Councillors have rejected plans to build houses in ‘beautiful’ countryside next to a field used for scout camps.

Plans for two new three bedroom houses on land on the edge of the hamlet of Borthwick, in Midlothian, would have seen a disused scout hut demolished to make way for them.

However a meeting of Midlothian Council’s planning committee this week heard the field next to it was still used as a campsite for scouts and planners said they had received nearly 50 objections to the proposals.

They also received 10 letters of support but officers recommended elected members reject the application saying it was not a ‘sustainable development’.

They said claims by the applicant that the site was not remote and near Gorebridge and would not be ‘car dependent’ were inaccurate with the ne

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