Published: Tuesday, 30th June, 2009 1:49pm

Double award joy for local clubs

EDDLESTON residents are lit up and Broughton residents bowled over after a £9,000 windfall.

Eddleston Village Hall Committee were successful to the tune of £4,642 in their grant application for new lighting.

And Broughton and District Bowling Club were equally sucessful, receiving £4,460 towards the installation of a new fence.

The awards were made by local councillors at Monday night"s Tweeddale Area Committee.

Built in 1928, Eddleston Village Hall is well-used by the local community as well as Eddleston pre-school nursery and is currently in the final stages of refurbishment.

This money will now be spent on removing the old fluorescent lighting system and replacing it with a new, modern system.

Broughton Bowling Club will use its money to install a new four-foot fence surrounding the playing green thus protecting it from damage. It is hoped that the fence will improve the image of the 30-member club, while making it an attraction within the village.

Broughton and District Bowling Club committee member William Nicholson said: 'We"ve spent a lot of money recently on improving the surface, so to get this money is first-class.

'This really gets us out of a hole and will improve the existing facilities a lot.'

Eddleston Village Hall committee member Margot Porter was equally pleased with Monday"s result.

She said: 'We"re delighted to receive this grant and I"m sure the nursery is just as glad. The new system will also be a lot more efficient which will help us in lowering our energy bills.

'This grant is a just reward for the hard work done by the committee in improving the hall and is much appreciated.'

St Ronan"s Border Games, however, left Monday night"s meeting empty-handed after their request for £2,500 to cover band, programme and printing costs was denied.

Councillors felt that to approve the request would set a precedent for other festival committees to apply for additional funding for running costs while already in receipt of an annual grant agreed by SBC"s Council Executive.

This blow comes only weeks after it was revealed that St Ronan"s Border Games" lack of horses in its festivities resulted in it missing out on a share of EventScotland funding.