Full steam ahead for holiday homes bid beside old railway station
A railway-themed holiday home complex has been proposed for a site near Station House at Saughtree in Newcastleton.
Plans submitted to Scottish Borders Council propose six new holiday lets – four new camping pods and two Shepherds Huts – on land adjoining the old station.
The pods would be located in a field above the station buildings on the northern part of the site. It is proposed the huts would be located in rail wagons on the existing railway lines.
A report submitted with the application states: “The proposed pods are small and do not impact upon the nature of the open countryside site.
“The two huts located in the railway wagons will be amongst a group of railway track stock and will merge into this part of the site easily.
“The site lies in open countryside with the nearest village being Newcastleton.
“All visitors coming to the site will arrive and leave by car or motorcycle. Rail services are non-existent in this part of the Scottish Borders, and bus services are rural in terms of times and frequency.
“Both the pods and huts can be used by disabled persons. All persons regardless of age, disability, ethnicity or social grouping can get to and move through the proposed pods and huts.”
The station dates back to 1867 but was closed to passengers in 1955 and converted for residential use in the 1990s.
Saughtree railway station was on the former Borders County Railway, a 42-mile single track route that connected Hexham and Northumberland with Riccarton Junction on the Waverley route in Roxburghshire.