The Peeblean: Friday 30 May 2025
Peebles Community Festival, Sport & Leisure Facility consultation, A701/A702 connector route, cycle road races, Reuse hubs, What's On Guide, summer activity camps.
Welcome to Issue 21 of The Peeblean.
July Break: As a bit of advance notice, there will be no issue produced in the first week in July as we’re taking a little break. We’ll publish on the 27/28 June and then return on the 11/12 July. If you have events running in that period, we’ll include them in a bumper end of June issue.
The plans and activities for Saturday’s Community Festival look brilliant - are you heading along?
The formal survey on the Council/Live Borders review of sport, leisure and cultural facilities is now open (until 31 August). At the foot of today’s email, we’ve pasted in the questions for each of the local venues so you can review these ahead of responding. This is about the impact on individuals and families as well as clubs so don’t feel you have to be a ‘representative’ of something to respond. As further consultation events are announced, we’ll ensure these are flagged.
A bit of an oops moment at the Scottish Parliament this week as an award-winning butcher was congratulated. But can you spot the error?
EVENTS THIS WEEKEND
Saturday 31 May
Innerleithen & Traquair Horti Society coffee morning (Union Club, 10:00)
Peebles Community Festival - all day
Peebles Scout Group Open Day - refreshments and family friendly activities at the Scout Hall 10:00 - 14:00
Walkerburn 7s tournament from 13:00
Scones and Songs at the MacFarlane Hall from 15:30 - 17:00
Roamers Wood Open Day, West Linton from 14:00 - 16:30
Hollywood Heights by Dance Pointe Academy at the Eastgate Theatre 18:00
Calum Bertram at the Cross Keys, 20:00 -23:00
Sunday 1 June
Dawyck Spring Plant Sale 10:00 - 14:00
Whipman Junior Rideout departs 10:00 from Howieson Stables
Annual opening of the Japanese Water Garden at Stobo, 14:00 - 17:00
Nomad Beat summer concert at Carlops Village Hall, 15:00
The Penguin Lessons on screen at the Eastgate Theatre, 13:00 (and 4 June)
Durty Brewing Quiz Night
THIS WEEK - see our poster board for details
At the Eastgate Theatre this week: The Barber of Seville (opera on screen, 3 June), and Ocean with David Attenborough on 5 June)
Innerleithen heritage walk to Pirn Hill fort on Weds 4 June at 18:00 (free, meet at the Memorial Hall)
The second run of Shakespeare at Traquair runs from 4-7 June
Eddleston Voices concert on Friday 6 June, 19:00 in Eddleston Church
WEEKEND 7 - 8 JUNE - see our poster board for details
Whipman Week activities commence
Peebles MS Society coffee morning, Burgh Hall 10:00 - 12:00
Summer Vintage Fair, Innerleithen Parish Church, 11:00 - 15:00
Shostakovich weekend with the Brodsky Quartet at the Eastgate Theatre
School’s Out celebration on Saturday 7 on Tweed Green 14:00 - 16:00
Day-long Polish/Scottish celebration at Barony Castle on Sunday 8 June from 11:00 - 19:00.
Annual Callants Street Clean on Sunday 8 June, 09:30
Music, food and bubbles on Sunday 8 in Broughton when Broughton Choral Society present their summer concert of Gounod, Bartok and Donizetti at the village hall. Ticket (£20) includes prosecco and a buffet supper.
COMMUNITY NOTICEBOARD
As well as the Peebles-based Reuse Hub, there is now a Reuse, Repair and Share Hub at Whitmuir, open on Saturday from 10:00 - 15:00. As well as tools and furniture for sale they have items which can be hired/borrowed. Pop in and chat to them about their plans and please consider donating good used items to either facility. There’s further information on their pages about what they take.
