Serious doubts cast on Tweedbank retail park plan

EXCLUSIVE by DOUG COLLIE

The construction of a multi-million pound retail park complete with budget hotel at Tweedbank between Galashiels and Melrose would "set an undesirable precedent" and would undermine Scottish Borders Council's strong position on business development at the location.

That is the claim made by Karen Ruthven, from the council's own Forward Planning Department, in an assessment report on the proposed project by Edinburgh-based developers. She maintains the planned uses of the site do not conform to the local authority's planning and development policies while the retail elements of the scheme would have a negative impact on Galashiels and Melrose town centres.

Considerably more than a hundred 'letters' of support for the retail park idea have been submitted to SBC planning officers who are currently examining the application for planning permission. A decision is expected to be made by SBC elected members later this year.

But Ms Ruthven warns: "The council’s planning policy identifies the [Tweedbank] site as a Strategic Business and Industrial site.  The aim of the policy is to maintain a supply of business and industrial land allocations in the Scottish Borders.

"The uses proposed as part of this planning application do not conform with the requirements of the policy nor the Supplementary Guidance/SPZ (Simplified Planning Zone)."

She explains that the most recent Employment Land Audit carried out by the Council in the Summer of 2018 identified 2.3ha of immediately available employment land in the Galashiels / Tweedbank area.  This includes the land subject to this planning application which accounts for 65% of the 2.3ha. 

"It is not considered this is sufficient land to meet the anticipated demand and there is already current development interest being shown and implemented in the vicinity of the Central Borders Business Park", states Ms Ruthven. "It is vital that existing employment land supply is retained and further land is allocated for this purpose.

"The allocation of further employment land within the Galashiels / Tweedbank area is a key theme and requirement within the Council’s recently produced Main Issues Report.  The protection of the application site for business uses and the identification of further employment land within the vicinity will be taken forward into the proposed new Local Development Plan".

Ms Ruthven's report adds that .any proposal which may have an impact on the performance of Galashiels, and indeed Melrose town centres, including impacts of footfall and vacancy levels, must be closely scrutinised. Locating a retail development at this location will have a detrimental impact upon the function of the Galashiels town centre and indeed Melrose although as the proposal does not have a clear and recognised end user it is difficult to fully quantify this.

"The application proposes a Premier Inn and in the covering statement reference is made to the need to find a reliant hotel.  It is agreed a high quality hotel is required in the vicinity of the Borders Rail corridor.  Options are being considered in order to identify the most appropriate site with Galashiels being an obvious strong option given the facilities at hand and the desire to help regenerate and increase expenditure within the town centre.

"The proposed hotel site is within an allocated strategic business and industrial site and is neither an appropriate nor a preferred location by the Council.The Hotel Assessment suggests that the immediate priority for a budget hotel should be Galashiels over Tweedbank.  Even with the development of the Central Business Park, which would require a critical mass of businesses that generate hotel demand, the assessment states this location suffers from a paucity of things to do in the evening and places to eat.  The assessment states that a strategy that focuses a budget hotel development on Galashiels will enable hotel development to contribute to the development of the town and its evening economy.  This has been reflected within the Galashiels Masterplan."

And according to Ms Ruthven: " There is a growing argument that the preferable location for a hotel is within Galashiels given the initiative of regenerating the town centre and the wide arrays of facilities that the town centre offers. 

"At a recent meeting with the Agent [for the Tweedbank retail park applicants], the Agent was very clear that there was no developer interest for a hotel within the Galashiels Town Centre and if the Council did not support this proposal within the Tweedbank strategic industrial site, no hotel development would ever be forthcoming.  However, it has since been noted in the local press that the Travel Lodge have been quoted as expressing a very keen interest in locating to Galashiels and this proposal will be discussed and developed further.  Even if a case was put forward for a hotel in the vicinity of the Tweedbank Railway Station, a location within the strategic business park would not be appropriate on policy grounds."

The Forward Planning team at SBC say it could be understood there may be a degree of pressure to allow a more flexible range of uses within the Central Borders Business Park if there was no business activity taking place and that the estate was static in terms of development.  However, that is not the case as there is 'considerable buoyant business activity' currently taking place in and around the business park. This includes investment and businesses relocating / setting up - e.g. Stewart Technology, CGI, Tempest Brewery and a Scottish Enterprise office building. 

"This is at odds with the agent’s covering statement which states that “Occupier interest remains relatively patchy and light. It is therefore critical that the Business Park safeguards land for future business development."

Ms Ruthven argues: "Given all the work, finance and policy documents gone into promoting and taking measures to protect and develop the Business Park it would be erroneous of the Council if any business or industrial uses were unable to set up in Tweedbank as previously available land is taken up by non-conforming policy uses such as those identified in this application.  It should also be noted that although the application proposal will generate jobs, this will be to the detriment of other businesses who would be unable to set up within the Business Park due to these non-conforming uses taking up this allocated business land."

In summary, concludes Ms Ruthven, the uses proposed as part of this planning application do not conform with the requirements of Policy ED1 nor the Supplementary Guidance/SPZ for the Tweedbank Business Park.  To support this proposal would set an undesirable precedent and would undermine the Council’s strong position on business development on this prime allocated strategic site. 

To support the proposal would result in the loss of business land within the Central Borders which is a scarce resource.  The retail element of the proposal would have negative impacts on the performance of Galashiels and Melrose town centres.  Furthermore, the development would result in the loss of trees protected by a Tree Preservation Order put in place to specifically screen the site from public view.