SCOTTISH Borders Council should look for another site to accommodate a waste transfer station (WTS), from where over 40,000 tonnes of household waste will be transported annually outwith the region for treatment.

That is the recommendation of Galashiels Community Council which, after discussing SBC’s renewed planning bid for the £4.8m facility at Easter Langlee earlier this month, has now submitted a formal objection to the proposal.

It brings the total number of objections so far to 19, compared to the six written objections which were submitted in April when SBC’s planning committee rejected a similar bid by its own council.

That committee determined that the development represented an unacceptable road safety risk on the C77 (Langshaw Road) which links the site to the B7374 (Melrose Road).

Since then, the council has commissioned a transport report from a private firm of consultants outlining measures to mitigate that impact, including implementing a speed limit, widening some parts of the road, and erecting new lighting and signage.

And that report concludes: “There are no transport issues preventing the award of planning consent.”

The committee is due to consider the renewed application next month and, if consent is granted, work on construction of the WTS will begin in November for completion in August next year – when the landfill site at Easter Langlee reaches full capacity.

Other notable objectors this time round include the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) and the Coopersknowe Residents Association.

Galashiels Community Council, which made no representation back in April, made the decision to object following its meeting on September 6, when two senior SBC officers – waste manager Ross Sharp-Dent and assets and infrastructure director Martin Joyce – were in attendance.

“After hearing all the points made, the community council wishes to object to this application,” writes vice-chairman Rick Kenney.

“We do not feel the conclusions of the transport report are valid. Photographs produced by residents of accidents on the C77 refute the points made in the report that the road can be made safer.

“The size and regularity of large vehicles are a danger to people and children, cyclists and horses. The number of houses adjacent to the C77 has increased over the years, especially in the Melrose Gait development.

“The community council also discussed the increase in traffic should waste disposal vehicles have to go through Galashiels when transferring waste out of the area and the effect of this on traffic flows and general road safety [in the town].

“Due to the extra traffic going up and down the C77 onto Melrose Road, the community council feels the provision of a roundabout at this location should be revisited.

“In essence the view of the community council is that the WTS application is flawed…we object and also suggest that Scottish Borders Council should be looking for another location.”