Former Peeblesshire dairy could be a home sweet home

Plans have been revealed to convert a former dairy building into a home sweet home in a remote rural Peeblesshire location.

A proposal has been submitted to Scottish Borders Council for the change of use and alterations to provide a dwelling house from a dairy building/byre east of Southside Steading in the hamlet of Kilbucho.

The existing byre is part of a rural steading with two other existing detached dwellings: the farmhouse and the mill.

The proposed single storey house is to have two bedrooms, accessible bathroom, and an open plan kitchen, dining and living space with a covered connection to a garage all sitting within the footprint of the milking shed.

The existing small stable part of the byre is proposed as an annex with a bedroom, shower room and study space with separate access

A spokesperson for South Queensferry-based architects WT Architecture said: “There has been a settlement at this location since the middle of the 18th century with the majority of the current buildings dating from the latter half of the 19th century.

“The byre is a substantial redundant agricultural building with whin stone and brick external walls to eaves level. The building has a large footprint and is capable of conversion to a dwelling without substantial rebuilding or demolition.

“The applicants would like to restore and enhance the historical features of the existing byre while creating a highly sustainable and contemporary home.

“They would like to keep a low carbon footprint at the forefront of the conversion: minimising new carbon heavy materials, re-using existing materials on site, achieving a high thermal performance and installing new sustainable technologies.

“New materials are to be in keeping with ones that would be traditional used in farm steadings and sensitive to the history of the existing building, such as painted timber and corrugated metal and reclaimed brick.”