On Sunday 8 June, two cycling road races round the Gladhouse Circuit will be starting and finishing from Eddleston village hall. One leaves at 10:30 and one leaves at 13:00. Participants will head north from Eddleston to the Westloch turn off and then they’ll race an anti-clockwise circuit past Gladhouse, Mount Lothian over to Howgate, Leadburn and back up the Westloch climb to the finish line. All junctions and roundabouts will be signed and marshalled but usual road rules apply (marshals will only be pointing the way, not stopping traffic).
For anyone considering a ‘growing’ business, Haystoun Property are advertising a greenhouse to let on the Holylee Estate near Walkerburn.
BOOKING NOW
SBC summer activity camps for P1-P7 are running at Peebles High School from Monday 21 - Friday 25 July and Monday 4 - Friday 8 August. There are also camps running in other locations across the borders including specialist football and athletics sessions at Melrose and Tweedbank.
AROUND AND ABOUT
To tackle congestion on the A701 through Straiton, Midlothian Council has shared a proposed route for an A701 Relief Road and A702 Link Road. The council estimates the new route could cut three minutes off journeys between Penicuik and Burdiehouse Road and cut traffic on parts of the A701 by 30-40%.
The north shore road at Gladhouse Reservoir is shutting from Monday 9 June to enable some significant infrastructure works, including replacing and raising the road bridge. The work is expected to take two years. Diversion routes will be via Temple Village.
JOB VACANCIES
We are populating a new jobs board for June over this weekend - keep checking back for updates and send us any vacancies.
NEWS ROUND-UP
At Innerleithen Common Good Fund Sub-Committee on Thursday, it was noticeable that councillors are still having to ask SBC council officials for some basic data on maintenance costs and room rental income for the Memorial Hall at a time when the future of buildings are the focus of many discussions across the community. Importantly, for those campaigning against closure, it was confirmed the Hall is a Common Good asset, meaning there are protections in place for what could happen to the building. Councillors at the meeting confirmed their opposition to any closure moves.
Coming up at the Council:
SBC’s planning committee meets on Monday. Applications of local interest include a housebuilding proposal at Eshiels Steading (recommended for approval with conditions).
Peebles Common Good Fund Sub-Committee meets on Wednesday 11 June at 17:00. The meeting is in person, venue tbc.
At the next meeting of the full Council (26 June) reports are expected on child poverty, children and young people’s services, cemetery land supply, development planning and the local heat and energy efficiency strategy.
In Brief
The latest minutes of Peebles Community Council are now published.
The parent consultation - part of the second review of Eddleston PS mothballing will close on Sunday 1 June.
Sport, leisure and cultural services and facilities consultation
The Gytes questions are:
Have you used this facility in the last six months? Yes/No.
If yes, what did you use.
If this building was retained, are there additional services you think could be added or changes made which would increase usage or generate income?
What level of impact would there be on you if the sports hall facility at the Gytes was removed to allow for the development of a dedicated health and fitness facility? Tick box for scoring impact between high positive and high negative. Text box to provide more information as required.
Would you be impacted by sports hall provision being relocated to Peebles High School?
Do you have any other comments?
The Drill Hall / Graham Institute/Memorial Hall / St Ronan’s Wells* questions are:
Have you used this facility in the last six months? Yes/No.
If yes, what did you use.
If this building was retained, are there additional services you think could be added or changes made which would increase usage or generate income?
What level of impact would there be on you if the Drill Hall was closed? Are there alternative facilities that could be used? Tick box for scoring impact between high positive and high negative.
Do you think this facility could be delivered through community ownership/management? Yes or No.
If the property moved into community ownership what services/facilities would you like to see offered from the building?
Would you (or a group you’re part of) be interested in getting involved in helping run or support this venue as a community facility? Yes directly, Yes indirectly, No, Not sure.
If the property was to be sold, do you have any suggestions for the future use of the property or the site which would help shape how it could be marketed?
Do you have any other comments?
(*There is an additional Q for St Ronan’s Wells - Is there an alternative public facility in the town that could be used to co-locate the museum/part of the collection? If so, how would this impact you?)
Thanks for reading!
The Peeblean