Wednesday April 15th 2026
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Paul Kelly
Senior councillors have declined to take a U-turn on a decision to divert cash raised from parking charges to help balance cash-strapped Scottish Borders Council’s budget.
At a meeting of the council’s Executive Committee earlier this year it was agreed not to carry forward unspent surpluses from parking charges into the next financial year.
That meant funds raised from parking charges predominantly in Galashiels, Peebles and Melrose would not be used for investment in projects earmarked in those towns, but instead to help bolster the local authority’s overall coffers.
At a meeting of SBC’s Scrutiny & Petitions Committee in March members approved a motion from Galashiels SNP councillor Fay Sinclair requesting the council’s decision-making Executive Committee to reverse that decision.
When executive members met on Tuesday, April 14, a motion to utilise council reserve funds to cover the costs of an estimated £145k earmarked to four Galashiels projects was rejected by nine votes to two.
As a result the same motion will now go before a meeting of Scottish Borders Council for a final decision.
The projects earmarked were an upgrade of Victoria Park playpark, work on the Cornmill Fountain, a feasibility for a pump track and Gala in Bloom.
Executive member councillor Carol Hamilton, Conservative for East Berwickshire, said: “In the time that we are in at the moment I feel that this is a lot of money that can be used in other areas.
“There are other areas in the Borders that don’t have any paid parking and they don’t get the benefit, so I feel that for me this could be used throughout the Borders and on what this council needs to do at the moment.”
Fellow executive member councillor Robin Tatler, Independent for Tweeddale East, said: “My gut feeling on this is that reserves should not as good practice be used for something like this. They are for emergency and if we use them on this we can’t use them if we have an emergency.
“It is very clear this needs to go to a wider meeting to discuss.”
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