Town unites to stop flats plan that would fell trees in 200-year-old woodland on the River Tweed
‘The whole town wants to protect this woodland’
A Borders town has mounted a determined campaign to block plans for flats that campaigners say would “drive a bulldozer” through a 200-year-old woodland on the banks of the River Tweed.
Residents have rallied behind an objection lodged by Peebles Community Council against proposals linked to a long-running housing development at Kingsmeadows, the last remaining woodland within the town’s conservation area.
The site, which lies just metres from the River Tweed — a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and Special Area of Conservation (SAC) — is regarded locally as irreplaceable. It is home to more than 700 mature trees, including ten veteran trees and 81 notable specimens listed on the Woodland Trust’s Ancient Tree Inventory.
Ecologist reports show there have been more than 100 endangered and protected species recorded on the site, including otters, bats and red squirrels, alongside 51 species of birds, nearly half of which are red- or amber-listed. The woodland also forms a wildlife corridor along the Tweed and is used daily by residents.
“This is a hugely biodiverse, beautiful piece of woodland that sits right within the town and is accessible to everyone,” said Catriona McKay, a member of campaign group Save Kingsmeadows.
“This application will drive a bulldozer through it and will damage the ecosystem of the River Tweed.
“The whole town wants to protect this woodland because once it’s gone, it’s gone forever.”
Central to the planning dispute is the absence of a Habitat Regulations Appraisal (HRA).
The developer - Granton Homes Limited - lodged an application for 14 flats on the proposed site that campaigners say lies approximately 10 to 15 metres from the Tweed.
According to planning papers, NatureScot and the Scottish Borders Council’s (SBC) own ecologist both advised that development at Kingsmeadows requires an HRA.
In documents seen by The Scotsman, a solicitor from the Environmental Rights Centre for Scotland also warned: “If the council determines [planning application] without an appropriate assessment, there would be grounds for judicial review arising from a breach of its legal duties.”
Campaigners argue the case has national implications.
Dr McKay said: “If an HRA hasn’t been done here — on a 200-year-old woodland on the Tweed — then where else isn’t the law being applied?
“If this legislation isn’t implemented, what is the point of it?”
Meanwhile, campaigners argue the flats will not help the local housing issues in the town.
Dr McKay claimed a third to a half of the existing flats in Kingsmeadows House, also owned by Granton Homes, are second homes and not owner occupied.
“They want to build luxury flats,” she said.
“This development will destroy a precious woodland but will do absolutely nothing to solve the affordable housing problem or rampant inequality.”
The planning row has been going on for about a decade, with subsequent renewals and further planning conditions added, including a requirement for an estate management plan to protect the wider woodland and parkland.
The latest application has been lodged on appeal. It came as planners told Granton Homes "a recommendation would be made to refuse permission”. A decision will be determined on February 23.
When a full application was previously lodged in 2022, campaigners voiced fears of environmental damage to the woodland.
Dr Mckay said more than 50 trees were identified for felling or at risk of damage, including three veteran trees and 37 notable trees. The SBC objected at the time, warning that the loss of trees exceeded what had been accepted under the original planning consent. More than 500 public objections were lodged.
Granton Homes and its agent, Pritchett Planning, could not be contacted for comment.
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