TWO Peeblesshire organisations have won funding after successful applications to a council grant scheme.

St Ronan’s Silver Band will be awarded more than £5,000 from the Build Back a Better Borders Recovery Fund, while the Walkerburn Bowling and Petanque Club will receive around £4,300.

However, the Tweeddale Rideability Group was unsuccessful in a bid for more than £6,000.

On the St Ronan’s Silver Band application, a Scottish Borders Council report states: “St Ronan’s would like to purchase 35 pBuzz instruments and pay for tuition time to provide 30 children with access to free face to face musical tuition.

“pBuzz instruments have been designed to encourage children to learn a musical instrument.

“Two 10-week blocks of tuition will be delivered to 30 children by a qualified teacher.

“The hope is that this training programme will encourage children to progress to a traditional brass instrument, addressing the band’s gap in recruitment and helping make the band more sustainable.”

The report adds: “In addition, St Ronan’s Silver Band are seeking funding for the installation of new windows and blinds to their hall as well as the purchase and installation of a new shed.

“The band hall is not currently being used for rehearsals as the windows do not open safely. The band would like to replace the windows with UPVC windows which will allow them to open the windows for the required ventilation following COVID-19.”

Meanwhile, the Walkerburn Bowling and Petanque Club hopes to use the funding to “create a children’s practice area and to build a better retaining wall alongside the road”.

The report adds: “The club would like to open the club up to more members and improve the disabled facilities. The petanque area has been expanded and is now more user friendly, but better disabled access is needed – especially for wheelchair users.

“The club needs to build a level walkway from the clubhouse to the street and to have a better pathway for wheelchairs to negotiate. They would also like to create a children’s practice area and build a better retaining wall alongside the road. The current wall is in a state of disrepair.”

However, the Tweeddale Rideability Group’s application has not been approved.

The group wanted to use the money to buy a horse, with the price of new horses “greatly increasing during the pandemic”.

“This means where previously costs would have been in the region of £1,000 to £2,000 groups/individuals can now expect to pay £6,000 to £7,000,” a report states.

But the bid was refused due to it failing to demonstrate “the new element of the application”.

“The application is looking at continuing a service and succession planning due to the age of current horses as opposed to delivering something new,” the report explains.

During a meeting of the Tweeddale Area Partnership, Scottish Borders Council officer Kenny Harrow said the group could apply to the community fund as it “might be a better fit”.