A CLEAR the air planning bid at Borders General Hospital has been given the green light.

Scottish Borders Council has rubber-stamped an application from NHS Borders for the installation of an air handing unit within a fenced enclosure at the hospital’s Macmillan Unit.

An air handling unit is the heart of central air conditioning. 

It collects outside air and room air, removes dust and other particles from the collected air, adjusts the temperature and humidity and then supplies comfortable and refreshing air-conditioned air into the rooms through ducts.

In her report approving the application, Julie Hayward, SBC’s lead planning officer, said: “The proposal is to install an air handling unit within the main hospital complex.

"This would be sited within an enclosure on the south elevation of the building, with 1.8m high timber fencing and a canopy over constructed of 10mm thick clear twin wall polycarbonate panels.

“The proposal is required for the operation of the hospital and this complies with policies. This would be a small-scale development, discretely located within the main hospital building complex and not prominent from outwith the hospital grounds.

“The proposal would not harm the visual amenities of the area. There are no residential properties within the vicinity of the site and so the proposal would not harm light or privacy.”