A CONTROVERSIAL hillside near Abbotsford has been stripped from future housing maps.

And furious planners at the local authority have been told there's nothing they can do about it.

Netherbarns, on the outskirts of Galashiels, has been at the centre of a planning war for over a decade.

But tomorrow (Thursday) members of Scottish Borders Council will be told that the 7.5-hectare greenfield site is being removed from its local development plan, which will influence planning decisions until 2024, by the Government Reporters.

The Netherbarns site, which was bought for a reported £2 million by Kelso builders M & J Ballantyne from the Scott family in 2005, is one of several listed development sites which have been removed from the Proposed Local Development Plan.

Another site on Selkirk's Ettrickhaugh Road has also been omitted due to flooding concerns - despite an ongoing £31.4 million protection scheme.

Selkirkshire councillor Gordon Edgar is angry about both sites being removed. He said: "It means there will be a shortfall in designated housing sites around the central Borders.

"Nobody at the council is happy about this but there is nothing we can do.

"We have been advised that if we were to make a formal objection to the proposals the entire report would have to be reassessed and that could take years."

The Government Reporters considered 328 separate issues before delivering the Proposed Plan to the local authority.

The objections to Netherbarns, led by Abbotsford, and to Philiphaugh Mill in Selkirk, led by the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency, were both accepted during the lengthy deliberations which have been ongoing for over two years.

Fellow Selkirkshire councillor Vicky Davidson said: "It seems wrong that we have a flood defence scheme almost in place in Selkirk and they take out a much-needed area for housing because of a flood-risk."

Scottish Borders Council currently lists Netherbarns as a potential site for 45 houses.

And that the 3.7 hectare former fish farm site at Philiphaugh Mill , which is currently up for sale at £620,000, can accommodate up to 19 houses.

A spokesman for Scottish Borders Council told the Border Telegraph: “The Examination Report into the proposed Local Development Plan recommends the deletion of the sites at Netherbarns in Galashiels, largely in relation to the potential impact on Abbotsford House, and Philiphaugh Mill at Ettrickhaugh Road in Selkirk as a result of an objection by SEPA on flooding grounds.

“The council received the Examination Report into the proposed Local Development Plan at the end of October. The council will consider a report on the proposed modifications within the Examination Report at this week’s full council meeting.

“Legislation requires that the proposed modifications within the Examination Report are accepted by the council except in very limited prescribed circumstances.”