Tuesday November 10th 2026
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Paul Kelly
The green light was given today to a £500k-plus replacement of a much-used Scottish Borders running track as it emerged that failure to carry out the work would force its closure.
The outdated synthetic running surface at Tweedbank Sports Club urgently needs replacement.
When members of Scottish Borders Council’s Finance Executive Committee met on Tuesday, November 10, they endorsed £518k in funding from the authority’s Pitch Replacement Fund.
The running track at Tweedbank was installed in 2013 and is now judged to have “reached the end of its operational life” with replacement seen as a key priority.
The surface exhibits widespread wear, patch repairs and shrinkage to the track and as a result, it no longer meets the standards required for UKA TrackMark accreditation.
There is a significant risk that areas of the track will require closure to the public if repairs are not carried out.
Councillor Euan Jardine, Conservative leader of SBC, said the track was a much-valued asset and that some people had signed up for membership of Live Borders just to gain access to it, and the other facilities at Tweedbank.
He added: “I think we are under-estimating what we have here in the Borders in having this athletics track, there is no other synthetic athletics track in the region. To give people an opportunity to excel in a sport you need to give them the facilities to do so.”
Councillor Leagh Douglas, Conservative for Selkirk, added: “As someone who used that track frequently I know the state of it as of six years ago and it was in a bad state then. Running is one of the fundamental building blocks for so many sports, for all ages.”
Conservative councillor for Kelso, Simon Mountford, SBC’s executive member for Planning and Community Assets, said: “This is the only running track of its kind in the Borders and if we don’t repair it we are going to have to close it, which would be a very bad move.”
A report to members, from John Curry, SBC’s director of Infrastructure and Environment, stated: “To restore the venue to an acceptable and compliant standard, Sports Labs recommend a full re-surfacing of the polymeric track, including any necessary base repairs once the existing surface has been removed.
“This will provide a durable and cost–effective long term solution, re-instating the facility as a high-quality community and competition venue. The estimated cost of the work is £0.518m.
“The work to replace the track requires to be undertaken within the best weather window available.
“Given the current track condition, the proposal to replace the track is being brought ahead of the full review.
“If not approved ahead of the wider review, there will be insufficient time to appoint contractors to begin works in Spring 2027.
“Failure to carry out the work at this time will significantly increase the risk of health and safety closures.”
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