Peebles Rovers closure sparks debate over ‘barriers to sport’
Last updated 24th Sep 2026
The leader of Scottish Borders Council has backed calls for changes to football regulations which councillors say are creating barriers to sport in rural communities.
The issue was raised during a discussion about the local authority's summer activities programme, which recorded almost 5,300 visits from families across the region and provided hundreds of reduced-cost and free places for children.
Tweeddale councillor Drummond Begg said he was "furious" that Peebles Rovers had closed after being unable to meet requirements set by the East of Scotland Football League.
The club, which dates back to the late nineteenth century, resigned from the league in April before members voted to wind up its senior club in August.
The key issue was a requirement for a permanent perimeter fence around its Whitestone Park ground, with Councillor Begg putting the cost of meeting the rules at around £100,000.
The GP told councillors the situation was an example of how attempts to regulate sporting facilities could end up preventing people from accessing sport.
He also questioned whether what happened to Peebles Rovers could happen to other rural clubs, adding: "We have to stop over-engineering sporting opportunities because it does put these barriers up. So the effect of that in one place means that we do not have accessibility elsewhere."
Council leader Euan Jardine said he was already due to meet representatives from the club and had written to the Scottish FA and Sportscotland about the issue.
He said football clubs were being “absolutely blown out of the water” by rules made by an organisation which he said appeared not to be influenced by the Scottish FA, Sportscotland, or local or national government.
He said those rules were contributing to clubs going under and thanked council officers who had been working with Peebles Rovers.
Berwickshire councillor Donald Moffat also raised concerns about the number of requirements placed on clubs.
He said Coldstream had been required to carry out 122 different tasks to remain in the East of Scotland set-up, while other clubs, including Eyemouth, had also faced fencing requirements.
He warned there could be further pressure on clubs if new requirements for fencing around football pitches were introduced following a recent incident in which a wooden fence was blown over and injured spectators.
The comments came as councillors heard the summer activities programme had helped tackle barriers to participation, with 895 reduced-cost places and 465 free places provided to children and families identified by Education and Children's Services.
In total, 1,370 lunches and 651 snacks were provided to children and families, helping to make significant progress in tackling food poverty.
The programme involved more than 400 sessions, including sport, outdoor activities, family learning, food, trips and targeted support for families with additional needs.
The council said 72 per cent of parents reported their child was more active as a result, while 78 per cent said they had a better understanding of routes into community sport.
The chairman of the East of Scotland Football League says the ground requirements which Peebles Rovers failed to meet are not new and that the club had been given years to address them.
After being approached for a response after the discussion at council, John Greenhorn told Greatest Hits Radio he and league representatives met Peebles Rovers and a local councillor around ten years ago to explain what needed to be done at Whitestone Park to bring the ground up to the required standard.
He says standards have since been raised further, but that the same minimum criteria apply to all clubs seeking membership of the league.
Mr Greenhorn says three clubs have applied to join in the past three years, including Linton Hotspur, and had to meet the same requirements.
He says a rule change was subsequently agreed requiring existing clubs to meet the same minimum ground criteria as new applicants. He says the change was initially approved by all the clubs present at the meeting, including Peebles Rovers.
He says clubs which did not immediately meet the requirements were given a number of years to bring their grounds up to standard, while being placed in the bottom division in the meantime.
Mr Greenhorn disputes the suggestion that meeting the requirements would necessarily have cost £100,000, describing that figure as “absolute nonsense”.
He says clubs including Eyemouth, Duns and Kelso have enclosed their grounds for a fraction of that amount.
However, he acknowledges there is a particular difficulty at Whitestone Park because part of the ground is used by the cricket club during the summer.
Mr Greenhorn - who said he's had no contact from Scottish Borders Council prior to their meeting this morning - added the league's position is about maintaining a level playing field, with every club expected to meet the same minimum standards.
He also points to other clubs which share facilities, saying grounds can accommodate more than one sport or team.
The East of Scotland League chairman says the issue had effectively been “kicked down the road” for around a decade and that the league has continued to raise its standards during that time.
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