Residents express care home concerns in Galashiels

CONCERNS have been raised over the decision to allow a music festival to be staged in a public park next to two care homes.

A local resident, who did not wish to be named, has claimed neighbours were not consulted over the plans to stage Sound in Scott Park, Galashiels, on Saturday, July 2 - during the climax of the town's festival week.

She revealed they are concerned about the noise the music festival will generate and the potential for public disorder, as well as the decision by Scottish Borders Council to grant a licence which allows them to sell alcohol next to a children's play park.

However, organisers this week insisted they had consulted the managers of the council-run Waverley nursing home and Eildon managed sheltered housing complex at Oakwood. And they revealed the stage is set for everyone to enjoy a Gala day.

Speaking to the Border Telegraph this week, Sound promoter Steve Cass said: "We are looking forward to a great day no matter what the weather.

"Sound Festival is a well organised operation using fencing, barriers, and stewarding to control the crowds. The bands and DJs will be housed in marquees to shield the noise from neighbours and there will be plenty of toilets." And he added: "Our main objective is to ensure everyone has a great day."

The music festival was first held at the home of Gala Fairydean Football Club at Netherdale in Galashiels in 2009. Hundreds of revellers, young and old alike, converged on the party on the pitch to watch local bands and DJs mix it alongside some of the country's biggest tribute acts.

However, this year, the family fun day, which is due to be headlined by a Kasabian tribute band known as Kazabian, has been moved to Scott Park to allow building work to start on the first 3G pitch in the Borders.

The woman, who contacted the Border Telegraph to complain, said: "I think it's terrible for all those poor souls in the care homes to have to put up with this racket all day. They will then be p***ing up against the windows on their way home."

She added: "It should have been held at Netherdale, it wasn't bothering anyone there."

Scottish Borders Council said it consulted widely before granted the festival a Public Entertainment Licence and an Occasional Licence for the sale of alcohol and received no complaints.

Tips For Purchasing A Home | backhoe loader

Hen you buy a home, you have three options:

Buy a used home

Purchase a prebuilt new home

Hire a Contractor to build your home

Buy A Used Home – When you find the home you’d like to purchase, obtain the owner’s permission and hire a licensed Home Inspector (see the Prepurchase Inspection Checklist below) and ask about and verify his background as best you can.  If the Home Inspector finds damage, you should ask for permission to obtain an estimate from a licensed Contractor in order to secure an estimate for repairs.  Use these reports as leverage to bargain on the selling price. To protect yourself, you can write in additional terms into your prepurchase/purchase agreement(s).  The most stringent home loans (VA Home Loans) require a Termite Inspection and appropriate repairs, a Water Inspection and appropriate water treatment remedies (for homes with wells), and a Percolation Test (for homes with septic systems or cesspools).  Most municipalities require the Percolation Test for in-ground waste treatment.  If your municipality does not require any of these, you should write them into your prepurchase/purchase agreement.  If the home you are purchasing requires a lot of work to make it “livable,” consider asking the seller to pay all of the closing costs, and also include this detail on your prepurchase/purchase agreement(s); this is not typical, but sometiems the financial burden for renovating a home is too great without every bit of help you can muster.  Before you purchase the home, to further protect yourself, purchase a Home Warranty insurance policy to cover hidden problems with the home, as well as to cover potentially devastating costs for repairing the home for a short period of time as you are acclimating to the home.

Look for homes that are being sold because the previous owner has entered a Nursing Home (estate sale).  The families of these people will not be collecting any of the proceeds of the sale of the home because the monies will go to the Nursing Home to pay for the care of the patient/owner of the home.  Since the family or a friend will be executing the sale, you can bargain for any price you like (within reason) because they already know that the money is going to the Nursing Home and not to them.  This is where your biggest bargaining chip lies – you can truly assess how much the cost of making the home “liveable” again will run and deduct that amount from what you believe the true value of the home is in its current state (almost without consideration of their “asking price”), and make an offer for that adjusted amount.  Unless you have competition, and these days there’s not much competition for buying a home, you win!

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