A BERWICKSHIRE-BASED building company is aiming to expand as a result of huge demand for its storage containers.

Rodger Builders Ltd opened a storage yard at Station Road in Earlston in January 2019.

The company was granted planning approval from Scottish Borders Council to locate 50 storage containers on the site.

But as the result of unprecedented demand from the local community a new application has now been submitted to the local authority to double the number of containers on site to 100, and for a portacabin to be used as an occasional office.

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A design statement submitted with the application says: “Approval was granted for 50 containers but owing to demand for further containers, mainly from the local community, there are now 90 on site and we would like to apply for retrospective permission for these and also then to increase the total number of containers to 100.

“One hundred would be the maximum number and never exceeded in order to allow sufficient space to access the containers and for parking on site.

“Currently there are four caravans stored on site but these will be removed before any further containers arrive.

“There has been a huge demand for the containers which are of benefit to the community for people to be able to use storage containers locally rather than having to travel further afield.

“This has environmental benefits with reduced travel and also brings economic benefits to the town as people often use shops and other businesses while they are there.

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“The storage yard opened in January 2019 and since that time the site has operated in a quiet and unobtrusive manner. This has not changed with the increase in the number of containers.

“Not all containers are visited on a regular basis, as a number of the containers are used for long-term storage, and so are generally only accessed at the start and end of rentals rather than on a regular basis.

“The current access will remain as it is and allows sufficient space for vehicles to access and exit the site. There will also remain sufficient space on site for people to park while accessing their containers, meaning there is no need for any possibly disruptive development.

“The containers will all be the same as the ones previously approved. These are not unattractive and are sited in a considerate manner. They are all to be sited at ground level and so there will never be any greater visual impact on the area than currently exists. There is no loss of light to neighbouring properties and no overlooking.

“The containers have created two part-time jobs and we are planning to add a third part-time job for maintenance and upkeep of the site once permission has been granted for the extra containers.”