Plans for £4.9m housing site in Galashiels put on hold due to flood concerns

Selkirk-based Eildon Housing Association was given planning consent by Scottish Borders Council earlier this year to build 34 flats at a former caravan storage yard in Huddersfield Street.

However, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency had objected to the plans amid fears over the site’s closeness to the Gala Water, and that has led to a hold-up pending further investigation. The application has been called in for further consideration by the Scottish Government’s planning and environmental appeals division, and that could lead to the plans being rejected.

A flood map drawn up by the agency assesses the site, next to the New Look store at Gala Water Retail Park, as being at medium or low risk of flooding.

Work on the five-storey building, to be carried out by Edinburgh-based Hart Builders, was due to begin this summer and be completed within a year.