A BUSINESSMAN’s bid to expand a holiday and leisure complex on an estate near Selkirk is back on track – a year after his vision lay in tatters.

Ayrshire-based Alan Williams, who bought Whitmuir Hall in 1989, has submitted a new application to Scottish Borders Council for consent to build 19 holiday lodges in the 4.4hectare grounds of the Victorian mansion which currently hosts a swimming pool and licensed bar and supports 20 self-catering chalets and four jobs.

Back in December, 2012, the planning committee of SBC voted 7-4 to reject his plans for 28 new two-storey lodges to the north-east of the big house, which lies off the A699 road between Selkirk and St Boswells.

In so doing, elected members chose to side with no fewer than 50 local objectors and to ignore the recommendations of their own planning officers who urged approval of the scheme and Mr Williams’ £3.7million investment The applicant duly appealed to the Scottish Government, but last August a reporter upheld the committee’s decision, judging that the development and the traffic and waste water it would generate would adversely affect the amenity of the area and, particularly, could compromise nearby Whitmuir Loch on the Whitmuir Moss nature reserve - a designated site of special scientific interest (SSSI).

At the time, a spokesperson for Whitmuir Hall expressed “disappointment” at the rebuff, adding: “It’s a great shame that much needed investment, which would have benefited local tradesmen and the wider Borders economy, will not now take place.” It was thus back to the drawing board for Mr Williams who has now tendered revised plans, seeking approval in principle for 19 two-storey lodges on the site.

These buildings, designed to sleep four people, will be set further away from the loch and will be served by a new road access, just north of the existing junction with the A699, which, it is claimed, will minimise the flow of vehicular traffic to the other leisure facilities to the south.

Mr Williams has commissioned two new reports – engineering and landscape assessments – in support of his new proposal.

These explain that the lodges, which will be occupied for an average of 25 weeks a year, will be arranged in small groupings which will “better fit the landscape context of the site”.

A new reed bed treatment area for foul water will be created “to ensure the hydrological integrity of the loch”.

The supporting statement, which is now available on SBC’s planning website, says that, during construction, work will be restricted to five days a week between 7am and 7pm and will involve no more than 20 lorry movements a day.

The statement indicates provisional public support for the project, citing a community engagement event held at Whitmuir Hall in June when the plans were put on display and those attending were asked to fill in response forms.

Of the 26 people who did so, 15 recorded their support and four offered no comment.

Mr Williams has also presented the results of an independent tourism study which highlights a burgeoning demand for out of season holidays for larger family groups and “environmentally-conscious visitors”.

“The main objective is to provide appropriate, high quality lodging facilities aimed at responding to changing market trends with a view to encouraging tourism growth in Selkirk and the Scottish Borders,” says the statement.