Published 6 December 2025
A prominent stretch of Peebles High Street looks set for its biggest shake‑up in years, as plans emerge to turn the former William Hill betting shop into a new restaurant just as the building goes under the hammer in a mid‑December online auction. [1]
A new chapter for 62–64 High Street
The focus of attention is 62–64 High Street, a prime town‑centre block currently occupied by the William Hill bookmakers at No. 62 and Calzeat Home, the Scottish textiles and lifestyle store, at No. 64. [2]
A planning application registered with Scottish Borders Council under reference 25/01777/FUL seeks permission for a change of use from bookmakers to restaurant and the installation of an extraction flue at the address “62–64 High Street, Peebles, EH45 8SW”. [3]
Local outlet Midlothian View reports that the proposal would transform the vacant William Hill ground floor into what is described in planning papers as a “quality restaurant”, reusing the existing shopfront and main entrance on to the High Street. [4]
At the same time, commercial agents TSA Property Consultants are marketing the entire two‑unit block “to let / for sale” with planning pending for hot food conversion, advertising a total floor area of around 2,727 sq ft and quoting an annual rent of £40,000 or a sale on an offers‑invited basis. [5]
Separate auction particulars on NovaLoca show the property being offered as an “Income Producing Investment – 2 Retail Units Held on Single F.R.I Lease”, fully let and generating £37,000 per year in rent, with a freehold guide price of £350,000 in a timed online auction scheduled for 18 December 2025. [6]
Put simply: the landlord is looking to sell the William Hill/Calzeat block, William Hill is moving out, and a planning bid is on the table to bring in a restaurant operator in its place.
Inside the plans for a new Peebles restaurant
According to the planning report covered by Midlothian View, the new venue would keep the current High Street doors, leading directly into a main dining space. A bar or servery would sit on one side where customers could have a drink while they wait for a table, with kitchens, preparation areas, storage and a dedicated refuse store to the rear. [7]
External alterations are minimal. The application proposes a galvanised steel extraction vent to disperse kitchen fumes and odours, but otherwise the existing façade would remain largely unchanged — an important consideration in a conservation‑minded town centre. [8]
The supporting design statement argues that:
- Reusing the existing building avoids the impact of a new build.
- Leaving the former bookmakers empty could quickly turn it into a “dis‑amenity” on a key stretch of the High Street.
- Because William Hill is a betting shop rather than a traditional retailer, planners are told there is no net loss of retail in policy terms.
- A lit and active restaurant frontage is expected to “animate” this part of the High Street, especially on dark winter evenings, adding to perceptions of safety and helping Peebles develop an evening economy. [9]
Proposed opening hours are 10am–11pm Sunday to Thursday and 10am–midnight on Fridays and Saturdays, typical of a sit‑down restaurant rather than a late‑night takeaway. [10]
Crucially, the planning documents do not yet identify a named restaurant operator or cuisine – suggesting that the owner is seeking consent first, then either re‑letting the space or marketing it with permission already in place.
High‑street investment: auction, rent and ownership
The auction listing paints a parallel picture from the investor side. The property is being sold as a freehold investment comprising two retail units let on a single full repairing and insuring (FRI) lease, producing £37,000 per year with scope, the agents suggest, to “re‑gear” the lease and increase rent closer to a market level of £43,000–£45,000. [11]
Older sales brochures for the block emphasise its “prime town centre location” and proximity to other national names, while confirming that William Hill is the head tenant and that the two units — currently William Hill and Calzeat Home — sit under one lease. [12]
The more recent TSA brochure, posted on 23 November, goes a step further by flagging that a planning application for hot food / restaurant use has already been submitted, inviting would‑be buyers or tenants to contact the marketing agent for details. [13]
For investors, the timing is significant:
- A restaurant consent could unlock a higher rental value than a traditional betting shop.
- A December auction allows the property to be traded quickly, with a new owner in place early in 2026 – potentially ready to push on with the restaurant fit‑out if permission is granted.
What about Calzeat?
