Last updated 21:59, Wednesday, 06 August 2008

I REFER to recent correspondence about the water stop valve and hydrant markers next to the historic listed square pump.

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Those taking part in the procession are forced onto the shrubbery

Betty Little has pointed out that these obstruct the tradition of the Common Riding procession “gan’ roon the pump”.

However, according to your report on a Common Riding committee meeting, the committee had claimed that “because the procession went round the pump in single file, it was thought not to be a real problem”.

On Common Riding day I observed and photographed the procession round the pump. These pictures surely vindicate Betty’s complaint and reveal the committee’s misapprehension.

There are obvious problems for participants. The procession is not and never has been “single file” and some kind of action is advisable before the 2009 Common Riding.

Some time ago, and from an aesthetic and heritage viewpoint (quite irrespective of the way these objects affect the Common Riding procession), I raised the matter with the council’s planning manager and conservation officer, who both agree the poorly-located objects are “intrusive within the conservation area, adversely affect the setting of the listed pump, and are generally detrimental to the townscape”. In other words, they are “officially” an eyesore.

However, in terms of the Planning Act, the utility companies are allowed to erect these objects without planning permission.

It is unfortunate that the council officials have no power to order their relocation.

Nevertheless, the planner has, at least, sent letters to the relevant utility companies to express these concerns.

Meanwhile, it is a shame that the Buccleuch Centre owners/managers have apparently remained unconcerned about the intrusive objects.

Firstly, these fall within the curtilage of the Buccleuch Centre so the centre people have a prime responsibility. Secondly, photographic records of the Buccleuch hall before construction of the extension reveal that these artefacts had already been in existence.

So it is surprising that the Buccleuch Centre’s architects and project managers failed to tackle the issue of these undesirable artefacts on their site, at which time it would have been relatively easy to solve the problem.

Thirdly, the centre must, in fact, have been concerned all along about the eyesores affecting the appearance of their building because if you look at the picture on the front page of their programmes or as pictured on the home page of their website www.buccleuchcentre.com, it can be seen that the centre people have gone to the trouble of airbrushing the eyesores out of the photos.

Despite all this, there is still a simple solution available, at least for the concrete water stop valve/hydrant markers.

Their function is only as indicators of where the valves are located under the road approximately opposite. They need not be in their current location so that the centre could easily arrange with Scottish Water for the markers to be uprooted and relocated to the other side of Montague Street, the road to the west of the pump, next to the tree at that corner.

The airbrushed unblemished view is how everybody would like to see the historic pump and Buccleuch Centre in reality.

It will be appreciated when the Buccleuch Centre now take up the matter and ‘actually’ rather than ‘virtually’ arrange to get these water SV and hydrant markers relocated to everybody’s satisfaction.

William M Telfer BArch (Hons) RIBA

Caroline Street

Langholm