This residential development project is located at the former March Street Mills in the Peebles conservation area. The existing mill buildings will be demolished and 64 new build homes built, reusing reclaimed stone where possible. The existing boiler house and engine shed will be retained and refurbished for commercial use, the existing lodge house will be refurbished and extended to form a new family home and the existing allotments will also be retained as a key green space and transferred to community ownership.
The new homes will be a mixture of affordable rent and private sale properties, and will provide a range of accommodation from 2 bedroom flats to 4 bedroom houses. The proposals allow for the opening up of previously inaccessible land in the town centre with new public routes for pedestrians and cyclists.
Contemporary new homes have been designed for the development, including an extended historic lodge house which will form a new 3 bedroom dwelling. As a reference to the history of the area, the distinctive sawtooth roof profile of the existing building has been brought into the design of the proposed housing.
The significant level change of the site’s topography and desire to retain key buildings were also drivers for the eventual layout as this provided a natural break in the middle of the development.
The majority of the housing proposed on the higher section of the site has been laid out to respect the lines of the existing roofs of the mill. Housing is also of a similar scale to the mill, with most being two-storey housing to complement neighbouring houses in the conservation area.