Eskdale holiday park plans win approved

A HISTORIC 18th century building near Canonbie and its grounds will be transformed into a holiday park – after councillors gave the huge tourism development the green light on Wednesday.

Irvine House, which has been vacant for a number of years, will be converted to host a reception, bedroom accommodation, and guest and visitor leisure spaces.

Meanwhile, 137 lodges will be spread out across the sprawling 17.7 hectare grounds on the banks of the River Esk.

The ambitious proposal, brought forward by Buccleuch Estates, is one of the most significant tourism developments in the region in recent years.

Councillors sitting on Dumfries and Galloway Council’s planning committee unanimously agreed to approve the plans after being sold on the tourism benefits for the region and careful steps that will be taken to preserve the local habitat.

Planning case officer Graham Smith told the committee that the number of cabins was reduced down to 137 because “some had to be removed from an area of flood risk”.

He continued: “The proposal largely retains the mature trees within the site, most notably those running along the riverside.

“Irvine House would be adapted to create guest and visitor leisure spaces and bedroom accommodation. A new reception area would be formed on the ground floor, with guest amenity space. Upstairs would be converted to guest accommodation, with nine en-suite bedrooms.”

There will also be a single storey extension to Irvine House, and the nearby gatehouse buildings would be used as staff accommodation.

The planning officer said: “The tourism benefits of a development like this are a key planning consideration, and the applicant has provided a range of direct and indirect benefits to the local area, which the committee could enable if they were to approve the application.

“The reuse of Irvine House – which is vacant – with changes proposed sympathetic to the original is from a planning perspective a good outcome.”

It was previously confirmed the development would create 37 jobs and bring significant wider economic benefits to the area through visitor spending.

Four different type of lodges are proposed, and they would incorporate a kitchen, dining and lounge area, along with an external decking area.

Electric vehicle charging points are also required, along with 1600 new trees, 715 metres of roadside hedging and ten hectares of new habitat managed for biodiversity.