Our Borders Pet Rescue charity shop in Duns has gone from strength to strength in recent years and provides a much-needed service to the local community, whether that be selling pre-loved items from clothing to books and household bric-a-brac, or welcoming dogs and their owners into the shop day after day with a smile and a cheeky biscuit or three! Our charity shops across the Scottish Borders are not only the first point of contact for many of our supporters, but provide the vital funds needed to run our animal rehoming centre in Earlston.
Due to the success of the Duns shop, made possible by our amazing team of staff and volunteers, the current premises are simply too small and no longer fit for purpose. There is no stockroom, we have a storage facility located a mile away which staff and volunteers have had to work between, transporting donations between the two sites. We are quickly overwhelmed in the shop with just a few bags of donations with very little space available. This has taken a toll on our team and in recent months we have employed the services of a “man with a van” to assist, we have also rented an additional ground floor unit to save heavier items having to be moved. However, these temporary solutions are not financially sustainable or practicable for either the shop team or the charity long term.
Having searched for new shop premises in the Duns area for the past twelve months, our efforts to secure new premises have so far proved unsuccessful. We have approached several estate agents, local business owners, and the Duns Community Council in recent months to no avail.
The Board of Trustees and I have spent many months seeking alternative premises and solutions to these issues; however, we have had to make the incredibly tough decision to close the shop based purely from a health & safety perspective as we must put the safety of our incredible staff and volunteers first, we simply cannot allow them to work in what would become an unsafe environment.
Another of our charity shops, in Kelso, has been in the same position having gone from strength to strength with the fantastic support from the local community. The building was no longer working for us, and we have been very fortunate in finding a larger and more suited premises on the high street which our Kelso team will be moving into in the coming months and expanding on the range of items and treasured finds available in-store. We are hoping we can find a similar solution for our Duns shop.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all our customers, supporters, and donors for their support during our time in Duns. We are continuing to look for suitable, alternative premises, and will be keeping our staff, volunteers, and supporters updated.
Thank You
Gemma Mudie, Charity Manager