local services

The information on this page will help you access a range of local services, with addresses and telephone numbers, and links to appropriate websites.

Churches
A selection of churches is found in Hawick, catering for a wide range of beliefs. They are listed below with their locations, and contact telephone numbers. Please telephone for details on times of services.

Abundant Life Church, Fairhurst Drive, Burnfoot: Rev.Bill Scobie (01450) 374305
www.abundant-life.co.uk

Church of Scotland
Burnfoot Parish Church, Church Lane, Burnfoot: Rev.Charles Finnie (01450) 373181
St.Mary's & Old Church, St.Mary's Place: Session Clerk - Ian Stirling (01450) 376906
Teviot Church, St.George's Lane, Buccleuch Street: Rev.Neil Combe (01450) 372150
Trinity Church, Central Square, High Street: Rev.E.P.Lindsay Thomson (01450) 372705
Wilton Church, Dickson Street: Rev.Lisa-Jane Rankin (01450) 370744
www.churchofscotland.org.uk

Hawick Baptist Church, Bridge Street: Rev.C.Gellaitry (01450) 372483
www.scottishbaptist.org.uk

Congregational Church, Bourtree Place: Pastors Jennifer & Bill Miller (01450) 372693
www.congregational.org.uk/chdirscotland.htm

Sts.Mary & David R.C. Church, Buccleuch Street: Father Jeremy Bath (01450) 372037

Salvation Army, Croft Road: (01450) 375075
http://www.salvationarmy.org.uk/hawick

St. Cuthbert's Episcopal Church, Slitrig Crescent: Rev.Ian Walter (01450) 372043
www.dioceseofedinburgh.org/html/churches.html

Citizen's Advice Bureau
This is found at 1 Towerdykeside, behind Drumlanrig's Tower. Telephone (01450) 374266. Click here for details of opening times, and information on the services offered.

Council
Hawick lies within the area served by Scottish Borders Council. Council Headquarters is at Newtown St.Boswells, about eighteen miles away, but there is a contact centre, and various departmental offices, at the Town Hall on High Street. The telephone number is (01450) 375991. There is an extensive listing of the numbers for relevant local services in the BT telephone directory.

Scottish Borders Council has an excellent and wide-ranging website at www.scotborders.gov.uk

Check out the Life in the Borders section for detailed information on a wide variety of needs and services.

Hawick's local councillors are:

Hawick & Denholm
Zandra Elliot  
Jock Houston
Stuart Marshall

Hawick & Hermitage
David Paterson
Ron Smith
George Turnbull

Click here to find out who your councillor is.

Education
Secondary Education in the town is provided at Hawick High School (01450 372429) on Buccleuch Road. This is a six-year comprehensive school with a roll of around one thousand pupils.

Ten schools provide Primary Education in the area:

Click here for information on all of the above schools, and on the availability of Pre-School facilities in the area.

Health
The town's Community Hospital was built in 2005. It is situated in Victoria Road, close to the entrance to Wilton Lodge Park, and with extensive parking facilities close by. The range of National Health Service facilities to be found there, and elsewhere in Hawick, can be seen at www.nhsborders.org.uk.

There are two health centres in the town:

O'Connell Street Medical Practice 01450 372276
Teviot Medical Practice 01450 370999

Dental services are provided at the Community Dental Department beside Teviot Medical Practice (01450 361022), at North Bridge Dental Practice, 41 North Bridge Street (01450 372187), and at Teviot Dental Practice, 20 North Bridge Street (01450 372476).

There are three opticians within Hawick.

Libraries
Hawick's library is found at the corner of North Bridge Street and Laidlaw Terrace, on the bank of the River Teviot. The library opens at 9.30 each morning except Sunday and closes at 12.30 on Saturday, at 5pm on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and at 7pm on Tuesday and Thursday. Telephone number is 01450 372637, click here for fuller details on the services offered, at this and through the Council's Library Service generally.

New Ways
The New Ways Partnership brings together public, private, voluntary and community sectors in order that services, where possible, are joined up, and partnership initiatives are undertaken which benefit communities. The key aims of community planning are to make sure people and communities are genuinely engaged in the decisions made on public services which affect them, and ensuring that organisations work together, not apart, to provide better public services.

Each year the New Ways Awards celebrate individual, community, and business achievement across the Scottish Borders and in 2005, Hawick had more than its fair share of success, celebrating outstanding achievement in training, business, and promotion of health and well-being with the following awards:

• Hawick Senior Citizens - Award for promoting mental health, physical health and well-being
• Emtelle UK - Award for employers promoting health and well-being
• Scottish Borders Tourism Business Forum - Award for investing in the workforce of the future

For more information on New Ways visit www.scottishbordersnewways.co.uk.

Public Transport
There is a good network of bus services within the area. Timetables can be checked through www.travelinescotland.com where it is best to use Journey Planner first to find the service number, then use Timetable for the options available.

First Group bus services also provides timetables for local services, and for those to Edinburgh and Carlisle. Enter 'Hawick' in the box for Destination in the top right of their homepage.

The nearest railway stations are at Carlisle and Berwick. Services, timetables and fares from these stations can be accessed through National Rail Enquiries at www.nationalrail.co.uk

Social Work
The Social Work Department is a branch of Scottish Borders Council and is located in offices at 5 Lothian Street, behind the Town Hall. The telephone number is 01450 374545. Normal working hours are 8:45am-5:00pm Monday to Thursday and 8:45am-3:45pm Friday. In an emergency outside office hours, the on-call duty worker can be contacted on 01896 752111.
The range of activities covered by this department includes:
Children, Young People and Family Support
Community Care - for people aged 16 years and over
Criminal Justice
Welfare Benefits
Housing Advice, Support and Mediation Services
Housing Strategy

Finding Your Way Around
Google Maps can be very useful in helping with your journey planning, with locating bus and rail stations, or for locating addresses within Hawick.