Homes appeal delayed until after summer

BUCCLEUCH Estates faces an extended wait over the outcome of its appeal to build two new houses in Thornhill. The Queensberry Estate business lodged an appeal after being refused planning permission in principle to construct the properties on land north of Greenhead Cottages in Manse Brae. Two separate planning applications had originally been submitted to Dumfries and Galloway Council, but planning case officer Claire Ingram refused the application on the grounds that the proposals “would not be within or well related” to other buildings in the area. An appeal came before the council’s local review body recently, and councillors deferred making a decision until after visiting the site. Buccleuch Estates have hired Galashiels-based Ferguson Planning to argue their case. Their appeal statement reads: “The site is well related to the small building group, sitting enclosed between the existing dwellings Kirkland Cottage to the north-east and the Greenhead Cottages to the south-west.” The two planning applications will come back to a future local review body meeting after the council’s summer recess.