From silk mill to skate park in Jedburgh

It has been more than a decade in the planning but a £270k skate park for Jedburgh is now a step closer to reality.
Former Jedburgh Community Councillor, Charlie Young, at the proposed site for a skatepark at the Dip, Jedburgh. Photo: Bill McBurnie.Former Jedburgh Community Councillor, Charlie Young, at the proposed site for a skatepark at the Dip, Jedburgh. Photo: Bill McBurnie.
Former Jedburgh Community Councillor, Charlie Young, at the proposed site for a skatepark at the Dip, Jedburgh. Photo: Bill McBurnie.

A Scottish Borders Council-supported hybrid concrete skate park and tarmac pump track is earmarked for an area known locally as ‘The Dip’, on the south side of the A68, the site of a demolished silk mill which has been flattened and grassed over.

Now, with funding in place, a formal planning application has been submitted to the local authority’s planning department.

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It is hoped that in addition to giving town youngsters some much-needed recreational fun the facility will also attract an influx of visitors.

Inverness-based wheeled sports experts Alan Jones Associates would oversee the work if approved – the company was the project manager on both the Kelso skateboard and Hawick pump track projects.

If the plan is given the green light a series of drainage works will also need to be carried out on the site.

A drainage report with the planning application states: “The site location is within a low-lying site surrounded by high ground to the north, west and south. The Jed Water lies immediately east of the development site and the intention is to create a new drainage outfall to the river.

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“The drainage design for the site itself shall be developed alongside the detailed arrangement of the skate park and pump track to ensure that all areas remain free of standing water throughout the year.”

Speaking last March, former community councillor Charlie Young said the park could be a huge boost to the town.

He said: "It’s a fantastic investment in town tourism because people will come here to use it. It will be seen from the roadside, so people driving through Jedburgh will now see that and it will give them a reason to stop.

"There are no facilities for wheeled sports in town. You get complaints about kids using the square and the streets, the car parks, so let’s get them out of there and into a safe zone, specifically for them.”