£8,000 early Christmas present agreed for Hawick festive event

The town’s community council has been granted £7,744 by Scottish Borders Council’s Hawick common good fund sub-committee to buy new gazebos.

This year’s festive event will be the third, replacing an annual fancy-dress parade held previously.

Last year’s seasonal celebration attracted 20 stall-holders, but 12 others had to be put on a waiting list due to a lack of gazebos. 

The gazebos currently used are loaned to the community council by Hawick Reivers’ Festival organisers, but the funding agreed last week means the council will be able to afford 10 of its own, to be made available for other events too.

Community council vice-chairperson Marion Short told last Wednesday’s meeting of the common good fund sub-committee: “We would like to expand the Christmas event, so much so that we have a waiting list.

“I have already been to localities funding and have secured funding for two additional gazebos, and it would be my intention that they would not just be for Hawick Community Council but indeed for the whole town.

“We’ve had Derick Tait from Future Hawick asking to borrow gazebos, and the reivers’ festival would be able to borrow them, as would Burnfoot Carnival.

“This is for going forward, and I am concerned that, due to the age of some of my fellow community councillors, it would be a huge part of their work to have to travel to other towns to effectively borrow and have to bring back additional equipment. 

“There’s great demand in the town and we’d be happy to pool our resources and do something constructively for the town here.”

Hawick and Denholm councillor Stuart Marshall welcomed her funding bid, saying: “I don’t think we should delay this any further.

“I’d be more than happy to support this application in its entirety. 

“Hawick Community Council does a fantastic job, especially around Christmastime, and it’s not just about the community council – it’s about other organisations in the town benefiting from this award as well.”

Fellow Hawick and Denholm councillor Clair Ramage agreed, saying: “You’ve already highlighted the link with Future Hawick and the reivers’ festival. 

“I think in the current pandemic it would be great to have more outdoor events, and I’m sure there’ll be a lot of local community projects that would like to borrow the gazebos. I would support this in its entirety as well.”

Councillors voted unanimously to award the community council the grant of £7,744 it requested.