Features

BUDGET: £30,000 cash rise for Eastgate theatre

Eastgate Theatre’s annual grant from the Council has gone up from £60,000 to £90,000. read more

BUDGET: A good news budget

Council Tax levels in the Scottish Borders have been frozen at their current rate this year. read more

BUDGET: Foul play!

The cleansing team could be excused for doing a double take when Izar, the mascot of the campaign against dog fouling in read more

BUDGET: £500,000 – let there be light

Street lights are something we all take for granted – but we would certainly miss them if they were taken away. read more

BUDGET: Keeping Gala on the move

The Galashiels Development Programme is a series of projects that aims to solve transport and development issues read more

BUDGET: Social services get more money

This year’s budget included additional money for a range of social work services read more

BUDGET: Stemming the flow

Changes in the Scottish Government’s funding system have affected the Council’s plans for taking forward flood prevention read more

Countdown to big television switchover

The switchover to digital television is getting nearer. The Selkirk transmission area, covering most of the Scottish read more

BUDGET: Three new high schools

Work on our three new high schools read more

BUDGET: Taxibus trials in rural areas

A new way of providing public transport for Borders residents in rural areas is being tried, based on experience in other read more

BUDGET: A lesson in safety for school children

The Council is working hard to ensure that Borders children get to and from school in the healthiest, safest and most read more

BUDGET: Waste - our greatest challenge

The Scottish Government has outlined challenging targets for recycling. read more

BUDGET: Response team there to help

Squads of SB Local workers provide a rapid response to day-to-day environmental issues in the Scottish Borders. read more

BUDGET: Waste - bag more materials

More materials can now be put in clear recycling bags (or green bags for trade waste customers) for kerbside collection. read more

BUDGET: Waste - business will share burden

Trade waste charges have gone up by about 30 per cent this year, to meet the cost of higher national landfill tax and waste read more

BUDGET: Waste - community recycling centre

A new community recycling centre is to be built in Kelso and the Selkirk recycling centre is to be upgraded. read more

BUDGET: Waste - green grants available

About £70,000 a year is available in grants from the Landfill Communities Fund to benefit communities throughout read more

Ribbon of hope

The White Ribbon Campaign, launched locally in the Borders in November, encouraged men to ‘never commit, condone or remain read more

BUDGET: Hawick is a real winner

The future is looking bright for the Heart of Hawick – the ‘place’ category winner in the Scottish Urban Regeneration read more

News

Scrumming your way!

Rugby ace Jordan Macey shows he’s really scrum-thing special as he kicks off the Scottish Borders Awards. read more

New plan to help stamp out crime

Lothian and Borders Police has teamed up with Scottish Borders Council and other partners to launch a new way of reporting… read more

Good health – we’ve gone and Dun it!

Berwickshire High School in Duns is one of the first organisations in Scotland to pick up a gold award for its read more

Waverley line go-ahead

The Scottish Government has given the go-ahead to the Waverley Railway following a due diligence exercise carried out read more

Crowds flock for good fortune

Chinese New Year celebrations went off with a roar in Galashiels this year. read more

What do you think of the Council?

Ten thousand residents have been asked what they think of the Council in the 2008 Scottish Borders Council Household read more

Grants improve quality of life

Grants of up to £5,000 are available from the Community Grants Scheme for almost all types of community projects. read more

Network of paths for local walkers

Communities and landowners around Kelso, Smailholm, Morebattle and Yetholm have been working with the Scottish Border read more

Poverty probe led by ex-NHS chief

The former chief of NHS Borders, Tony Taylor, is to lead a commission to investigate poverty in the Scottish Borders. read more

Council services set the standards

THE Council maintains 147 cemeteries and churchyards and carries out 850 to 900 interments a year. read more

Get high: without drugs!

The anti-drugs Natural High tour, featuring songwriter and vocalist David Graham, was back in the Scottish Borders read more

Holly wins innovator of the year award

A worker with Dialogue Youth has been given a national award for the most innovative youth work in Scotland. read more

Need to know more about drugs – then ask kenny!

Looking for information on drugs and alcohol? Ask Kenny! read more

People’s Panel aims to sort it out

The Scottish Borders People’s Panel was set up by the Council and partner agencies in 1999, as a panel of around 1800 residents read more

Climate change? Keep it local

We are hearing more and more about the threats posed by our changing climate and the urgent need for us all to do our bit to read more

Big project for the smallest school

Yarrow Primary School is the smallest in the Scottish Borders with a roll of just six pupils. read more

Helping to build a safer future for children

In summer last year, I took up my three-year appointment as Independent Chair of the Scottish Borders Child read more

Now this is what is called going GREEN!

Two years after getting the first Green Flag in the Borders, Kirkhope Primary School near Selkirk is celebrating yet read more

Round of applause for Priorsford project

Priorsford Primary School in Peebles held a celebration to mark the opening of its new wing. read more

The toolkit to help beat homophobia

A toolkit for teachers that provides guidance on identifying homophobic incidents and dealing with homophobia is being piloted read more

Tweed invasives project

The Tweed Invasives Project has now been running for five years and has had an effect on the spread of alien non-native plant read more

Views sought on paths plan

Comments are being invited from the public on the draft core paths plan. read more

Keep your eyes open for water voles on the Tweed

A study of water voles in parts of the Tweed catchment was carried out recently. read more

Hawick service changes

Work is going on in Hawick to transform the way that the Council provides customer services. read more

A show to remember

I CREATE, an Arts Resource at Lanark Lodge day support service in Duns, treated audiences to two performances of the musical read more

Beam me up to the library!

From Paris to Peebles, Gatineau to Galashiels, Carmarthen to Coldstream and Brussels to the Borders, VubisSm@rt has arrived. read more

Champion for the children

Councillor Frances Renton is the Council’s first Children’s Champion. read more

Warning light

When Council staff are working on the roads, they need to provide proper warning to oncoming traffic. read more

Connect – a real success!

The new-look SB Connect was shortlisted for an award in February by the British Association of Communicators in read more

Cricket booming

Budding cricketers are looking forward to their most exciting season so far, with a jam-packed programme that includes a new read more

Midnight League scores with kids

The Midnight League, which gives teenagers an alternative to roaming the streets, proved a big hit – with more than 120 read more

Smiley sports raise £10,000

Sport Relief 2008 was a big success across the Scottish Borders. read more

We’re ready to roll

Football enthusiasts now have the chance to turn any area, no matter the surface, into a regulation size five-a-side read more