Following agreement at the Education Sub Committee on 23 April 2024, Scottish Borders Council (SBC) has launched a public consultation on the proposal to permanently close The Wilton Centre, Hawick (also known as The Arches).
The consultation will run from Wednesday 8 May to Friday 28 June and can be accessed online at: https://scotborders.citizenspace.com.
The public consultation aims to seek views from residents across the region on the proposal to permanently close the Wilton Centre, as well as provide information and the background as to why the proposal has been made.
The Wilton Centre was temporarily closed due to the covid pandemic and the redesign of the Social, Emotional and Behavioural Needs Service (which was historically based out of the Wilton Centre) and is now part of SBC’s Inclusion and Wellbeing Service. The service is now a responsive service in children’s existing cluster school settings, instead of the standalone Wilton building, which has meant less travel time for children, and a more inclusive service within the children’s own communities.
In addition, the Wilton Centre building has been given a very low suitability rating of “D” by surveyors, demonstrating that the building in its current state, does not support the delivery of services to children and communities without significant capital investment.
The process of this consultation is to give community stakeholders the opportunity to provide views and feedback on the proposal to permanently close the building.
An online public meeting will take place before the consultation closes. Details of this meeting will be publicised when confirmed.