- Conservation Area
- Peebles
- Conservation Area Statement
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The Conservation Area covers a large part of Peebles, including the entire town centre. Peebles has a long history dating back to the 12th century when the town was awarded its status of Royal Burgh.
Peebles flourished with the arrival of the industrial revolution, and in particular the expansion of the woollen industry and the introduction of the railway.
The Town Centre takes in parts of both The Old Town and The New Town including the High Street with its rich assortment of commercial properties and churches.
The Old Town is, as its name suggests, the oldest part of Peebles and includes St Andrews Church Tower and cemetery. The church dates back to the 12th century.
Many of the properties in the Biggiesknowe area and in the north side are one and two storey cottages of a vernacular design.
In the south side of the Old Town properties tend to be tenements and commercial premises, with an urban character.
The three churches within the New Town dominate the skyline at both ends of the town centre. The Old Parish Church with its crown steeple sits high, on the site of the castle, at the west end. The tall steeple of the Leckie Memorial Church and the lesser steeple of the Eastgate Church terminate the east end of the centre. The Leckie Memorial Church also dominates the Tweed Green.
Within the New Town the rig pattern is still evident. Behind the facades of both sides of the High Street and the west part of Eastgate the narrow passages have been built-up and lead to internal courts that serve a large number of small premises.
Of particular interest is Parliament Square, at the west end of the south side of the High Street, which is said to have been a site of a meeting of the Scottish Parliament in 1346.
Within the Peebles Conservation Area there are also a considerable number of residential properties on either side of the River Tweed.
Housing to the north consists mainly of terraces, semi-detached and villa style properties that were built in the 19th century. Along the south side of the Tweed, to the east and to the south, 19th century villas and mansion style properties are found. Peebles Conservation Area is not only made up of large groups of buildings but also of the substantial areas of landscape, planting and individual trees. Tweed Green and Ninian’s Haugh are the most significant areas of green open space but there are other areas within the Conservation Area. Tweed Green has had a long history and strong visual presence within Peebles. Originally it was a communal drying green.
It is evident that within the Peebles Conservation Area there is a wide range of building types, styles and periods. These all reflect the history, diversity and development of the town. Properties range from single storey and upwards, depending on location. Building materials vary from whin stone, sandstone, harl, slate and in some instances a flat red clay tile. Architectural details range significantly, transom lights, fanlights, rybats, margins, dormers, quoins, along with a wide range of other elaborate details such as turrets within the Conservation Area.
As all of these elements contribute to the Conservation Area, together they all form its character, any new development or alterations must respect the individual building and the wider Conservation Area. It is therefore important that all of these individual features are taken into account.
There are currently 130 listed buildings within the Peebles Conservation Area and four Scheduled Ancient Monuments. - Designation, adoption and boundary information
- Alterations to the Peebles Conservation Area boundary from that shown in the Tweeddale Local Plan (1996) consist of the inclusion of Victoria Park and number of properties to the south, Kingsmeadow House, Whitestone Park and Kerfield Park, the Peebles Hydro Hotel and a number of properties along the Innerleithen Road, as well as some properties on the Edderston Road, Frankscroft and along Chambers Terrace. Haylodge Park is also proposed for inclusion. Exclusions consist of the Gordon Bank, Marchcroft and Glencree – all located along The Mount, and a single property on Connor Street. General tidying of the boundary was also undertaken so that it follows boundaries on the ground.
- Download boundary map
- Peebles Conservation Area
- Contact
- Heritage and Design Officer
- Online Form
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