Last
updated on
18 November 2022
Walkerburn Community Development TrustWalkerburn is a small community on the A72 half way between Peebles and Galashiels in the Scottish Borders. It sits on the banks of the River Tweed and is surrounded by the Tweed Valley Forest Park and is an area known around the world for salmon fishing, hill walking and mountain biking.Walkerburn Community Development Trust was set up in 2005 during the final year of a 3 year period as a European Transitional Regeneration Area. The aims of the Trust are to continue and develop the regeneration work started over the previous two years through various projects. For 2 years up until March 2011 the trust had a development officer funded as part of the Powerdown project looking at ways of reducing the carbon footprint of the village, working with both individuals and groups within the community. The Trust considered purchasing and redeveloping the Church of Scotland building which was closed at the end of May 2009, however the cost of any scheme and the effect it might have on any future need for funding for other projects resulted in a decision, taken in April 2010, not to proceed. In conjunction with the local Council for Voluntary Services (The Bridge), a Community Action Plan was developed in 2010 to take Walkerburn forward in a direction decided by the whole community. The overall aim of the Trust is to serve the community by helping to make Walkerburn a great place to work, rest and play. The allotments between Galashiels Road and Tweedholm Avenue were developed by the Trust and are leased to Walkerburn Allotment Association who manage the allotment site. The remainder of the area has fruit trees and bushes on it and paths have been installed to make the area more accessible. In 2015, the possibility of purchasing land on Caberston Avenue for the installation of photovoltaic panels to generate electricity for the village was investigated with a feasibility study funded by Local Energy Scotland. Unfortunately the cost of connection to the grid made the project economically unfeasible, although the concept was a good one, and might have generated a future income for the Trust and the village. Since the end of maintenance of the flowerbeds in the village by the local council, this has been taken on by a small group of residents who are supported by the Trust. Although it has been difficult in the current climate to maintain the beds as carefully as might be wished, the use of wildflower seeds in the beds has greatly brightened the journey through the village with a very colouful display. During the coronavirus epidemic, the provision of meals has been overeseen by one of the Trust directors along with a further group of volunteers cooking and delivering nutritious meals (Food HUGS) to those in financial need, or who have to isolate due to health issues. The Trust is a recognised Scottish Charity in the form of a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO). There are currently 8 members of the community serving on the Board of Trustees and membership is open to anyone over the age of 16, living within the EH43 postcode or owning property in the postcode area. An application form to join the trust is available by clicking here The support of the work of the Trust by members is vital to its success. The Trust hopes to find support and funding for an art project in the old mill site. Our bid for funding from the SBC Localities Fund in 2019 was just a few votes short of being successful, and once we found funding the new owner of the site startedt o develop it and asked us to stop the project. However we are still working to find alternative sites for images from working in the mill. In the past 12 months, a lot of work has gone into the development of ideas for a pump track in Walkerburn. Click here for more information The objectives of the trust are:
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