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Scottish Borders Planning Applications: A 2026 Guide

Bhavesh Ramburn

Scottish Borders planning applications: which authority handles yours?

If you are searching for a planning application in Galashiels, Hawick, Peebles, Kelso, Selkirk, Jedburgh, Melrose, Innerleithen, Eyemouth, or anywhere in the Scottish Borders council area, the responsible Local Planning Authority (LPA) is Scottish Borders Council (often abbreviated SBC). The planning service can be accessed via the Planning service page.

The Scottish Borders is a large rural region in the south of Scotland, stretching from the Pentland Hills and the Moorfoots in the north to the Cheviots and the English border in the south. It has many historic market towns, conservation areas, listed buildings, and areas of designated landscape.

How the Scottish planning system applies in the Borders

The Borders are in Scotland, so the relevant statute is the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997, not the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 that applies in England and Wales. Permitted Development rights are granted by the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Scotland) Order 1992, and the development plan framework is set out in the council’s Local Development Plan.

The practical consequences for a Borders applicant are:

  • There is no separate Planning Portal for Scotland. Applications are submitted through eplanning.scot, the national portal operated on behalf of all 32 Scottish LPAs.
  • The class numbers and PD limits differ from England and Wales. Many small extensions, outbuildings, and changes of use that are PD in England require a full application in Scotland.
  • Listed building and conservation-area protections apply separately and run in parallel with planning permission.
  • Short-term letting (Airbnb-style) requires both planning consideration and a separate short-term let licence under the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982, as amended by the Housing (Scotland) Act 2021 — see our Airbnb and short-term let guide for the licensing regime.

For a worked example of how the Scottish system operates in a different council area, see our Aberdeen planning applications guide, which covers the Local Planning Authority landscape and the eplanning.scot submission portal in detail. For another eastern Scotland walkthrough, see our Angus planning guide.

How to view or comment on a current SBC planning application

Public access to the live application register is a statutory right under section 36 of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997. Two routes to find and respond to an application:

  1. Via eplanning.scot. The national portal aggregates casework from all 32 Scottish LPAs and supports saved searches and email alerts. Most Borders applications appear here within a few working days of validation.
  2. Via Scottish Borders Council directly. The council’s planning applications page provides a route to the public register and contact details for the case officer handling a particular application.

Members of the public have at least 14 days from the date an application is advertised (site notice and/or neighbour letter) to submit written comments. Comments must relate to material planning considerations — impact on amenity, design, traffic, ecology, residential amenity, or compliance with the local development plan. Comments that are vexatious or relate solely to private disputes (boundary walls, party walls, loss of a view) cannot be taken into account.

Application fees and statutory timelines

Application fees in Scotland are set centrally by the Scottish Government and updated annually. As of the most recent fee order, indicative fees for the most common SBC application types are:

  • Householder application (alterations or extensions to an existing dwelling): around £401.
  • Full planning permission for a new dwelling: around £482 plus £107 for each additional dwelling.
  • Change of use: varies by class, typically £482 or higher.
  • Prior notification / Prior Approval (where applicable under the Scottish GPDO): around £107.

The statutory determination period is 8 weeks for householder and most local applications, and 12 weeks for major developments (defined under the Town and Country Planning (Hierarchy of Developments) (Scotland) Regulations 2009). Scottish Borders Council generally meets these targets but can extend via a “further information” request, which resets the clock.

When you need full planning permission in the Borders

You will need a full application if you are:

  • Building a new dwelling or commercial building.
  • Changing the use of a building or land between use classes (the Scottish use-classes order is not identical to the English one).
  • Altering or extending a listed building — Listed Building Consent is a separate application that runs in parallel. The Borders has a very substantial stock of listed buildings, particularly in the historic burghs of Melrose, Kelso, Jedburgh, and Selkirk.
  • Working in a Conservation Area — most of the Borders’ market towns have at least one Conservation Area where many PD rights are withdrawn.
  • Working in or near a designated site such as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The Borders includes parts of the River Tweed SSSI network and several upland SSSIs.

For an England-and-Wales overview of the equivalent Permitted Development regime — useful if you also own a property south of the border — see our guide on Permitted Development Rights in 2026. It is not a substitute for Scottish advice.

Next steps and resources

Editorial note. This article is for guidance only and does not constitute regulated advice. The Scottish Borders are in Scotland: planning law is devolved and differs materially from England and Wales. For project-specific questions, consult a chartered planning professional registered with the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI).