A historic country mansion in Melrose in the Scottish Borders is set to be demolished at a cost of £440,000 rather than renovated.
Scottish Borders Council bought Lowood House and its estate, near Melrose, from its private owners for almost £10m in 2018 but its condition is now deteriorating through lack of use.
The council’s preferred option is to flatten the house designed by Robert Reid in the early 19th century, so that more of the 110-acre estate on the banks of the River Tweed can be developed.
The council bought the estate to provide land for new housing in the area, five miles from Tweedbank railway station, but has been unable to find a new use for Lowood.
