Thursday January 29th 2026
Vision for the Tweedbank housing development
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Paul Kelly
Go-ahead for Scottish Borders Council to launch a game-changing partnership to develop more than 500 homes at Tweedbank does not mark the “return of council housing” – councillors were told today. (Thursday, January 29)
Members of full council have enthusiastically endorsed a move for SBC to procure a commercial housing development partner by mid-2026 to build the homes on the 34-hectare former Lowood Estate – which the local authority acquired for £11m back in 2018.
The aim is that the first planning application will be submitted by March 2027.
With the Borders facing a housing emergency the new masterplan sets out a people-centred, low carbon neighbourhood capable of delivering 400–550 new homes alongside employment space, retail, community facilities and active travel links.
The new vision is seen as a “significant shift” in how the council approaches housing supply, moving from reliance on a strained market to a coordinated public–private delivery model that aims to unlock stalled development, restore investor confidence and accelerate the creation of high quality, sustainable homes and communities.
But it is not a return to the provision of council homes, Kelso councillor Simon Mountford stressed.
He said: “This will not just help relieve the housing emergency in the Borders but will also serve as a catalyst to unlock housing development on the former Lowood Estate.
“We have to remember that the whole reason for buying this estate was for housing development. Commercial developers in the past have been deterred by the lack of infrastructure and the higher cost of building homes in the Borders.
“We have now tackled the infrastructure problems with the construction of an access road and the plan to connect the estate to the grid.
“But colleagues please be aware that we are not proposing a return to council housing.
“The proposal before us is for a partnership or a joint venture, whereby we supply the land, a commercial developer builds the houses and either an institutional investor or a Registered Social Landlord (RSL) manages them.
“Crucially our ownership of the estate will allow us to ensure that the design and construction of the new homes meets the highest standards that we have always insisted was necessary.”
Councillor Julie Pirone, Conservative for Tweeddale East, added: “As far as I am concerned this could be a game-changer for this council going forward.
“It’s a game-changer for the young people who are Borderers who do not live in our area. There are many, many of them who are desperate to move back to the Borders but are unable to find housing that is suitable to do so.
“If we encourage them back not only can we tackle the housing crisis that we have but it will also mean that we will have more people living in the Borders of working age, which will make us a much more economic area.”
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