We are pleased to announce that on 4 February this year, Scottish Borders Council registered the Peebles Place Plan which sets out the aspirations and priorities of the people of Peebles. This feedback was collected in several consultations over the last three years. The majority of those contributing wished to see amongst other things a second road bridge, a flood defence scheme and a new business park – all of which are planned. If and when they come to pass, these will impact significantly on how the settlement functions and have the potential to lay the foundations of a more resilient and sustainable community.

There are also ambitious projects for active travel, the Chambers Institution, School Brae Hub, Victoria Park Day Centre, Greener Peebles, the Baptist Church and for strengthening the Eastgate Theatre. Some of these are in-flight while others may be years away, but all of them will progress only with the hard work of those carrying on Peebles’ long tradition of volunteering and community initiative.

The formation of the Peebles Community Trust (PCT) was a community initiative designed to deliver and co-ordinate such projects. Drafting and successful implementation of the Peebles Town Action Plan 2016–2021 provided initial strategic direction. The current iteration of the Place Plan was developed by a broader team including PCT, PCC and the Peebles Civic Society, supported by generous funding from SBC. This plan further develops and extends these efforts and signals how community projects work together to deepen sustainability, equality and resilience.

A Plan for Peebles and the Peebles Town Action Plan 2024–2034 provides an evidenced and argued statement of community ambitions, prioritisation and proposed sequencing of these aspirational projects and initiatives. The task now that the plan is registered is to work with Partners and Funding Bodies to secure support for the programme in the form of Memoranda of Understanding and the funding for individual projects and initiatives. Most importantly, the task is to do this together with the people running our community groups who are already driving some of these projects forward and those aspiring volunteers working quietly in the background.

We invite local community and business organisations to endorse the plan and to join the support group. We would then like to invite active members who are willing to take a whole town view (representing the interests of the community as a whole) to join the management board of the Peebles Town Team so that, together, we can contribute the skills, mentoring and strategic context needed to make the plan a success.

If you would like to endorse the plan, join our membership or express an interest in joining our board please contact us.

You can read the Peebles Place Plan in full, together with the more detailed Peebles Town Action Plan 2024–2034 and our draft views on Peebles Placemaking Team evolution at https://place.ccrbpeebles.co.uk/.

Peebles Placemaking Team
Dr Michael Marshall
Planning Convenor
Peebles & District Community Council

As always: support or comment to Anne Snoddy (Secretary PCC)