Scottish Borders Council declared a housing emergency more than two years ago.
It came after a report highlighted the “significant challenges” the local authority was facing in ensuring people had access to homes which met their needs.
The Local Democracy Service reported at the time that the number of applications for social housing properties had doubled in five years – with SBHA receiving 104 bids for just five new homes at its latest development in Kelso.
SBC’s planning committee councillor Sandy Scott told a meeting on Monday that the plans at Heather Mills constituted a “very welcome and exciting application”.
“We have a housing emergency,” he said.
“The plan is to build 9,000 new homes in the next 10 years across the Scottish Borders and this fits that.”