Holiday chalet to home bid made amid Covid-19 concerns

A planning application was submitted to Scottish Borders Council to allow the chalet on land beside a disused railway line to the south-west of Rachan Home Farm in Broughton to be occupied as a dwelling house.

The applicant wanted to relinquish the right for three motor-home pitches in the location, granted as part of the original planning bid.

The move comes partly as a result of the applicant having a respiratory condition which puts them at greater risk of contracting Covid-19.

The concern is that regular and comings and goings in its use as a holiday home would pose a risk to the applicant.

But when members of the council’s Local Review Body met on Monday, June 15, they rejected the bid on the grounds it would represent “a new home in the countryside”.

Tweeddale West councillor VivThomson said: “The chalet was built for a specific purpose as a tourism aspect. We are now looking at it being a permanent residence and that slightly changes how it’s viewed.”

Councillor Marshall Douglas, for Tweeddale East, said: “There is a building group there but I think this property is distinct from that. It’s been given permission as a separate holiday home site with mobile homes and I would uphold the officer’s decision.”

Hawick and Denholm’s Councillor Neil Richards added: “It doesn’ look as if there has been any attempt to run it as was proposed and I get a bit tired of hearing Covid used as an excuse, so I support the officers.”

A spokesperson for Selkirk-based RM Architecture Limited, on behalf of the applicant, said: “The application for this modification has come about partly due to the health risk to the applicant following the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The applicant suffers from a respiratory condition and is at a higher risk of developing serious symptoms in the event of contracting Covid-19.

“The manner in which the property will be occupied is no longer tenable given the frequent turnover of guests and the health risk that presents to the applicant.

“The motor-home pitches approved along with the chalet will be relinquished providing sufficient garden for the dwelling as a domestic house.

“The other benefit to be gained from the proposed modification include a clearly defined residential use pattern in the area with the removal of the tourism-related activity created by the coming and going of holidaymakers and motor-homes. This in itself will result in fewer, safer vehicle movements in and out of the existing access, together with less volume of traffic and bulky vehicles along a single track road.”