December 10 2024

South of Scotland Enterprise (SOSE) has shared its latest plans for a Mountain Bike Innovation Centre at Innerleithen in the Scottish Borders.

First trailed in 2022 the plans will now see Oberlanders demolish the B-listed Caerlee Mill, the town's last operational textile mill, rather than refurbish it as first envisaged.

A demolition application is to be submitted next week after advance works by Morrison Construction to remove asbestos and prop up the building uncovered significant structural issues.

In a statement, SOSE wrote: "While the site has been fully decontaminated and made safe, these issues are much more substantial than the initial surveys indicated, with the technical advice now being that the majority of the historic structure needs to be replaced. "This work will push the costs of the project significantly above the available budget."

It is estimated that retaining the mill would push costs north of £30m, well above the £13m initial budget. A new build solution meanwhile has been priced at around £15m.

Reaffirming their commitment to the project SOSE has brought forward a more cost-effective solution that remains deliverable within the original 2027 completion date.

The economic development body will share further details in the town's Memorial Hall tomorrow between 17:00 and 19:00. 

8 Comments

#1 Posted by Fat Bloke on Tour on 10 Dec 2024 at 12:14 PM

Cheap lazy response by a bureaucracy lacking any form of imagination or innovation.

Not a big site with few remaining buildings so the supposed £30mill costing is in mad / mental bat shed territory.

File under easy way out / can't be ersed.

#2 Posted by Lovely on 11 Dec 2024 at 08:24 AM

Why work on listed buildings of you don't like them?

#3 Posted by The Chancellor on 11 Dec 2024 at 12:28 PM

Its not about not liking them, its more economic to demolish it - 20% vat saving on a new building or if you have plenty of cash and want a vanity project, retain it.

#4 Posted by Lovely on 11 Dec 2024 at 15:10 PM

Yup lets just be honest and cancel the protections our beautiful listed buildings have as it is increasingly easier to knock them down than modify them or restore them and no one seemingly has the nous to do it.

#5 Posted by Ronan on 12 Dec 2024 at 13:20 PM

Here we go again - keyboard warriors unleashing nonsense chat about greedy developers destroying our heritage for personal gain L O L, give it a rest - This mill was built for a manufacturing purpose, not for architectural merit, I have no connection to this project and assume the listing is purely based on local historic significance only.
Development identified to promote the area, generate revenue and employment. There is a Scottish Architect on board to steer the design process for approprate design intent.

Lets celibrate that instead of trying to maximise the score on UR comments bingo

#6 Posted by Mark on 14 Dec 2024 at 23:12 PM

This is a tragedy, and contrary to what #5 thinks, Caerlee Mills was of national and perhaps international importance. I've no connection to the current project, but was briefly involved with it 15 years ago.

When Ballantynes shut (the first time) in 2010, it ended 230 years of production at the oldest continuously operating textile mill in the country. It should have been "A" listed rather than "B" listed, for its historic significance as much as its architecture. While I'm sure it's not of Oberlanders' doing, the reason it's structurally unsound now is that it's been left to rot for over a decade. HES and Borders Planners should have been a lot more proactive here, IMHO.

#7 Posted by Lovely on 18 Dec 2024 at 08:55 AM

It would be great if the 'greedy developers' trope above was true.

Unfortunately this is tax payer money being wasted to destroy a listed building.

A lot of us on here probably work with listed buildings so we are not 'keyboard warriors' but rather actual players and actors in this fight to intelligently re-use our listed building stock.

Yes, let's celebrate failure as usual and wow they even found a 'Scottish Architect', well done, I mean what does that even have to do with anything....

Where is FAT BOT when you need him....?

#8 Posted by Fat Bloke on Tour on 18 Dec 2024 at 12:54 PM

Big Auto / back in the day -- £30mill would get you the engineering for a new 6 speed gearbox.

Given the size of the site and the buildings that are still left standing the putative £30mill cost of refurbishing / revitalising the existing buildings is beyond any form or real world costings / properly managed project.

Looks suspiciously like a kitchen sink job to discredit a particular course of action. Throw the budgeting process open to all to generate a ridiculously inflated figure that no-one will support.

Cheap / lazy way out to get the required demolition and easy newbuild solution.

Reminds me of the sinking of the GLA heavy rail connection -- the budget process was thrown open to all and the final figure included a new nursery and new fuel farm. The games people play when things get too hard.

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