‘Barn again’ bid in Cockburnspath

A ‘barn again’ housing bid for farmland in a Berwickshire village has been put on Scottish Borders Council’s planning agenda.

The owners of Cove Farmhouse in Cockburnspath want to flatten a former barn and build a new home in its place.

The building was previously a cattle shed and formed part of a farm steading.

That use was ended in the early 1960s and the building has since be used as a domestic storage for an adjacent farmhouse.

The farmland has been sold with the applicants, Mr and Mrs Peter Hood, retaining use of the farmhouse and the barn only.

The applicants had considered converting the storage barn into a single dwelling for their elderly parents, but due to the poor construction of the building that was not deemed viable.

The plan now is to demolish the barn and build an energy-efficient home on the site.