the Borders police catchment area during the period 2010-14 were down on those in the four years between 2004 and 2008.

The 2010-14 figures, which consist of the average of each of those four years, show seven fatal accidents, nearly half the 12 in the earlier four-year period.

Overall in the region, the number of accidents fell from 399 to 264.

Transport minister Derek Mackay said this week: “The increase in fatalities and the number of people seriously injured in road accidents in 2014 is disappointing. However, it also demonstrates the need for every one of us to take responsibility when using the road network. The longer term downward trends and the annual decline in the total number of casualties, to the lowest level since records began, are encouraging but more can, and must, be done.

“At the Road Safety Framework Strategic Partnership board meeting earlier this month I launched a review of our progress in delivering the Road Safety Framework to 2020. Transport Scotland are working together with road safety partners to assess the progress that has been made to date, with the aim of redoubling our efforts and focus through to 2020 and beyond. Fatalities in 2014 were down 31% from an average of 292 for 2004-08.

“Some of the recent interventions such as the change in Scotland’s drink-drive legislation – which has seen us leading the way in the United Kingdom – will undoubtedly help prevent the tragic and unnecessary loss of lives on our roads. Other innovations such as the A9 average speed camera programme are already delivering benefits. We are also encouraging councils to cut speed in towns and cities through our revised 20mph limit guidance. I am confident that these developments will have a positive impact going forward.”

Scottish Borders Council has revealed that last year saw a record amount of fly-tipping in the region. The authority dealt with 557 incidents during the year, more than 220 more than in 2013. The trend appears to be continuing with over 200 cases reported in the first four months of this year.

An SBC spokesman said: “Fly-tipping in any form is unacceptable.

“We would appeal to people not to carry out such acts, with anyone caught facing fines of up to £40,000 or six months imprisonment.

“Members of the public can play their part in protecting the environment by reporting any incidents of illegal dumping on publicly owned land to the Council on 0300 100 1800.

“If you suspect anyone of dumping on privately owned land, contact Dumb Dumpers helpline on 08452 30 40 90 or report it online at www.dumbdumpers.org”

Scottish Borders Council has admitted that no buildings in Hawick, Galashiels and Selkirk were surveyed or inspected before a wooded area next to the Tweedbank rail terminus was selected for a purpose-built centre to host the Great Tapestry of Scotland.

In December last year the council agreed to contribute £3.5m towards the £6m capital costs of the new building, having previously commissioned consultants to carry out a £40,000 study looking solely at the Tweedbank site.

In March, SBC received a Freedom of Information request seeking details and dates of any surveys or inspections carried out by or on behalf of the council on any buildings in the three towns “to ascertain if any of these premises were suitable for adaptation.”

Confirming that no such studies took place, the council responded last week: “Officers and consultants utilised existing knowledge and information already held by the council in coming to the conclusions utilised in the report and business case considered by council on December 18, 2014.”

○Budding writers of all ages are being reminded that the deadline for the Waverley Lines creative writing competition is Friday 26 June.

The theme of the competition is in the spirit of the re-opening of the Borders Railway. The initiative is being run by SBC and its creative writing magazine The Eildon Tree.

The re-opening of the Borders Railway on September 6 is now less than three months away. Network Rail has completed its testing of the track and handed the line over to Scotrail so that it can train its staff, and the final work on the stations is almost complete.

This is particularly significant, as the Scottish Borders has been without an operational station since the line was closed on January 6, 1969, 46½ years ago, after a comparatively short period of opportunity for people to object.

The grounds of objection were effectively only hardship, which was countered by ensuring the provision of ‘alternative bus services’ at every station. These did not last long. Railway passengers do not often consider bus services to be an adequate alternative to the trains, especially as they take quite a lot longer on the journey and cannot carry heavy luggage or bicycles, but evidently these disadvantages were not considered hardship. Very few passengers used them and most were soon withdrawn.

Re-opening a railway, or even just a station, is a very much longer process than closing it . The first requirement is to establish a ‘business case’. This depends on the number of people expected to use the trains, and any other financial benefits which can be expected. These figures cannot be plucked out of the air – they have to be based on real solid, provable expectations. Nevertheless, there have been several reopenings, mostly in Scotland, where a business case sufficiently robust to convince the politicians has been established.

