First Public Debate on the Waverley Line.

The first public debate on the return of the controversial Waverley Line will take place in the Borders next week.

Scottish Borders Councillor Nicholas Watson and Christopher Harvie MSP, both known for their passionate views on the project, are preparing for the debate which will also involve input from the audience. Jack Clark, Managing Director of John Swan Auctioneers, Newtown St. Boswells, will take the chair.

Nicholas Watson says “The only real debate about the return of the Waverley Line seems to have been in the pages of the local press. At last we can have a public debate and we’re very grateful to Chris Harvie for his willingness to take part, and to Jack Clark for agreeing to see fair play. Everyone is welcome, especially if you haven’t made up your mind yet. This is a rare opportunity to ask questions and hear both sides.”

Professor Chris Harvie, of the Scottish National Party, has long been an advocate of traveling by train and has close links to the Campaign for Borders Rail.

The debate will take place on Wednesday 16 January in the Village Hall in St Boswells, (next to the bus station). The meeting is open to members of the public and starts at 7.30pm. There is no entry fee.

The event is organised by The Borders Party, which was founded in the Autumn of 2006. Nicholas Watson is leader of the new party and opposes the return of the Waverley Line, claiming it can only serve a tiny part of the Borders, that it is driving a damaging pattern of development and is a colossal waste of public money. “Good planning,” says Watson, “is about relating development to local needs and local employment. Planning for people to live forty-odd miles from their place of work is sustainable development turned on its head. Hardly anyone in Holyrood seems to realise how unpopular the Waverley Project is in the Borders.”