One twist to the story is that the building is not solely a bookmakers. No. 64 is home to Calzeat Home, the retail arm of Calzeat, a respected Scottish manufacturer of woven scarves, throws and other textile accessories. The company advertises its Peebles shop at 64 High Street, open seven days a week. [14]
Neither the planning application nor the marketing material explicitly states that Calzeat will close or relocate. The application’s description focuses on the bookmakers’ use, while the auction listing treats the site as a fully‑let investment at present. [15]
The likeliest short‑term scenario is that:
- William Hill’s direct trading presence in Peebles ceases.
- The restaurant use applies to the space currently occupied by the betting shop.
- Calzeat continues to trade unless and until any future lease restructuring or redevelopment affects its unit.
But the fine detail will depend on the structure of leases, the identity of any purchaser at auction and negotiations with existing occupiers — none of which are yet public.
How did we get here? From banks to bet shops to bistros
Peebles has been here before. In 2021, developer Sava Estates lodged plans to convert the former TSB bank at 78 High Street into an “upmarket” restaurant and takeaway, complete with bar and modern extraction system. [16]
Those plans were later withdrawn after attracting a flurry of objections. Residents raised concerns over odours, late‑night noise, access and what they saw as an over‑provision of eateries in and around the High Street, pointing to a string of long‑vacant restaurant units as evidence that the local market was already saturated. [17]
The William Hill proposal is more tightly framed:
- It emphasises reusing an existing commercial building rather than bringing a new bar/restaurant to a previously banking‑dominated corner. [18]
- The focus is on a sit‑in restaurant; there is no explicit takeaway element in the published summary. [19]
- The planning statement explicitly pitches the scheme as a way of supporting Peebles’ “evening economy” and discouraging long‑term vacancy. [20]
Whether that will prove enough to avoid the TSB saga’s fate will depend on the volume and tone of local responses once the application appears on the council’s public portal.
Betting shops under pressure – and why William Hill is shrinking
The Peebles branch is closing against a tough backdrop for high‑street bookmakers nationwide. Official industry statistics from the Gambling Commission show that the number of betting shops in Great Britain fell to 5,931 between April 2023 and March 2024 – a 1.4% drop in a single year and almost 23% down on the last pre‑pandemic period in 2019–20. [21]
Meanwhile, William Hill’s parent company Evoke has openly warned that it may close around 200 UK shops, putting about 1,500 jobs at risk, as it braces for potential increases in gambling taxes under the UK government’s autumn budget. [22]
Industry commentators note that:
- Online betting continues to grow, eating into the profitability of physical shops. [23]
- Retail gambling revenues have been on a long, gentle decline, with recent data suggesting a further 5% quarter‑on‑quarter fall. [24]
Against that backdrop, William Hill’s decision to exit a relatively small market town like Peebles — while disappointing for staff and regulars — is not surprising. For the High Street, however, it creates an opportunity to repurpose a well‑located unit into something that keeps people in town longer in the evenings.
Is Peebles’ High Street strong enough to support another restaurant?
Despite the national gloom around bricks‑and‑mortar retail, Peebles continues to outperform many Borders towns on key town‑centre indicators.
The council’s Footfall Report 2021 found that Peebles High Street recorded the highest weekly footfall of any of the nine surveyed Borders town centres, even though overall numbers had dipped since 2011. [25]
The latest Town Centre & Retail Survey, updated in summer 2025, shows that:
- Peebles’ retail vacancy rate has risen from 3% in winter 2021 to 7% (11 vacant units).
- Even so, that remains well below the Scottish Borders average of 12%, and the town is still described as “performing well”. [26]
The community‑led Plan for Peebles 2024–2034 stresses sustainable growth, concern over pressure on local roads and services, and a desire for residents to be more closely involved in shaping new development. [27]
Taken together, those documents suggest:
- Peebles is not a struggling ghost‑town High Street; it is relatively busy, with comparatively few empty shops.
- There is room for new uses, but residents are sensitive to over‑development, traffic and the balance of businesses in the town centre.
That tension was on display during the TSB restaurant debate, when objectors argued that Peebles already had plenty of takeaways and that several food units had sat empty for years. [28]
The William Hill proposal tries to tap into the positives – more evening activity, a wider dining offer, re‑use of a long‑term commercial unit – while sidestepping some of the negatives by emphasising quality and avoiding an explicit late‑night takeaway focus.
