Heart of Hawick engages with young people to encourage ambition and aspiration in Scotland

Funded principally by Scottish Borders Council, the European Regional Development Fund and the Heritage Lottery Fund, Heart of Hawick works in partnership with the community, the private sector, VisitScotland and the Edinburgh Filmhouse to deliver its vision for a vibrant town.

Isolated when the Waverley Line from Edinburgh to Carlisle closed in 1969, Hawick, like many border towns, later endured a period of significant job losses due to the contraction of the textile industry, which had been the mainstay of the local economy. Mills were left unused and became derelict eyesores. The local community became particularly concerned about town centre dereliction following a fire in 1993 in one such building.

Widespread community consultation followed, including a number of externally commissioned studies on various aspects of life in the town. This led to the decision to transform two derelict buildings in Hawick’s West End: Tower Mill, thought to be unique in Scotland in that it sits on a massive arch over the Slitrig Water, and the Corn Exchange.

The idea behind this significant capital investment was to remove dereliction and create a focal point for arts and culture for the community. Heart of Hawick also aims to create jobs, provide services for young people, training for inclusion groups and to increase visitor numbers through genealogy tourism and other activities.

Tower Mill has been completely transformed and now houses an auditorium seating 111 people which can be used as a cinema, theatre and conference centre. Monday 8 October 2007 saw the return of cinema to Hawick for the first time in nearly a quarter of a century - people could at last see the end of the film without missing the last bus home from Galashiels!

In addition there are 10 rentable workspaces and exhibition spaces for creative industries. Meeting rooms are available for hire by local groups such as Borders Youth Theatre and Hawick Bridge Club. And VisitScotland Borders Tourism Information Centre is now open all year round with extended hours. Other features of this exciting building include underwater cameras to see the nearby otters, heron, bats and salmon and a glass floor over the waterwheel.

September last year saw the opening of Scottish Borders first Beanscene Coffee & Music House, the company’s most successful launch ever, attracting over 5,000 people in its first week. Just as important, it has also created 12 jobs and is generating national career opportunities for locally recruited staff.

The former Corn Exchange is now the Heritage Hub, home to the Scottish Borders Archive and Local History Centre providing research and archive services for existing and non-traditional audiences including clans and family history societies, archive and genealogy businesses, international visitors and young people.

Ancestral tourism is a key market for the Heritage Hub - the Clan Turnbull held a clan gathering last year which attracted visitors from around the world. This kind of activity represents a real opportunity for the Scottish Borders as a whole, given the diverse nature of ancestral attractions and knowledgeable, professional staff on the ground.

Engaging with young people has been a key priority of Heart of Hawick from the outset and they have been involved in a variety of projects and activities. For example, during 2007, 255 pupils from the local High School worked with artist Jane Gaze to create the “causeway” Cobble Project, where each pupil created an individual ceramic cobble into which they impressed their surname. The cobbles have been installed in the Civic Space outside the Heritage Hub.

As well as creating a legacy for future generations, the young people’s installation also reflects the changing demographics of the town, with names like Baranowski, Ellahi and Yahia-Mohammed sitting alongside the more traditional Border surnames of Elliot, Armstrong and Turnbull.

Future plans are ambitious and challenging: they include further town centre development works, the refurbishment of Drumlanrig’s Tower Visitor Centre and the installation of a statue funded principally by the Turnbull Clan Association to act as a draw to the 800,000 Turnbulls worldwide.

Lindsay Wood, Business Manager, Heart of Hawick said: “Heart of Hawick looks to engage with the community, harness the entrepreneurial flair and drive of the private sector, remove town centre dereliction and provide a range of services to encourage ambition and aspiration for young people.”

Heart of Hawick was the Scottish winner of the 2008 Enterprising Britain competition.