A NEAR-£12 MILLION holiday park on a former Borders golf course is poised for the green light.
Revised proposals for a holiday lodge development at Rutherford Park, between Carlops and West Linton, will be recommended for approval when members of Scottish Borders Council’s Planning and Building Standards Committee meet next week.
The planning application greatly reduces the scale of development to 79 lodges, from over 250 originally proposed, with the lodges only occupying 10 hectares of the 80-hectare site.
It follows concerns raised by 279 objectors over potential flood risk, loss of greenfield land, landscape and visual impact, and traffic issues.
Rutherford Park is situated on the former Rutherford Castle Estate, and development is being progressed by landowner Sandy Lane Resort Rutherford Ltd.
A golf course there closed in 2015 due to falling membership and plans to transform the area emerged soon afterwards.
The latest development will amount to an investment of around £11.6m in the region and is set to create 27 jobs, with a reception building including a small shop and office.
It also incorporates demolition of two redundant outbuildings and reuse of a golf clubhouse to include limited catering and gym facilities.
This new modern-style venue reflects a growing short break ‘staycation’ market in an area that is recognised as currently being poorly served by high-quality outdoor accommodation.
A report to the committee, recommending approval of the scheme, states: “It is clear from representations that there are public concerns regarding the suitability of this proposed development and some concerns were shared by the planning authority over the scale of the original proposals and its associated impacts within the surrounding area.
“Through the course of the application the scale of the development has been significantly reduced from 180 to 79 holiday lodges with associated changes to the scale of all new and supporting infrastructure.
“The scale of the development is still recognised as being large within its rural context, but critically it is considered that the development’s reduced scale has provided a sympathetic form of development that its compatible with the character of the surrounding area, while making a positive contribution to the local economy and tourism offering.”
A spokesperson for Sandy Lane Resort Rutherford Ltd commented: “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 spend in the region.
“What is being proposed is a greatly reduced scheme from the one originally envisaged, taking account of community concerns, and will not only deliver an economic boost to the Borders, but also provide major ecological enhancements for the site, including the delivery of a minimum of 80,000 trees.”
