AN OUTBUILDING at a former Girl Guides hub in Peeblesshire could be offered to holidaymakers, if plans are approved.

Netherurd House, near Blyth Bridge, was Girlguiding Scotland’s main training centre until its closure in March 2020.

The Georgian mansion was snapped up by the O’Neill family, who set about converting it back into a family home.

And now plans have been filed with the council to convert a chalet/outbuilding into holiday let accommodation.

A report submitted with the application stated: “The house was sold to the O’Neill family who secured the change of use of the property back to residential use.

“It is understood that finance raised from the sale of the property was reinvested in Girlguiding Scotland and money which was spent subsidising the centre could be invested into improving the members’ overall experience.

“The O’Neill family moved into Netherurd House in 2021 and it has become a wonderful family home returning it to residential use as per its original intention and function from 1794 to 1952.

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“The private investment in building upkeep and maintenance ensures the preservation of the category B-listed 18th century mansion for future generations.

“Given the scale of the property and its grounds the O’Neill family have been exploring further uses for parts of the site which would complement the primary residential use of the property.”

It added: “The chalet was used by Girlguiding Scotland as part of their general institutional use of the site. The building has been maintained by the applicant and kept in a useable condition with some internal works carried out.

“Works involved to bring the chalet back into an active use for holiday letting purposes are limited to minor repair works to the external envelope of the building which don’t require planning consent and internal refurbishment works.”

Netherurd House is situated 7.5km away from West Linton and around one kilometre from Blyth Bridge.

The mansion was used by generations of Girl Guides as a holiday and training centre, before the coronavirus pandemic contributed to it shutting.

The news of the closure was met with sadness by many former Girl Guides and was described as a “significant loss to Girlguiding Scotland” by a house spokesperson.

The 30-acre site offered adventure activities such as archery, kayaking, climbing and zip wiring.