In most cases the number of passengers expected in the first twelve months in the business case, has actually been achieved within the first three or four months of opening.

This re-assertion of the British attitude to public transport (that it is a business), is in contrast to the attitude in most other parts of the world, where it is regarded as a service. It is demonstrable that the existence of good public transport benefits the wider economy, and not only the people who use it.

This is more difficult to quantify in terms of hard cash, but it opens up employment opportunities and has enormous social benefits.

Many of the railway closures fifty years ago would not have happened if the government had been more far-sighted. As it was, the only criterion used was profitability. The Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, simply wanted to stem the losses made by the railways without taking into account any of the indirect economic and social benefits that accrued from their existence.

He appointed as Minister of Transport a man whose business was to build roads, particularly motorways, and gave him the responsibility to adjudicate on railway closures. He in turn appointed a brilliant economist with no knowledge of transport, and gave him a bus map which showed that virtually no communities would be left isolated if there were no railways.

The result was inevitable. Only the long-distance and heavily-used commuter routes would remain. Wayside stations on the main lines would be closed. It all happened so fast that opposition was not organised sufficiently well or in time to stop it.

The philosophy was that even the long-distance services would decline as the motorway network developed, so the British Railways Board struggled for years to obtain approval for developments such as main-line electrification.

The Board was so cash-strapped that it could not carry out the full maintenance regime which a busy railway required. It was not until the turn of the century that the government finally admitted that perhaps people really did want their railways.

The number of passengers has risen 70% in a decade. It was 2009 before Lord Adonis, the Secretary of State for Transport, kick-started the developments which are now gathering pace in England.

As with so many things, Scotland has been ahead of the game.

Lines and stations have been re-opened and electrification is taking place in the central belt. Many improvements have taken place in Scotland and continue to do so.

Which brings us to Reston. While the Borders Railway will bring operational stations back into the central Scottish Borders this year, the eastern Borders will benefit from the re-opening of Reston station on the East Coast Main Line within the next year or two. It was intended to be next year, but it has been delayed until more suitable trains for use on the main line are available in 2018.

TD1 Youth Hub has collected the Volunteer Friendly Award from Borders Volunteer Centre.

It requires demonstration that strong polices and procedures are in place to support and develop volunteers.

TD1 Youth Hub is based in Galashiels and last year worked with more than 250 young people through its different projects, one of which is the youth committee. This is a project which involves eight people developing ideas for projects for other young people, as well as learning new skills such as communication, working with others and decision-making.

The picture shows two members of the youth committee – Becca Sherratt, left, and Bronwen Jones – receiving the award from Borders Volunteer Centre’s Nigel Sargent.

For more information about the youth hub, contact Douglas Ormston on 01896 752442 or email douglas@td1.org.uk.

A 24-hour walk held last weekend in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support raised about £3,500, including donations.

The idea for the fundraiser came about during a walk up Lee Pen, a hill near Innerleithen, on a cold January morning when brothers Robert, 44, and Craig, 36, Glendinning decided that they wanted to take “Just One Day” from their lives and raise money for a cause close to their hearts – both experienced the loss of their cousins, Alan Glendinning and his younger brother, Graeme, to cancer within six weeks of each other in 2013.

Starting at noon on Saturday, Craig, Robert and two friends – Jason Card, 27, and Craig Elliot, 34 – tackled four 9.5-mile circuits in the Innerleithen and Walkerburn areas, taking in steep ascents, forest tracks, wild heather hilltops and riverside paths. They completed a total in excess of 44 miles with accumulated climbs equivalent to more than three Munros.

To boost the quartet’s fundraising efforts, Craig’s wife, Nicola, organised a cake and coffee morning on Sunday, which raked in £730 with an additional £200 in donations on the day.

Commented Craig Glendinning: “We are amazed at the support and good wishes we received from everyone we met during our hike, from a complete stranger who donated £10 at the summit of Lee Pen on our second lap, to the group of ‘merry’ friends disembarking the last bus home from Peebles Beltane on Saturday night at the start of our third lap.”

z The photograph shows, from left,Craig, Jason, and brothers Robert and Craig just before they set off on their marathon fundraiser. The brothers and Jason come from Innerleithen, while Craig is of Yarrowford.