A Terminal State ..... Continued within the local community and support from public sources that amongst visitors. Local arts and were essential before even the craftspeople value the opportunity acquisition of the property could be to present short one man or group justified. But ironically that same goods shed behind, which lay on the exhibitions in the gallery. local authority has displayed an other side of the track bed, had Of course the crafts industry is almost unbelievable lack of been dismantled. This was prep- not, and likely never will be, a enthusiasm for authorising the aratory to the construction, in 1987, highly charged commercial activity. directional signposting that visitors of the Melrose town by-pass, which It is not an industry that offers high need in order to find the property. roughly follows the line of the turnovers, or large margins. So the Hopefully, after two years of removed buildings. rents on the workspaces, and for effort in research and lobbying, this The restoration and conversion the short lets of the gallery, are matter will shortly be resolved, and of the station house, which was modest by other commercial for its third operational year, 1989, completed in 1986 and opened in standards, and the margins in the Melrose Station will at long last July of that year by the Rt. Hon. craft shop are not those of a high have achieved the directional Malcolm Rifkind, Q.C., M.P., street mass market retail unit. In signposting to which it is entitled successor to the Secretary of State short, the match of use to locality to and which it requires in order to who listed the building in 1981, building is not a typical profit- function properly. provides accommodation on three orientated development Projects such as the restoration levels. The volume of the building proposition, but one that in the of Melrose Station need all the is such that the third level is particular set of circumstances that support they can get, from all enclosed within the original arose in this instance served to parties acting in unison. Scotland roofline, and it is virtually invisible suggest the realisation of a number possesses many examples of major from most viewpoints from the of objectives. However, although historic buildings which are in outside. With a restaurant, craft the building has now been saved, desparate need of "eleventh hour" shop, gallery, model railway centre the development has yet to reach its treatment, and without the and museum, and craft workshops, full operational potential. assurance of continuous backing, at the Melrose Station Crafts Centre Borders Regional Council was all stages from inception through to provides a lively focus for a number instrumental in supporting the operation, others will be deterred of complimentary activities and is initiation of the project and in from tackling them. becoming well-established both securing the offers of financial 11111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111 INTER-WAR TOWNSCAPE by Robert Walker Medieval settlements or streets of Victorian villas would, I guess, constitute most planners' idea of a conservation area. But the notion of a pleasant, urban environment does not stop with the beginning of this century - after all surely one reason for introducing development control in the 1947 Act was to achieve good townscape? There is no reason therefore why the housing developments of the early twentieth century should not warrant protection. Recently, Scottish Planning Departments have shown an increasing concern for Inter-War townscape. The importance of individual buildings constructed between 1919 and 1939 has been recognised for some time, with several being listed. Townscape of that period was, however, neglected until this decade, when its merits have now been realised. To be accurate the name "InterWar" applies to a style of urban planning rather than strictly defining a chronological period. It Denbeath Methil describes housing estates where the layout is planned, traditional local building materials and styles are used, and gardens trees and public amenity space are the norm. The concept is epitomised by the local authority "garden suburb", which was built onto many towns during the Twenties and Thirties. Some townscapes just pre-dating the First World War, such as Denbeath in Methil, reveal the forementioned features, so the term must be used liberally in order to include them. 111111111 fl 111111111111111 IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIlfl 1111111111111111111111111111 IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII11111111111U111 11
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