Royal makeover

Numerous road defects in Springfield and Gretna Green have been marked for repairs, and are set to be fixed ahead of Princess Anne’s visit on Friday.
But while villagers are pleased that the deep craters will be filled, they are frustrated that they have only been prioritised because of the Princess Royal’s attendance at the Quintinshill commemorations.
Springfield and Gretna Green Community Council chairman Isabell Tranter said: “We joined council officers for a walk round the route that she’s going to be taking and pointed out areas that needed a bit of TLC.
“People that have lived here for 35 years say they [the council] have never taken as much time to cut the grass around the war memorial as they have this week.
“It just shows that they can do it, they have got the manpower and it’s just the little things that make the area look tidy.”
And Mrs Tranter notes that although a £250,000 regeneration project at the Headless Cross had already been earmarked, it was been pushed forward to coincide with the Royal visit.
She added: “In 35 years we’ve never seen as much work getting done as in these past few weeks, but it really should be done for the tourists all the time.
“We knew they would come in and blitz the area before she arrived but it just shows that it can be done if they want to, so why aren’t they doing it all the time?”
Meanwhile, a council spokesman has reassured villagers that the regeneration
works, which started in February, will be complete ahead of the Royal visit.
He added: “The event to commemorate Quintinshill was known about well before work started and was factored into the schedule.
“As a result, works will cease and the site will be cleared next week in advance of the Royal visit.
“Work to fix these minor road defects will start on Monday and will take a couple of days. Traffic management arrangements will be in place.”