PLANS for 16 houses on a controversial site in the village of Darnick have been submitted with Scottish Borders Council.

Over the past 12 years there have been three attempts to develop Darnick Green - each time being met considerable opposition from locals.

In 2002 Melrose building company JS Crawford attempted to gain permission for 45 houses on the site.

A year later they applied for permission to divert Coats Burn which dissects the land and relocate Huntly Burn, which borders Darnick Green.

And in 2004 an application was submitted by the same firm for 37 properties with infrastructure and an adjoining children’s playpark.

Each application was met with strong opposition from villagers.

And they were all refused planning permission - and later dismissed on appeal by the Scottish Government.

This latest application will see a large reduction in the number of proposed properties.

Consultations and neighbour notifications are being distributed this week before the full plans are made available to the public.