Thank you to the member of the public who emailed us on 27 May 2026 telling us they were asked to leave Kingsmeadows House and saying that they have been receiving very conflicting advice about:

1. whether it is private property,
2. if it belongs to the residents or the developers,
3. the right to roam in Scotland [as applies at Kingsmeadows]

and asking Peebles Community Council to clarify. PCC has been working to protect the woodlands and public access at Kingsmeadows for over a decade and we believe it would be in the public interest for us to share our opinion, set out below.

Overview

As we understand it today, the short answers to your questions are:

1. All of the land behind the wall at Kingsmeadows is private property.
2. All of the land behind the wall at Kingsmeadows (except for The Lodge House) is owned by Granton Homes Ltd SC477370 on title PBL5914 (and PBL6298).
3. The public have the right to roam in the East and West Woods, but not elsewhere.

Map of Kingsmeadows with approximate boundaries of East and West woods indicated in blue. Copies of PBL5914 (with relevant maps) can be purchased from the Land Information Service for £3.60. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Current visitors will see that Granton have closed the woodlands (without explanation^[1]). While the woodlands are temporarily closed, there is no public access at Kingsmeadows.

Why can’t I walk in the gardens or along the riverfront?

In January 2016, before Granton sold homes in Kingsmeadows to residents for £3.7m, they added legally binding assurances to the property titles that defined most of the middle third of the estate as a private garden. Private gardens are exempt from the right to roam under Section 6 of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act (the Act).

Peebles Community Council / Trust and Access Officers requested in 2015 and 2019 that a public path be established along the riverbank in front of Kingsmeadows House – but that did not happen (and only received one public comment of support). A barbed wire fence was also added along the Eastern boundary, blocking access between Kingsmeadows and Cavalry Park (possibly around 2018).

Discussions with the Scottish Rights of Way and Access Society (ScotWays) in 2022 and Access Officers in 2022 and 2024 about the middle-third of the estate showed no records of public paths and indicated that the right to roam didn’t apply.

PCC is double-checking with ScotWays and Access Officers

We are aware of recent discussions on Facebook and PCC is again taking advice from ScotWays and Access Officers to double-check:

• Whether the right to roam applies to any of the middle third of the estate;
• Whether anything can be done about the barbed wire fence; and
• Whether necessary consents can be gained to establish a public path on the river.

As always, we encourage members of the public to share relevant information with SBC Access Officers. You can also tell PCC your views in person at the Burgh Hall, 7pm on the 2nd Thursday of each month or via email secretary@ccrbpeebles.co.uk.

Granton originally implied the public would be locked out of the entire estate

On 14 Sep 2015 Peebles Community Council / Trust objected to Granton Homes’ plans and the implication the entire Kingsmeadows estate would become a gated community:

"The sales particulars for the apartments and flats imply that the grounds would be maintained for the sole use of the residents: 'Outside all residents will have access to the private grounds. The main gates will be automated and the entrance to the grounds and mansion house will be controlled by an entry system."

"We wish to draw attention to the contents of "Scottish Outdoor Access Code - Public access to Scotland's outdoors, 2005, which clearly states that such wooded policies of houses must be accessible for the enjoyment of all members of the public. Since these woodlands are well outwith the curtilage of the residences we would contend that they cannot be kept as private grounds."

These comments (and stronger comments from Access Officers) met with success, with the gates at Kingsmeadows remaining open for access to the West woods to this day.

In our opinion, to preserve access, we need to protect the woodland from development

If woodland is lost for housing, that woodland won’t exist for the public to access any more.

Despite publicly stating that they had no plans to build on the woodland (e.g. Peeblesshire News 27 Nov 2014 and 18 July 2015) in 2020 Granton Homes applied to build seven, 5-bedroom homes on the East Woods. After 40 objections, including from Peebles Community Council, Granton withdrew their application after planners advised:

"The proposed development would see a significant number of trees removed from the site, the removal of which has not been justified … The proposal has significant issues which means that it cannot be supported."

Since then, Granton Homes has had three further planning applications refused because of unacceptable impact on the woodlands at Kingsmeadows:

• 2022 refusal by SBC because “the proposal would result in the loss of trees over and above what was accepted in the planning permission in principle.”
• 2024 refusal by SBC because “the proposed development would result in loss of an existing woodland resource.”
• 2025 refusal by SBC because the proposal “would have an adverse impact on the woodland setting of Kingsmeadows House.”

Granton still have one planning application for Kingsmeadows yet to be decided by SBC.

We urge everyone to unite behind the campaign to bring the Kingsmeadows woodlands into community ownership so they can be preserved, for all to enjoy, in perpetuity.

Article feedback secretary@ccrbpeebles.co.uk