No single headquarters for new south of Scotland enterprise agency

The new agency will have "hubs" in Stranraer, Hawick, Selkirk and Dumfries

A new enterprise agency for southern Scotland plans to operate without a single headquarters.

It will be run via four "hub" offices - initially in Dumfries, Stranraer, Selkirk and Hawick - instead.

In that way South of Scotland Enterprise (SOSE) said it hoped to be "everywhere for everyone".

In addition to the hubs it also intends to set up additional "spokes" in order to cover Dumfries and Galloway and the Borders more widely.

SOSE will go "live" on 1 April with the goal of establishing southern Scotland as a centre of "opportunity, innovation and growth".

Ahead of that, the final board meeting of the South of Scotland Economic Partnership - the organisation set up to pave the way for its creation - was held in Gretna this week.

'Bold and inspiring'

Prof Russel Griggs, who chairs SOSE, said it had appointed a "highly experienced" leadership team in line with its aim of being "bold and inspiring" for the area.

Interim chief executive Nick Halfhide said the new body would support "diverse thinking from diverse communities and businesses".

"SOSE will be providing investment, expertise and mentoring and inspire the region to think bigger and unlock significant opportunities for all," he said.

"Of course we will need time to evolve and grow the same as any other new organisation - but we are making great progress and will be in a great place to continue our consultation with communities officially as SOSE from 1 April."

He said it looked forward to involving all organisations "no matter how big or small" in shaping its operational plan.