Locals are reacting with growing concern to egg giant Glenrath Farms’ application to take down gates set up to reduce traffic on a C road to and from its Blyth Bank Farm, near West Linton.
Scotland’s largest egg producer was asked to erect the gates to its Hamiltonhall steading, Romanno Bridge, to curtail access via the Bogsbank Road when it received the go-ahead in 2007 for nine sheds for free range hens.
Glenrath Farms’ managing director Ian Campbell said the family’s cattle and sheep farm traffic used the C road and, if the poultry business needed to, they rang the council’s enforcement officer for permission. But the gates are “impractical” he said, adding the company was applying “so we can use the farm in a normal agricultural way”.
Opposing, neighbour David Dickson said: “Glenrath has consistently and blatantly breached the condition by using the Bogsbank Road for poultry-related traffic.
“There are more folk using the road. There have been goodness knows how many near-misses. It’s dangerous.”
SBC’s roads planning officials oppose the gates’ removal, saying: “To remove the barrier would remove the inconvenience and lead to increased use of the C road.”
The local community council was to discuss the issue at last night’s meeting.
Chairman Iain Lamb said: “We’ve been approached by people concerned about this. We have always taken the view that safety is paramount.”