SCOTTISH Borders Council will today decide on a permanent home for the Great Tapestry of Scotland, with two rival sites up for decision.
The plan was to decide the future of the tapestry in a private meeting of councillors but that looks set to be reversed with the leader of the council saying the discussion should take place in public.
The terminus of the Borders Railway, Tweedbank, was the preferred option for months but a sustained campaign has taken place to have the tapestry at a location in Galashiels. The council was going to consider the subject behind closed doors but council leader David Parker said yesterday that he will ask on behalf of the administration that the matter be discussed in public.
Councillor Parker, backed by Councillor Stuart Bell, will move that the covering report and the two business cases, for the Tweedbank site and the potential Galashiels site, are presented publicly.
A report at a council meeting can only be considered in private once councillors have approved a motion to exclude the public in terms of Section 50A (4) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973.
There seems little chance of that happening as the council is going for a public debate. Parker said: “A decision as to whether this matter will be held in private or public can only be made on Thursday by council as the papers for the meeting have already been published.
“For that reason I will raise the matter and, if agreed, this will mean that all of the information councillors will consider as part of their decision-making at the meeting will be made public.
“Although it was recommended to members that the report be taken in private, due to the commercially sensitive information contained in it, the administration believes it is crucial that all the information is released.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here