£150k to carry out repairs at former Selkirk travelllers' site

Travellers were allowed to stay on the site during the pandemic.

An outlay of £150,000 is needed to reopen a Borders caravan park that was used as a temporary gypsy/travellers site during the pandemic, it has emerged.

When members of Scottish Borders Council meet on Thursday, February 16, they will be asked to agree the funding from the authority’s Recovery Fund to carry out extensive works at Victorian Park caravan site in Selkirk.

The funds would be used to carry out both remediation and improvements to enable it to reopen in time for the tourist season in April, with the aim of it attaining Visit Scotland two-star status.

The caravan/ camping site is run by Live Borders and for the duration of the Covid-19 pandemic, in line with Scottish Government policy at the time, it was designated as the Borders base for the gypsy travelling community.

It was an official travellers site from April 2020 until July of last year.

The Victoria Park Action Group is spearheading the move to have the work carried out and to improve the riverside area and boost tourism in the town.

Works needed include a full refurbishment and redecoration of the shower block, new electrical supply to the pitches, a new entrance gate, a full refurbishment and re-instatement of the sluice and chemical toilet facility, improved sign-age and the installation of picnic tables and BBQ areas.

In a report to the committee, Jenni Craig, the council’s director of resilient communities, says: “The community in Selkirk and Victoria Park Action Group would like to see the work progressing on the site as soon as possible and for it to be open and welcoming guests from April.

“To enable the site to be ready for the tourist season the desire is to have the work completed by the 1st of April. This will be a challenging time-scale and requires the project to commence at the earliest opportunity.

“This proposal will have a positive effect on the community of Selkirk by increasing visitors to the town and maximising the use of a prominent site.”