COUNCILLORS have rejected plans to build a two-bedroom home in a crowded area of Darnick, near Melrose.

Mr I Maxwell, of Smith’s Road, Darnick, first had his plans to build a new house rejected by council officers, who raised concerns over parking and over development, before moving to an appeal.

The building would have been built on a small plot of land, set back from the road behind a garden, and which is surrounded by tightly grouped cottages and houses.

The initial application attracted several complaints from neighbours, all of whom took umbrage with the proposed loss of green space and the proximity of the development to their homes.

Neighbour Dawn MacIver, also of Smith’s Road, lodged a complaint saying: “I can hardly bring myself to comprehend the resources and energy which have been wasted to this point, but perhaps, just perhaps, in the inordinate amount of time which has lapsed since Mr Maxwell’s quest to win and personally benefit, we’ll all just forget that this actually a garden we are talking about, not, as has been alluded to, a building plot by any stretch of a very active imagination – in fact, a garden which used to house a particularly fetching pigeon coop and washing line and some beautiful organic brambles.

“Imagine, this simple organic structure even then filled the space and you would have been lucky to swing a very scrawny, skinny, possibly freakish feral cat in it, never mind build a house.

“Perhaps we should all start building houses in our teeny gardens and call it progress.”

Councillors, sitting on Scottish Borders Council’s local review body, voted unanimously to uphold the officer’s initial rejection of the planning application.

In summarising his reasons for voting against the application, Galashiels councillor Andy Anderson said he agreed with the broad criticisms of the objectors: “I’m inclined to agree with the officer’s original decision to reject this application. It appears to be rather large for the street and it does appear to have been shoehorned in there.

“The parking issue is also mentioned in the reasons for rejection, and I’m inclined to agree with that too.”