Julie is warming to her new valleys role
Julie Nock
JULIE Nock, Revitalising the Ettrick and Yarrow Valleys project officer, is now also in charge of developing ideas the project has thrown up, writes Sally Gillespie.
Last month The Wee Paper reported that the valleys had won £67,000 European and Lottery cash to take forward regeneration suggestions.
And earlier this month Julie found out she had been successful in winning the job of developing those ideas.
She said: “I’m really delighted I have been given the opportunity to take forward the ideas. A lot of the work I did last year is being carried forward in some way and to have the opportunity to develop that is great.”
The two-year Revitalising the Ettrick and Yarrow Valleys project comes to an end next month. But one of its outcomes was last year’s community development plan, from which the regeneration project working group, made up largely of valleys residents, chose seven ideas to develop.
The new part-time development officer will be organising feasibility studies into each one and making decisions before the latest funding comes to an end in December.
The projects to be looked at are: a Minchmoor to Yarrowford cycle trail; off-road cycle routes in Bowhill; a hydro scheme; a pilot creative residency related to James Hogg and/or William Johnston; a circular off-road walking route around St Mary’s Loch; signage, interpretation and marketing valleys tourism businesses; and a toll road from the head of the Ettrick Valley to the A708 to link with Moffat.
Meanwhile the valleys’ tourism group has gained European funding plus support from two private individuals to produce a website for the area which it hopes to go live in May.
And the James Hogg Exhibition is going to move from Bowhill to Ettrick School, which closed last year.
Concerning the hydro scheme, Julie said: “We did some small desk-based feasibility work on Forestry Commission Scotland (FCS) land.
“We have expressed an interest to FCS under the National Forestry Land Scheme and we have until September 30 to apply.”
Now she needs to find out how much power could be generated, what the infrastructure costs would be and how much it would cost to hook into the grid.
“From there we can see how viable this scheme is,” she added.
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Weather for Selkirk
Tuesday 18 June 2013
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 10 C to 20 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: South east
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Sunny spells
Temperature: 9 C to 20 C
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