Starting with the optimism felt when a disused and partially-derelict textile mill was converted to a trout farm by some enterprising people, in which guise it ran successfully for many years, the place has been on a slide since it was sold to a large business concern who hoped to establish a salmon breeding station against considerable local opposition.

When that enterprise hit the buffers the fish farm was left to decay and with it the Murray's Cauld, now looking very much the worst for wear. Various machinations followed until Selkirk's regeneration folk put together an ambitious plan to undertake a number of interesting projects.

Negotiations were at an advanced stage when Alan Beattie stepped in, buying the whole deal for a quid – or was it a pound and 50 pennies, wiping a few eyes in the process.

Mr Beattie also had plans for the site, some of which were vaguely similar to those of the regenerators. The only difference in the plans being the latter triggering an influx of a wondrous selection of experts, armed with sheaves of regulations, threats and ideas, all of which had one common element which was the notion that good ol' Alan would stump up massive sums for every kind of scheme known to man.

While not party to the details of these plans, it can be assumed that most of them were immediately doomed to failure on the grounds of cost – and that was before the credit crunch.

With typical generosity, Mr Beattie offered the use of about three acres of haugh land for allotments, raising a cheer in some parts of Selkirk, although older hands elected to take an "I'll believe it when I see it" approach.

Time passed and, lo and behold, yet another expert has declared the scheme unworkable because it will cost too much to carry out a little safety and security work. A punitive sum of £150,000 is mentioned, enough to doom the scheme which is now fast heading to the overflowing dustbin of good ideas for Selkirk.

For starters the bridge at the entrance to the site requires work, but as it is adjacent to the public highway and would need attention before too long, that work could be included in whatever plans are being laid for the rest of the site.

As for roads, I have some experience of allotments and have yet to see one with anything other than rough tracks or grassy paths for access. Such rustic super highways can easily be shaped by anyone who happens to own a mechanical digger, which itself naturally leads us to the fence issue.

It is obviously desirable to have some structure in place to prevent the turnips from escaping or nightly raids for rhubarb by constipated pensioners, but a high-grade security fence has a whiff of overkill about it in the circumstances.