ANGRY residents living next to the A7 at Falahill look to have failed in their bid to block revised railway plans.

Network Rail has met a wall of opposition at the hamlet over its proposals to revert back towards initial designs for the trunk road and railway alignment just north of Heriot.

A third planning application will go in front of Scottish Borders Council next week with departmental officers recommending this latest scheme is approved.

The Falahill saga stretches back to 2006 when the initial design, which was passed by Parliament, detailed the realignment of the A7 to cross over the railway by means of a skewed overbridge.

The discovery of a mains gas pipe running beneath the proposed route led to a rethink, with a fresh application for two raised roundabouts to be used instead of the bridge being passed in 2010.

Although the alternatives were welcomed by residents of Falahill - they were met with opposition from road users and other nearby community groups. This latest application, which was tabled in the summer, will see the road run closer to the cottages than the original Transport Scotland scheme creating a sandwich effect with the rail line.

Residents are also concerned that the junction from their properties will now join the main road at one of its fastest stretches.

But roads officials at the local authority have welcomed the latest offerings from Network Rail.

A spokesman for the roads department said: “This is a positive change.

“Although the double roundabout option offered better access to the A7 for the Falahill properties and differential acceleration lanes for overtaking, it impacted on the traffic flow.

“This current planning application offers a more straightforward alignment of the A7.

“Although this proposal effectively places the Falahill cottages between the railway to the east and the main road to the west, the road is further away from the cottages and there are several road safety improvements incorporated.” Discussions have taken place between rail bosses and Falahill residents over the past few months.

And the new design will include new bus drop off and pick up areas, a new footpath and link road created to the cottages, and sound barriers placed at the east and west of the properties.

Principal planning officer Carlos Clarke said: “Although some impacts may be likely to be experienced, these are not considered to be so unacceptable as to warrant refusal, particularly in the context of the wider benefits arising from the delivery of the railway.” Scottish Borders Council’s planning committee meets on Monday.