A FAMILY home is on the menu in a Borders village after plans for the conversion of a former fish and chip shop were revealed.

Scottish Borders Council is to consider a planning application from Leslie McColm to convert the old chip shop at 8/9 The Square in Greenlaw.

Mrs McColm and her husband bought the property last year and currently reside in accommodation on the first floor.

A statement from Berwickshire-based Smith & Garratt, on behalf of the applicant, says the fish and chip shop closed towards the end of 2016 and no buyer could be found to reopen it as a business.

It adds: “The property was bought last year by our clients, Mr and Mrs McColm, who live there with their daughter.

“The ground floor is redundant and rather useless in its current format, and the McColms propose to make some minor alterations so they can occupy the whole building as their home.”

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The building is not listed, but it stands in Greenlaw’s Conservation Area.

It makes a contribution to the Conservation Area because it faces onto the main street opposite a Category-A listed building.

The statement adds: “The proposed alterations are reversible and nothing is proposed here would prevent the lower storey being used again for the sale of food and drink for consumption on the premises, should demand return.

“The proposal will have no effect on neighbours and there are no traffic implications or protected trees involved.

“It is also worth noting that the proposal meets the terms of planning policy around infrastructure and local service provision, because the cafe use was lost several years ago, no buyer could be found, there are other food outlets in Greenlaw, and the proposed use is consistent with the character of the area.”

If the application is agreed the majority of the proposed alterations would be carried out by Mr McColm, who is a stonemason.