Early reaction: cautious optimism rather than outright backlash
Full public comments on the William Hill application are not yet visible on the Scottish Borders Council portal, but early social‑media chatter points to a somewhat warmer reception than the TSB plan received.
A Facebook preview of the Peeblesshire News piece linking to the story — headlined along the lines of “Plans lodged to convert Peebles bookies into a restaurant” — drew light‑hearted support, with one commenter joking that they would “wager £20 it gets approved.” [29]
Border Telegraph’s own teaser, trailing its coverage of “plans lodged to convert Borders bookies into a restaurant”, has also been widely shared locally. [30]
That doesn’t mean there won’t be objections once neighbours pore over the application details — particularly around odour control, late‑night noise and potential impacts on nearby homes. But the tone so far appears more curious than hostile.
How the decision could play out
Scottish Borders Council typically takes several weeks to determine straightforward town‑centre change‑of‑use applications, longer if objections trigger a referral to the planning committee. Based on normal timelines, a decision on 25/01777/FUL is likely in early 2026. [31]
Factors in favour of approval may include:
- Policy support for reusing existing commercial premises and strengthening town‑centre leisure and evening uses. [32]
- The limited external changes, reducing heritage and streetscape impacts. [33]
- The argument that replacing a betting shop with a restaurant does not reduce retail floor space, in planning‑policy terms. [34]
Issues that could count against the scheme include:
- Any evidence that cooking odours might affect neighbouring residential properties despite the proposed extraction system. [35]
- Concerns that Peebles already has enough eateries, echoing the objections that derailed the 78 High Street TSB scheme in 2021. [36]
- Potential conflicts between the proposed opening hours and residential amenity in surrounding closes and upper‑floor flats. [37]
If permission is granted, the combination of an approved restaurant consent and a fresh owner emerging from the 18 December auction would make it realistic — though not guaranteed — for a new venue to open sometime in 2026, subject to fit‑out, licensing and any further consents.
What to watch next
For local residents, business owners and would‑be diners, the key milestones to keep an eye on over the coming weeks and months are:
- Outcome of the 18 December auction – which will reveal who owns 62–64 High Street going into 2026 and how aggressively they might pursue a restaurant strategy. [38]
- Publication of full planning documents and neighbour comments on the Scottish Borders Public Access Portal, showing whether the mood mirrors the TSB controversy or signals a shift towards embracing more evening‑economy uses. [39]
- Any public statements from Calzeat, clarifying whether its much‑loved High Street store will remain in situ, relocate within Peebles, or be unaffected by the change of use next door. [40]
For now, what’s clear is that a small blue betting shop frontage has become the focal point of a much bigger story: the ongoing evolution of Peebles High Street as it navigates the decline of in‑person gambling, the rise of destination dining, and a community determined to shape its own future.
References
1. www.midlothianview.com, 2. calzeat.com, 3. planning.org.uk, 4. www.midlothianview.com, 5. tsa-property.co.uk, 6. www.novaloca.com, 7. www.midlothianview.com, 8. www.midlothianview.com, 9. www.midlothianview.com, 10. www.midlothianview.com, 11. www.novaloca.com, 12. propertylinkassets.estatesgazette.com, 13. tsa-property.co.uk, 14. calzeat.com, 15. planning.org.uk, 16. www.thesouthernreporter.co.uk, 17. www.thesouthernreporter.co.uk, 18. www.midlothianview.com, 19. www.midlothianview.com, 20. www.midlothianview.com, 21. www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk, 22. www.theguardian.com, 23. www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk, 24. sbcnews.co.uk, 25. www.scotborders.gov.uk, 26. www.scotborders.gov.uk, 27. place.ccrbpeebles.co.uk, 28. www.thesouthernreporter.co.uk, 29. www.facebook.com, 30. www.facebook.com, 31. www.scotborders.gov.uk, 32. www.scotborders.gov.uk, 33. planning.org.uk, 34. www.midlothianview.com, 35. www.midlothianview.com, 36. www.thesouthernreporter.co.uk, 37. www.midlothianview.com, 38. www.novaloca.com, 39. www.scotborders.gov.uk, 40. calzeat.com
