A call has been made for the local authority to “grasp the nettle” and carry out repairs to a crumbling retaining wall in Selkirk and worry about who owns it later.
Local community councillor, Ian King, says nearby residents and businesses are being “held hostage” in the dispute between Scottish Borders Council and the owners of the Glen Hotel over who is legally responsible for the maintenance of the retaining wall in Yarrow Terrace.
SBC has installed temporary traffic management arrangements on the road round th wall and at the junction of Buccleuch Road and Yarrow Terrace, just at the south end of Selkirk Bridge. A statement from SBC this week said the condition of the wall had been causing concern for a number of months. SBC’s lawyers are believed to be in contact with the legal representatives of the owners of the Glen Hotel in an effort to establish who is responsible for the upkeep of the wall. But Mr King says the local authority needs to take immediate remedial action and then seek financial redress from whoever the owners turn out to be, if it proves that SBC is not legally responsible. “The public should not be held hostage due to an ongoing wrangle between SBC and the property owners,” he told us. “The council needs to grasp the proverbial nettle and get this work done quickly.” Local Scottish Borders councillor Gordon Edgar, SBC executive member for roads and infrastructure, says a course of action such as suggested by Mr King might be what eventually happens.
“But it’s not just a few hundred quid we’re talking about here – the cost could be tens of thousands of pounds,” warned Mr Edgar.