Community cashes in on former bank branch as Re-Use Hub opens

The Hub opened at its new premises on 28 June and was funded through a combination of the SIS loan and the Trust’s own resources, providing a permanent base for the charity's recycling centre. Here, donated goods and household items are given a second life, and the income generated supports local community projects.

The Re-Use Hub, which launched during the COVID-19 pandemic to stop good items going to waste, has grown into a key income stream for the Trust and currently has three part-time employees and a team of volunteers who run the operation. It accepts donations of household items and goods and sells them back into the local community - keeping money circulating within the town and reducing what ends up in the skip.

The move to 70 High Street marks a significant step for the organisation. When the Bank of Scotland announced it would close its Peebles branch in early 2025, the charity moved quickly to explore options for retaining the building in community use. While it initially investigated a lease arrangement, purchasing the property outright ultimately proved the only viable route. The SIS loan enabled the Trust to submit a competitive offer before the closing date in October 2025, which its Chairman describes as a decisive factor in securing the property.

Following the completion of the purchase in April, the Trust got to work stripping out the bank’s former fittings, including cash-handling partitions, steel walls and even bulletproof glass. The ground floor now houses the Re-Use operation, while rooms to the rear and a substantial basement offer scope for future community use, including a new office for the Trust itself.

Michael Ireland, Chairman of Peebles Community Trust, said: "The Re-Use Hub has been one of the best things we've done as an organisation – it generates income, keeps goods out of landfill and employs people locally. I've seen first-hand what happens without somewhere like this. I remember clearing out a family friend's house after he passed away, watching perfectly usable items go into a skip – it was heartbreaking, and completely avoidable. When the Bank of Scotland building came up, we knew it was the right home for us. Having a community presence on the high street matters and opening the new Hub shows that buildings at the heart of our communities don't have to sit empty.

Peebles Community Trust is one of the more active community trusts in the Scottish Borders. As well as the Re-Use Hub, it owns a community woodland bought from the Forestry Commission, has completed a community asset transfer of a former railway building, secured ownership of threatened allotments and is in the process of securing a former public toilet building for community use.

Alongside this, it also provides administrative and financial support to a number of local umbrella groups, including Floral Peebles, Cycling Without Age – which operates three trishaws to take older residents around the town – and a local paths group that maintains the network of walking routes around Peebles.

Peebles Community Trust continues to explore opportunities for community ownership and local development and is encouraging residents with ideas for future projects to get in touch.