Redevelopment works begin to transform underused Hawick racecourse into multi-purpose facility

Four years into the Future Hawick project, some locals are looking to redevelop the St Leonard's Park racecourse.

The course is 170 years old and the team behind the redevelopment feel it is an "underused community asset".

Brian Bouglas, whose chair of Future Hawick, told ITV Border: "With £10m we could turn the course into a multi-purpose facility that can be used for things like music festivals, weddings, agricultural meetings and glamping pods."

The site would be inspired by Eden Festival in Moffat according to the team behind the project, the festival helped bring £3 million into the local economy and similar projects in Stornoway in the north of Scotland.

Fiona Drane, the project manager believes a further "six months of consultation will be needed regarding the site" but she is optimistic they can get the funding required.

Some Hawick residents we spoke to expressed concern by the lack of infrastructure in the region and how this would be addressed while others added that the course had been used for generations to sprinkle ashes of loved ones and were hesitant about large scale construction.