Scottish Borders Local Plan: Inquiry Report Published
Tuesday, October 2 2007
The Council has now received the Reporters’ recommendations on the objections received to the Finalised Local Plan following the Local Plan Inquiry.
Richard Hickman and Richard Bowden were appointed by the Council on 29 November 2005 as Reporters to the Inquiry. The Council agreed to ask the Scottish Executive independent Reporters to consider all objections to the Plan that had not been withdrawn. The Local Plan Inquiry ran from 4 September 2006 to 18 January 2007.
The Inquiry considered 2500 objections and involved three formal inquiry sessions (on housing land supply, Kelso supermarkets and Newtown expansion), and over 130 public hearings. A further 1300 objections were considered solely on the basis of written submissions.
Officers have prepared a report on the Reporters’ recommendations for consideration by the Council on 25 October 2007.
The reporters’ recommendations substantially support the Finalised Plan approved by Council. It does however contain a number of conclusions and recommendations that differ from the Council position at the Local Plan Inquiry. However these have emerged from a thorough, comprehensive and independent process.
In this context officers are recommending that the Council accepts the recommendations from the Reporters other than in the very limited number of particular circumstances principally where decisions have been taken on individual planning applications in the intervening period. In these cases it is recommended that the Plan should accurately reflect the existing situation acknowledging any recent planning permissions. In addition, it is proposed to increase the safeguarded area for development in the Newtown St Boswells expansion area. This will, among other things, enable further investigation of the area to the east of the A68 and in the vicinity of Tweed Horizons that the Reporters have indicated as a suitable substitute for the Broomilees Business Park. This will be considered as part of the development of the Master Plan in consultation with the local community (this will not increase the proposed scale of housing development for the area).
The Reporters’ main recommendations may be briefly summarised as follows-
- Support for the Council’s strategic approach to the provision of housing land within the Borders
- Substantial support for the policy framework set by the Plan
- Support for the safeguarding of land for the substantial expansion of Newtown St Boswells
- Support for the allocation of most of the development sites proposed in the Finalised Plan with some exceptions including the following (housing sites over 40 units)-
o Replacement of the proposed supermarket site at Kelso with a site on the Pinnaclehill industrial estate (and replacement of new industrial land at Spylaw with an extension to Pinnaclehill Industrial Estate)
o Deletion of a housing site at Netherbarns, Galashiels
o Deletion of the high amenity employment site at Broomilees, Melrose
o Identification of the potential for a high amenity employment site at Tweed Horizons, Newtown St Boswells
o Inclusion of a housing site at Clovenfords West
o Deletion of site at Glen Crescent, Peebles (site now under construction)
o Inclusion of a housing site at Venlaw, Peebles
o Inclusion of a housing site at Violet Bank Field, Peebles
o Deletion of site at West Paddock, Coldstream
o Inclusion of a housing site at West Gavinton
The next stage of the process is for the Council to consider the report on the Reporter recommendations, and then to advertise any proposed modifications to the Local Plan. This will be followed by a further report to the Council on any objections to the modifications before moving to formally adopt the Local Plan.
Councillor Carolyn Riddell-Carre the Executive Member for Planning and Environment, said: “I am extremely pleased to receive this report from the independent reporters to the Local Plan Inquiry. I am particularly gratified to see the high level of support given by the Reporters to the Council’s Plan. I am aware that there were sharply contrasting views related to the amount of housing land within the Plan, and am pleased to see that the Reporters have supported the Council’s approach to this matter. It is very important that the Council helps to provide a land supply for housing that is able to meet the needs of all residents. It is equally important to protect the high amenity of the area in which we live.
“The Reporters’ support for and the inclusion of a safeguarded area for the expansion of Newtown St Boswells is welcome, and their suggestion to bring forward a high amenity employment site within the same area is of interest to the Council.”
Councillor Vicky Davidson, Executive Member for Economic Development, said: “I welcome the fact that the Reporters agree with the Council that a new supermarket in Kelso is required, with the precise location being clarified by the Inquiry. I note that the Reporters have chosen to recommend the land at Pinnaclehill for that purpose, but with the express requirement that the promised extension to the industrial estate is delivered by the developer.”
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