THE site of a former woollen mill in Galashiels could be about to undergo a rebirth as a major storage container and workshops hub.

British Wool closed North Wheatlands Mill in 2022 after moving production to Selkirk.

Now a planning application has been submitted to Scottish Borders Council by Bruce Dick, of Hilltop Maintenance, to convert the former mill site for self storage within 67 shipping containers and for the erection of 12 workshop units.

The proposal is to redevelop the site to a mixed-use business/industrial and storage facility.

Storage has become a very significant and popular use in the past decade or so, and there is increasing demand for facilities, for both the domestic and commercial markets.

A statement in support of the application states: “There is particular demand [for] self-storage where the client is able to come and go throughout the working day, and sometimes over a 24-hour period.

“Business/industrial sites are ideal for this, having generally good access and with separation from noise sensitive uses, particularly residential. The site is therefore ideal for this use.

“The fact that the storage element will occupy the front car park area and not the area of former workshops means that there will be no loss in the site's ability to support much-needed business and employment generating uses.

“Clearly employment generation is one of the key reasons for protecting industrial/business areas, and the majority of the site will provide quality workshop space for existing and start-up businesses.

“This will secure a significant boost to the local economy, and ensure that this vacated site does not linger unused for any significant length of time.

“The loss of the former mill buildings may be seen as unfortunate, but the scheme was not feasible without demolition and rebuild.

“The scale of proposed new buildings remains appropriate and compatible with the area.

“Overall, the site will remain in keeping with the character of the Wheatlands Road area, which contains a large variety of industrial buildings.

“It is considered that the proposal will be a significant economic benefit to the area, it will prevent the potential long-term vacancy of the site, and it satisfies the policies of the development plan and the recently approved National Planning Framework.”