£11,000-plus revamp proposed for road through Hawick graveyard

A section of the main route through the town’s Wellogate Cemetery is potholed and in need of repair.

That means the journey to a burial plot can be a rocky experience for grieving relatives, particularly during poor weather conditions.

That could be about to change, though, if the town’s councillors agree to spend £11,385 on carrying out much-needed repairs.

Hawick and Hermitage councillor Davie Paterson has campaigned for the work to be carried out, saying the road surface creates a bad impression.

Mr Paterson said: “This is something I have been pushing for after several constituents brought this problem to my attention.

“I was being asked if there was some way to bring this piece of road up to the same standard we did with the other area of Wellogate Cemetery.

“When we have funerals, we have people coming from all over the country. I don’t want them going away with a bad impression.”

Fraser Dunlop, Scottish Borders Council’s area neighbourhoods manager for Teviot and Liddesdale, said: “I have been asked to take this forward as a potential small scheme.

“The section of road being considered for resurfacing is part of the main route through the cemetery used by funeral processions.

“If this work is carried out, it will complement the resurfacing carried out on other sections of the road network within Wellogate Cemetery over the past two years.

“The cost of the work would be £11,385.

“There is currently £18,153 in the Hawick and Hermitage small schemes budget.

“If approval is obtained from a majority of the Teviot and Liddesdale councillors, I will seek approval from the service director to allocate funds to take the scheme forward.”