Issues and SWOT

strength

Learn from the new school in use

Peebles High is occupied by pupils.

Real use can reveal what works before further school investment.

Evidence

strength

Make room for homes people can afford

The average home price is £193,000 (July 2026) in Scottish Borders council area. This is about £3,000 lower than the Scotland average for the same month.

Housing costs matter most alongside earnings and the number of affordable homes available. A local average cannot tell us whether a particular household can afford its home.

weakness

Explain how leisure changes affect existing users

The council plans changes at both Teviotdale and Tweedbank.

Modernisation can alter which activities and spaces are available.

Evidence

opportunity

Build inclusion into Hawick’s new school

Hawick High’s replacement is now under construction.

The next stages can test how the building serves different pupils.

Evidence

opportunity

Plan homes and care around an older population

26.3% of people in Scottish Borders council area were aged 65 or over (20 March 2022). People aged 65 or over ranged from 21% in Galashiels and District to 31.8% in Kelso and District — a gap of 10.8 percentage points.

Age alone does not mean poor health or a need for care. Accessible homes, reliable transport and support close to home matter as people get older.

opportunity

Connect local skills to local opportunities

32% of people aged 16 or over had a degree or higher (20 March 2022) in Scottish Borders council area. People aged 16+ with a degree or higher ranged from 22% in Hawick and Denholm to 45.2% in Tweeddale West — a gap of 23.2 percentage points.

Qualifications show one part of the skills available locally. They do not show whether people have secure jobs or work that uses those skills.

opportunity

Target safety work where problems repeat

Recorded-crime figures cover the whole Scottish Borders council area; they do not identify individual wards.

These are police-recorded crimes under Scottish counting rules. They cannot be ranked alongside the mapped incidents shown for other UK nations.

opportunity

Turn published plans into visible progress

3 named local projects or plans have official evidence in this collection.

A published plan makes responsibilities and intentions easier to inspect. It does not prove that funding is secured or that promised benefits have arrived.

threat

Match long-term buildings to an ageing population

The capital strategy identifies growth in the older share of the population.

Future service capacity and accessible facilities need to reflect that change.

Evidence 1 · Evidence 2