A PLANNED extension to a Peebles house previously labelled as “insensitive” by an architectural society has moved a step closer.

Scottish Borders Council’s (SBC) planning chiefs have recommended that the Dean Park development should be approved.

The matter is due to be discussed by the local authority’s planning and building standards committee on Monday (March 28).

The applicant, Xuilan Yang, wants to build a single-storey extension and two dormers to the rear of the 19th century property.

Mrs Yang also intends to add a porch and solar panels to the front of the terraced property.

But a number of objections had been submitted in response to the application, including from the Peebles Civic Society and the Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland (AHSS).

Loss of privacy, impact on conservation area, and impact on residential amenity were among the reasons for the opposition to the plans.

A spokesperson for the AHSS said the solar panels were “insensitively positioned, excessive in size, and would break up the run of uniform roofs with an essentially industrial material”, while they also said the proposed porch was “not sensitively designed and protrudes excessively”.

However, members of the SBC committee have been told to approve the development after the applicant submitted revised plans.

An SBC report states: “Although the dormers would be visible from Edinburgh Road, the degree of visibility from the public realm would not be so significant as to have an unacceptable adverse impact on the character or appearance of the conservation area.

“The proposals for the front elevation are much more visible from the public realm and revisions have been submitted in order to address some of the concerns raised by third parties, including the Civic Society and AHSS.

“The porch, which has been reduced in size, would match the overall appearance of that on the adjoining property to the east and it would not project further forward from the principal elevation than the bay window or other porches in the street.”

On the solar panels, it adds: “It is acknowledged that these would be the first PV panels to be installed on this terrace and this will undoubtedly have an impact on [the] street scene.

“However, and acknowledging the concerns raised by objectors, the layout of the panels has been amended to show a single row of five panels at high level, just below the ridge and above the existing dormer window. The revised pattern is now considered acceptable.

“Although each case must be treated on its own merits, the proposed layout could set a positive pattern for others to follow.”