IT was third time unlucky for the operators of a Borders caravan park after an expansion bid was rejected.

Graham Hodgson, of Lancaster-based Verdant Leisure, had submitted a planning application to Scottish Borders Council to change the use of 1.2 hectares of vacant grassland to enable an extension to Pease Bay Holiday Home Park in Cockburnspath.

It was the third expansion bid to have failed to win council approval.

Despite the economic benefits of the proposed development it was determined that it would result in a “significant adverse impact” on Berwickshire Coast Special Landscape Area and that any benefits “would not outweigh this harm”.

A report submitted with the application, from Tera Tech Planning, agents on behalf of the applicant, says: “The existing Pease Bay Holiday Home Park contains 330 pitches which are allocated or occupied by a mixture of privately owned lodges (300) and short term lets, also known as hire fleet units (23 caravans and seven lodges).

“Four units on the existing site are occupied by staff and there are currently 292 owner lodges and caravans on site, leaving only four pitches occupied.

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“The proposed extension seeks to develop an additional 19 lodges, increasing the number of pitches to 349. The holiday lodges would not be constructed into the ground using traditional foundations but instead would be on movable wheels and classed as caravans.

“The expansion of the site will help aid recovery in the tourism sector post Covid-19. The client, and the wider tourism sector in general, anticipates a significant uplift in demand for UK staycationers and the extension of the park would allow the client to meet projected demand.”

The holiday park currently employs up to 30 staff and it was planned to take on another three workers if the application was successful.

But the application drew a number of objections over road safety concerns, detriment to Berwickshire’s coastline and the density of the site.

One objector said: “The application has been refused twice before and I can see no material difference in this application which would lead to any other decision. If anything, the single track access road has continued to deteriorate whilst the volume and speed of traffic have increased since the previous applications, making the proposal of 19 extra static caravans and 28 extra car parking spaces even more implausible.”

In his report recommending refusal of the application, assistant planning officer Paul Duncan concludes: “The site and and design of the proposed development would have a significant adverse landscape and visual impact on the landscape quality of the Berwickshire Coast Special Landscape Area. The benefits of the development, including economic benefits, would not outweigh this harm.”