Scottish Borders Local Association

Council unmoved by last-ditch bid to save arts centre

Published Date: 25 December 2008

By Andrew Keddie

AN eleventh hour bid to save the region's only publicly-owned centre delivering curricular arts to pupils has ended in failure.

It was launched by Councillor Nicholas Watson, but his motion to retain St Andrew’s Art Centre in Galashiels was defeated by 24 votes to nine at Scottish Borders Council’s last meeting of 2008.

A controversial element of the wide-reaching Transforming Children’s Services (TCS) project, the demise of the facility in June next year was also opposed by the SNP opposition group and Tory councillor Fiona Lackenby, who rebelled against SBC’s ruling administration.

Purchased from the Church of Scotland for a bargain price in the 1980, the complex provides around 100 teaching days in art, drama, music and dance for around 2,500 pupils. It hosts special projects and lends out stage lighting, props, constumes and sound-mixing equipment to primary schools.

It provides workshop space and storage for equipment currently deployed in schools as well as rehearsal space for Borders Youth Theatre (BYT), Borders Youth Musicians and a range of voluntary groups. It is also the venue of Easter, summer and autumn holiday projects for young people.

“The closure is a grave mistake at a time when the average per capital spend on the arts in the Borders is just £2.68, compared to £8 across Scotland,” said Mr Watson.

“When I first visited the centre, which develops programmes to suit school projects, some primary pupils, who had been studying food supply, did a drama piece about Joseph in Egypt.

“In the preparation and delivery of the play, they learned about maths, teamwork, economics, planning, diplomacy, politics, family relations, authority and forgiveness – not bad in helping youngsters think in a joined up way and preparing for later life.

“We will lose this at our peril and for what? In the current climate, it will be worth little on the open market, yet it could so easily be developed into a centre of excellence.”

But Councillor Graham Garvie, executive member for culture, said the whole thrust of TCS was to deliver excellent services locally. “It’s time to take the arts to children, rather than take children to the arts,” he claimed.

“The centre has provided a good, dedicated service for curricular arts for many years, but times have moved on.

“We now have several council-owned or supported arts facilities extensively used by our children, including the award-winning Heart of Hawick and Eastgate [Peebles] theatres.

“Also, each of our superb new high schools opening next year [Earlston, Duns and Eyemouth] will have drama studios, changing areas, sound and visual rooms, music and arts classrooms and other flexible spaces.

“In the arts there is always a tension between resources and ambition, but I believe this recommendation [closing the centre] is the best way forward.”

Mr Garvie later revealed the annual cost of running the centre had risen from £20,000 in 2000 to £55,230 last year.

Mrs Lackenby believed the centre should be maintained until all three new secondaries were at least up and running, but SBC leader David Parker said the facility was “a dog that has had its day”.

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