Multi-million pound plans could bring luxury lodges to Borders - but 'community concerns' force rethink

Vastly scaled back plans have been put forward for a luxury lodge development in the Scottish Borders.

Rutherford Park, located between Carlops and West Linton, is situated on the former Rutherford Castle Estate, with the development being progressed by landowner Sandy Lane Resort Rutherford.

While a planning application for more than 250 lodges plus camping was initially submitted to the local council in 2019, this was revised down to 150 units last year, including 100 lodges, tree houses, pods and camping. Developers said that having taken account of recent trends and “community feedback”, this has now been further reduced to 79 luxury lodges.

A CGI of how the luxury lodges at the proposed Rutherford Park development should look if the scheme is given the go-ahead.

The fresh planning application sees the lodges occupying ten hectares of the 80-hectare site. It amounts to an investment of around £11.6 million.

The expectation is that the majority of visitors will stay for between two and four days, with occupancy limited to a maximum of three months, controlled by a planning condition. Around half the site (some 40 hectares) will be rewilded, including the planting of a minimum of 80,000 trees, with woodland walks and cycle paths.

Original concerns relating to flooding have also been removed due to this being a significantly smaller scheme. Rutherford Park will also adopt the latest low-carbon technologies, including solar panels and air source heat pumps. It has been estimated that some 27 jobs will be created once the park is built, with spin-off opportunities for local businesses.

A spokesperson for Sandy Lane Resort Rutherford said: “Our revised application for Rutherford Park seeks to deliver a high-quality luxury lodge development that aims to attract visitors to the Scottish Borders, as well as to Scotland as a whole.

“The Scottish Borders is a region that has a unique history, culture and landscape, but is frequently ignored as a destination, often due to a lack of high-quality outdoor accommodation. A development such as Rutherford Park will serve to take advantage of the growing short break staycation market, as well as increased visitor demand generally, boosting bed nights and spending in the region.

“What is being proposed is a greatly reduced scheme from the one originally envisaged, taking account of community concerns.”