The grounds of a Borders mansion could be redeveloped to provide 19 new homes

Edinburgh-based Granton Homes wants to create 14 apartments and five dwelling houses at category B-listed Kingsmeadows House in Peebles.

The company bought the building in 2014 and following refurbishment created 12 residential apartments there two years later.

Ahead of a formal planning application for the proposed new development, the company has asked Scottish Borders Council whether a Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) will be required.

Emma Garland, of EMA Architecture and Design Limited, agents for the applicant, argued that the proposed development would not have ‘significant’ environmental effects.

She said: “The site is not located within a ‘sensitive area’, as defined by the regulations, however the site is adjacent to the River Tweed which is a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

“The proposed development is solely for apartments and dwelling houses and does not include more than 150 dwellings. It is therefore considered that the development will not have a significant effect on the environment.

“The scheme will provide a range of storey heights, a 3-4 storey flatted block and 1.5 storey housing scheme, in keeping with the local context.

“The site is adjacent to a number of existing residential developments and is already suited to residential use.”

Granton Homes submitted a planning application to Scottish Borders Council early last year for the construction of seven houses in a courtyard setting around a central garden on a disused bowling green and tennis courts north east of the lodge on the Kingsmeadows estate.

The bid raised the hackles of locals and resulted in a swathe of objections from dozens of residents living near the proposed development.

Opposition centred on plans to remove 32 mature trees and the assertion that the development was inappropriate to the setting of historic Kingsmeadows House.

The level of opposition led the company to withdraw the application.