Controversial village home gets the green light after appeal

The application for a detached property on land south of West Lodge, outside of Minto, was refused by members of Scottish Borders Council’s Planning and Building Standards Committee in July last year.

Objections to the application had been raised by villagers on the grounds of over-development and drainage concerns.

One of the councillors who expressed concern at the meeting was Mid Berwickshire councillor Donald Moffat, who said: “When you are coming into a village which is a conservation area there is a sense of place. When I look at this I think it is over-development. I would rather see this kept as a field.”

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But the co-applicant, public health expert Professor Sally Haw, with David Anderson, of Borders Low Carbon Developments Ltd, said: “David and I wanted to build a home near Minto for a number of years. He has a number of projects in the area and it has become much more important to get near these projects given the cost of petrol.

“We have designed a home that meets our professional needs. We have provisional space for a library, we have an extensive number of books, a studio office and a study for me. It also allows our extended family to visit. Between us we have seven siblings and five children.”

Now a planning appeal lodged by the applicant has been approved by government reporter Tammy Swift-Adams, who concluded: “I consider the proposed house, whether considered alone or cumulatively with the two houses recently built on adjacent land, would constitute small-scale infill development.

“I do not agree with the appellant’s assertions that when the site was brought within the development boundary it effectively became a multiple housing site, or signalled that Minto should contribute more to the demand for new homes. Nevertheless, I find the principal of development can be supported.”