What's happening in and around Walkerburn
and in the Village Hall click here

Community Council publishes further information about the Scawd Law wind farm proposal - click on these links

1 Information about Scawd Law proposal      2 General information on wind farms     3  More sources of information about wind farms

Walkerburn Festival Lass and Festival Walk - Friday 2nd July

New benches installed along the multi use path

Thanks to IWT Rotary and SBC new benches have been installed along the multi use path from Walkebuurn to Innerleithen.

Squirrel pox sighted in red squirrels around Walkerburn

Multiple suspected cases of squirrel pox have been reported in Walkerburn.

In order to ensure we can protect red squirrels in the local area, we would advise you to please:

- Take bird/squirrel feeders in if you live in/near Walkerburn
- Take feeders in if you see a grey squirrel/sick red squirrel in your garden
- Use Virkon S to disinfect any feeders you cannot bring in - Report sightings of grey squirrels at scottishsquirrels.org.uk
- Report sightings of sick red squirrels to scooper@scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk
- If a sick red squirrel is caught, please also contact your local vet or the SSPCA

Signs to look out for:
- Lesions around the eyes, mouth and paws
- Difficulty eating or drinking
- Difficulty climbing or moving

Please abide by Covid 19 restrictions and do not travel to check on/pick up squirrels. There is no evidence that squirrel pox can harm humans, but please take care when approaching wild animals.

Walk It Walkerburn restarted in June

Walk It Walkerburn has a new leader, Alice Pringle.  She can be contacted on 07974 782016.  A first walk and talk happened on Wednesday, 9^th June at 10am.  Future walks will go ahead at 10.00 a.m. each Wednesday starting at Alexandra Park beside the children’s playpark.

These will be gentle walks - all you need to bring is yourself with outdoor clothing to suit the weather and sensible footwear for walking.

If you wish to discuss this, book in, or have any questions, please get in touch.

On line consultation on wind farm proposal at Scawd Law, north of Walkerburn

You may have read about a proposal to put 12 turbines on Scawd Law which is a couple of miles north of Walkerburn.  As yet there is no definite plan for this development, but the consultation process is starting with local communities and the local council.  You can read more about the proposal on the following Scottish Government website
http://www.energyconsents.scot/ApplicationDetails.aspx?cr=ECU00002111&T=5   

 You can view the information about the development by following this link.  You can read about the siting, size and visibility of the turbines there.

There is also a newsletter from Fred Olsen Renewables available here.

Local High Street Heroes

Denise Hanks has been recognised as a High Street Hero  for her work in organising and running the village's FoodHUGS project since April.
Also a hero locally is the Co-op store in Innerleithen.

Scotland’s High Street Heroes have been honoured for the remarkable ways in which they have helped their communities during the coronavirus crisis.

Scotland’s Communities Secretary Aileen Campbell praised each and every one of them for their efforts, saying: “I would like to thank these High Street Heroes for going the extra mile to help their communities during the coronavirus pandemic.

“I am pleased the Scottish Government has been able to support these awards through our funding for Scotland’s Towns Partnership. They typify the kind of community spirit that has supported people and improved lives.

Denise and all your team, and staff at the Co-op, thanks for all your efforts in these difficult times

Congratulations to Windlestraw

Windlestraw, Walkerburn's own luxury boutique hotel, has been awarded a third AA rosette in recognition of the work of chef Stuart Waterston.  John and Sylvia Matthews, owners of the hotel said   “We are delighted that chef Stuart Waterston’s talent, hard work and exceptional cuisine, long appreciated locally, has now been recognised on the national stage"   They hope that this award will help promote the Scottish Borders as a great destination for tourism.

Food HUGS – Healthy Uncomplicated Great Scran!

HUGS -Healthy Uncomplicated Great Scran is for anybody in need in Walkerburn, who was self isolating, or is in financial difficulty due to Coronavirus.   The project was awarded a grant from the Scottish Government's Comunity Wellness Fund administerd by the Corra Foundation allowing it to continue this excellent work. 

Food Hugs continues to deliver about 35 meals each Tuesday to those in  need in the village.  This is about the same as were delivered at the start of the project, but less than the 50+ at the peak during the lockdown. 

This relies on the help of a group of volunteers and there is always space for anyone who wishes to get involved in preparing the meals on Tuesdays.  Get in touch with Denise whose details are given below if you are interested.

This project is to help the most vulnerable.  If you were self-isolating, or are in financial difficulty and want to receive a meal get in touch with Denise via hanks_denise@yahoo.co.uk or 01896 870200.

The priority is for folk who received the shielding letter, those self isolating because of age or other health reasons and those who are experiencing financial difficulties.

Remembrance Day wreath laying in Walkerburn

There was no remembrance service in the village this year, however despite this, there was a wreath laying ceremony, with social distancing in place. 
Link to video of wreath laying ceremony       The video should download and you can then open it on your computer etc.

Development of land at West Bold by Forestry and Land Scotland

The Walkerburn & District Community Council has decided that a Forestry and Land Scotland public consultation about the West Bold Plan is unnecessary for three reasons: /span>

1. F&LS’s Plan 10 has addressed nearly all of the concerns we had about the original plan.

2. WDCC’s Information Event on 15th August was well-attended by residents who almost unanimously supported Plan 10. 

3. Covid-19 restrictions mean finding a suitable venue would be problematic.

Ideally we would prefer that F&LS abandons completely its plan to plant on West Bold, but we think this is not going to happen and the concessions they make in Plan 10 is the best compromise we are going to get. 

 Anyone disagreeing with this decision can email WDCC members to express their views.  Contact details can be found in July’s Newsletter which was delivered to every EH43 address, or on Walkerburn.com. 

Staying Healthy and Entertained with Dignity - the SHED

Inspired by the town in Perthshire that converted a disused phone box into a village larder a group of residents thought something like this would be very welcome in Walkeerburn.  At first the community council agreed to allow the transformation of the Community Resilience Shed by the village hall. The idea was shared on Facebook: they were overwhelmed by the generosity of the village. In less than 24 hours the shed was full. &  Now a new shed has been purchased and is at the other side of the Village Hall, and the resilience shed is back in use.

Maintenance of Jubilee Park - the area next to the allotments

You may have seen people out cutting the grass on the area during this period of social distancing. 

The grass has now been cut about once a fortnight since April last year, some areas of wild flowers were left hoping that with time these plants will help to keep the grass under control.  The ongoing task is to keep it looking the way it is now.  In all it's probably about 4 - 5 hours work to cut all the grass.  If anyone wants to go out with a strimmer or mower and cut some grass, please feel free to do a bit.  What is five hours for one person is only 1 hour for five.  It's good exercise for the whole body.  Many hands make light work.

 Please respect the area which is for everyone's use and benefit.  It is not a rubbish tip.

Walkerburn Public Hall

All events at the hall are now cancelled until further notice.  This decision has been taken in the light of advice from government.

Innerleithen and Walkerburn First Responders need volunteers

We need more volunteers to join us to become active responders. The more of us there are, the more coverage we can supply, more incidents we can attend and more lives we can help save. If you are interested, or want to find out more, then please get in touch and we can answer all your questions.

Facebook.com/iwcfr
07808 767 299
heartstart@iwcfr.org

Watch a video of the floods in December 2015

This 10 minute video was taken by Air Cam Pro on 6th December 2015 and shows the extent of the flooding around the village. Click on the headline to see the video. You may find it interesting to compare this with some of the images from 1926 in the Old Walkerburn section of the photo gallery.