Today was a sad day. Scottish Borders Council’s planning committee have voted unanimously to support the proposed development for affordable homes on this site.

I attended the meeting as an objector and was given six minutes to speak. I addressed flood risk concerns, sustainable travel, biodiversity and green space, explaining that the site should never have been included within the Local Development Plan. The councillors felt that the flood risk concerns had been mitigated but did not comment on my other concerns.

There is indeed a need for affordable housing to address the housing emergency, however there is also a climate emergency and it is disappointing that Scottish Borders Council are pursuing this development on a greenfield site, while brownfield land and old buildings remain in need of redevelopment. They have also made very little attempt to acknowledge concerns around protecting neighbour amenity.

At this stage it seems highly likely that the development will go ahead, but I will do my best to keep you updated with any additional information.

Thanks for the support,

Melanie