Membership
In general, the Parish of Stow Community Council is composed of twelve elected members, ten representing Stow and two representing Fountainhall.
The current members are:
- Jenny Mushlin (secretary) Tel 01578 760297
- Alan McNeilly (treasurer)
- Tommy Miller
- Jack Mackenzie
- Alistair Riddell
- Stuart Jeffrey
- Charlotte Hendry
- Ina Peacock
- Neil Hodgson
- Ross Murphy
Community Council meetings are held on the first Monday of every month. Two meetings per year are held in Fountainhall Village Hall with the remaining ten meetings being held in Stow Town Hall. All meetings commence at 7.30pm.
Although council meetings are open to the public. The public may not contribute to the discussions unless they are specifically asked to do so by the chairman. However, it is customary for the public who have attended a meeting to be asked if they have any points they wish to air with the committee.
The Community Council is non-party political and carries out a number of important functions within the Parish. The main functions are:
- To express the views of the community to the local authority and other public authorities.
- To inform the community of information received from the local authority and other public bodies
Over the years, the Community Council have been involved in many important issues which have had a direct influence on our community. Non more so than the proposed reintroduction of the Waverley Railway Line. In the original proposals there was to be no station at Stow. However, the Scottish Parliament was persuaded by the Community Council along with the action group that a station at Stow was essential.
Planning applications – The Community Council is consulted on most planning applications within the Parish giving a good opportunity for members to express the thoughts of the community on what can sometimes be a very emotive subject. Scottish Borders Council now operates a service within their own website which gives public access to all planning applications.
On a monthly basis, the Community Council registers many issues of concern with the local authority. We are ably assisted in our tasks by our local regional councillors whose ex officio membership of the Community Council allows them to advise often on important issues. They are a great help and support.
Our local councillors are:
Councillor Sandy Aitchison

Contact Details
5 Craigend RoadStow
TD1 2RJ
Tel: 01578 730643
Councillor Bill Herd
Contact Details
32 Ladhope CrescentGalashiels
TD1 2BN
Tel: 01896 759407
Councillor John Mitchell
Contact Details
Rosemount30 Hillside Terrace
Selkirk
TD7 4ND
Tel: 01750 722422
Councillor Bill White
Contact Details
1 Melrose RoadGalashiels
TD1 2AD
Tel: 01835 826 503 or 01835 826 565
Hallo,
I once heard it said that Flora Macdonald had been buried at Stow cemetery before being taken to her final resting place.
Could you please let me know whether there is any truth in that statement?
Thank you very much.
Regards,
Claus Cartellieri
Lindenstrasse 16
19399 Dobbertin/Germany
i wonder if anyone in the stow community has any information on a
thomas darling, born about 1802 and killed by a train in 1868 [run down by express train from edinburgh] about 11am under bridge in stow [buried at stow]
this is an ancestor of mine,,, his father was a david darling,[no dates as yet]
,and one of his daughters a jane darling born 1832 westruther died feb 26th 1909 galashiels
i would be most interested to know how this happened, thank you.
My Grandmother was born at Cookston Forth Mains in January 1878. Do you know if this place still exists. It was a Farm I think—my Great Grandfather was a ploughman.
I thought I would make a trip on the train to have a look.
Liz Taylor
Hello,
I am in the process of studying for a Masters Degree in Environmental Management. My current assignment is about ‘good development management’ and I am writing about wind farms in the Borders.
Do you have any information you can share about the wind farms near and around Stow please?
Thank you and best wishes
Maureen
Hi Maureen,
The best people to write to are Gareth Shields at the Toddleburn Wind farm gareth.shields@sse.com and Malcom Jack at Foundation Scotland Malcolm@foundationscotland.org.uk.
I am on the Local Wind Farm Committee if I can be of any help
Regards
Stuart
stuartjeffrey321@btinternet.com