PLANS for a multi-million pound hotel, petrol station and drive-through coffee shop in Tweedbank are being recommended for approval by council planners. 

The £14.2m development, dubbed the Borders Gateway due its proximity to the Tweedbank rail station, includes plans for a 70-bed Premier Inn, a BP petrol station, an M&S kiosk and a drive-through Costa.

The original plans for the site included a large food retail site, and in total would have provided 100 jobs, but following concerns over the impact on other Borders the food retail section of the development was withdrawn and the projected number of full time jobs has been revised down to 80. 

The developers, Edinburgh-based developer New Land Assets, also believe that 95 jobs will be created during the construction phase. 

Now, council planners have published a 30-page report persuading councillors to approve the plans when they are heard by the local authority’s planning and building standards committee, which is due to meet in September. 

The report, authored by the council’s chief planning officer Craig Miller, reads: “The development is considered acceptable when assessed against the local development plan and supplementary guidance. 

“The reduced scheme represents a mix of uses which have largely been identified as being required in the area, maximising on the prominent and gateway position between the A6091 roundabout and the railway terminus. 

“Impacts resulting from the uses are considered to be outweighed by the benefits anticipated from the development, including impacts on the woodland boundaries to the site.”

Despite the approval of planning officers, councillors sitting on the planning committee will have to weigh up objections to the development from local residents and businesses. 

Chief among their concerns is the potential impact on traders in Melrose, in particular the local hoteliers. 

An informal consortium of Melrose hoteliers, representing Burts Hotel, The Townhouse Hotel, The Station Hotel, The Kings Arms, and Abbotsford Hotel, has submitted an objection to the plans. 

Their objection, lodged on their behalf by Edinburgh-based planning consultants Felsham Planning and Development, reads: “Town centres are under threat, and their vitality and viability needs to be protected.

“The nature of Melrose town centre is a material consideration in assessing this proposal.

“The vitality and viability of Melrose depends on wider considerations than retail.

“That vitality and viability will be undermined by a larger hotel than envisaged, accompanied by ancillary development.

“Melrose sets a standard of how town centres should develop and we would urge your council not to grant consent for a development that could undermine the vitality and viability of the town centre by having a significant impact on the hotel sector.”

Melrose Community Council has also objected to the proposals, citing the potential impact on the town’s high street, while Tweedbank Community Council is supporting the development, citing the economic benefit the site could have on the Borders. 

In total, the plans have received 177 supporting comments and 15 objections.