Joanne Scott and Justine Cairns who live in Clovenfords hope Scottish Borders Council’s planning committee will back their plans for the two-storey High Street property, formerly a beauty salon and cafe.

In their application to SBC, they write: “Our aim is to continue to use the premises as a retail outlet. However, we would like the cafe to be street level as the main part of the shop as opposed to the previous use of the cafe being on the second floor.

“The cafe will be partly retail and the second floor will be two-part retail, gifts, wedding sundries, etc.

“We feel this development will encourage more custom and tourism and will be more accessible for all abilities and age groups.”

Speaking to TheSouthern in March, Ms Cairns said: “We identified what we believe strongly is a niche in the market which would not be affected by the likes of Tesco or Asda or, indeed, any other existing business in the town.”

If approved by SBC, the new store will expect to employ five people initially.