In the not-too-distant future, I, as Chair of the Community Council (PCC), will be asked to add my signature to this document. As will representatives of the other town organisations that have made up the team led by Crick Carleton of the Peebles Community Trust (PCT).

Should I be signing, it will be at the direction of the democratic majority of the members of the PCC. They will in turn be acting on your behalf, the population of Peebles. Local democracy, in my personal view, is not very satisfactory and I have written about this before. However, it is what it is, and we must work with it. There is no other mechanism available.

In the past, the Town Council managed locally on our behalf. Today, we are managed from afar by a body, SBC, that has far too much to do, over too large an area and with too limited resources. Local councillors represent the community, but they don’t manage, that is for council officers and SBC do not provide town managers.

The Scottish Government came up with the idea of local communities, usually through the good offices of community councils, creating "Place Plans”. Councils are required to consider these Place Plans when developing their own development plans.

Over the last few years, your local team has engaged with the public to the best of its ability, including 20 public consultations. Not easy, given that the team is made up of volunteers, who must balance their volunteering with their own lives and families. This engagement generated more than 1,000 comments and ideas from around 400 people. However, people are busy, and the team couldn’t reach out to everyone.

Given how positive the feedback we received was, we assume that the silent majority support the plan too. Still, we recognise that not everyone will agree with everything, that would be impossible. It is though, the only plan there is, there is no other and if it is not endorsed, there is unlikely to be a replacement.

It would be comforting to know that most people in Peebles do support the plan. This is your last chance to give that support or alternatively to express your concern. The latest version and associated documents may be seen here.

Peter Maudsley

Chair

Peebles and District Community Council