Wednesday May 13th 2026
Thorniedean House Fence
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Paul Kelly
An appeal will be launched next week after Scottish Borders Council ordered the removal of an offending fence outside a Victorian villa in Galashiels.
Category C-listed Thorniedean House on Melrose Road once formed part of Borders College.
Its current occupants erected a 1.8 metres high and 78 metres long fence in May 2024 without seeking prior planning permission.
A retrospective application was refused by Scottish Borders Council after it was deemed that the fence’s visual impact was “over-bearing”.
When members of SBC’s Local Review Body meet on Monday, May 18, they will be asked to overturn refusal.
Thorniedean House was built in 1868 as a residential villa for the mill owner of Botany Mill in Galashiels.
The house was used as a girl’s school for pupils that were evacuated from Edinburgh during the Second World War and it became a part of Galashiels Academy in 1949.
Thorniedean House was deemed surplus to requirements in 2009 when Borders College transferred all its functions to a new campus at Netherdale.
In 2020 the property returned to a private dwelling.
A report refusing the application, from SBC lead planning officer Carlos Clarke, stated: The fence is not in keeping with the character of the listed boundary walls, railings and gate piers.
“These features contribute strongly to the special interest of Thorniedean House and positively to the streetscape of Melrose Road.
“The fence is high, long, and prominent from Langhaugh Lane. It has irregular panel heights and posts that do not align, and it does not relate fluently with the height of the existing stone wall.”
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