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Edinburgh Reporter
4 days ago
- General
- Edinburgh Reporter
East Lothian Council double doors refusal ‘unfair'
The owner of a rural steading has accused East Lothian planners of behaving unfairly after they denied them permission to open a narrow doorway into double doors to allow 'wheelchair access'. Sandesh Pal has appealed to Scottish Ministers to step in after the council's planners rejected their application to install French doors in the Category A listed building , in Innerwick, despite mirroring the design on their neighbours door entrances. And they said the narrow door 'hinders wheelchair access for family members and visitors with disabilities, making these alterations necessary'. In their appeal to Scottish Ministers they say planning decisions at the Hunters Steading site, which was converted to housing more than 20 years ago, have been inconsistent with double doors and a roof window they applied for refused despite similar plans being approved for neighbours in the past. They say: 'The council's refusal cited potential harm to the building's historic fabric and visual imbalance, rejecting the roof window and door extension as modern interventions inconsistent with the character of the listed building. 'However, the proposed roof window matches already accepted on neighbouring properties and is hidden from public view. The door extension would use timber-framed doors consistent with existing features, alongside detailed stonework exact to match neighbouring properties and current buildings character, challenging the council's characterization of the changes as modern and intrusive.' In their appeal they point to planning permissions which have been granted to neighbours in recent years for similar changes to their homes in the steading, including double doors and windows. They said: 'Currently, there are a number of properties in the Hunter Steading development that have double door openings or windows on wall openings, enlarged. These inconsistent decisions appear to be unfair.' East Lothian Council refused permission for the roof window and double doors saying they would 'harmfully disrupt and unbalance' the look of the building, adding that the 'modern' double doors would be 'alien' to the character of the listed building. However the application said: 'The design includes an exact mirror image of stone lintels and stone sizes, precisely matching the existing openings.' The appeal is currently available for viewing on the Scottish Ministers appeal website. By Marie Sharp Local Democracy Reporter Like this: Like Related
Edinburgh Reporter
5 days ago
- Business
- Edinburgh Reporter
Controversial ‘open space' housing plans revealed
Fresh plans for housing on a grassland originally set aside for a public park for residents in Wallyford have been lodged with East Lothian Council. Taylor Wimpey's plans to create more than 90 new homes at the edge of the estate include 84 houses – over half of which will have four bedrooms – and nine two bedroom flats with no affordable housing included. They come more than a year after councillors refused to grant permission for around 150 new homes on the land, which had originally been earmarked as open space. At the time developers of the overall site which has seen hundreds of homes already built around it East Lothian Development Ltd (ELDL) argued that the estate provided lots of open space across the site and did not need the additional park land. Councillors described the move as 'a step too far' and 'too much icing on the cake', however Scottish Ministers backed an appeal by the company overturning the decision and approving the plans. Now Taylor Wimpey have submitted their proposals for a smaller number of homes on the site which will go before the council's planning committee next week. A report to councillors recommending they back the new plans says: 'In his decision letter, the (Scottish Government) reporter concluded that he was satisfied that the other open space areas to be provided over the whole Wallyford/Dolphingstone expansion area were adequate to serve future residents of the expansion area without the need for the whole of the land of the appeal site to be provided for the large, consolidated area of open space, and granted planning permission in principle for a residential development of it, with a small part of the appeal site accommodating an open space area. 'All of the 84 houses and 9 flats to be erected on the site would be for private sale. The houses would comprise of 15 different house types, with 42 being terraced, 6 being semi-detached and 36 detached. 'Of the 84 houses, 44 would have 4 bedrooms, 24 would have 3 bedrooms and 16 would have 2 bedrooms. The 9 flats would all have 2 bedrooms.' The report notes that following the Scottish Ministers decision councillors cannot refuse consent for the housing but can have a say on determining the design, landscape and appearance of the site. By Marie Sharp Local Democracy Reporter Like this: Like Related
Edinburgh Reporter
6 days ago
- Business
- Edinburgh Reporter
East Lothian battery storage plant faces council objections
Plans for a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) on land near Dunbar are set to be opposed by East Lothian Council over a lack of information about road safety, impact on the countryside and flood risks. The proposal for the land at Pitcox, near the Biel Water, will be decided by the Scottish Government's Energy Consent Unit, but East Lothian Council is able to object as a statutory consultee. Officers have raised concerns about missing information in the application as well as some which they say lacks detail. In a report to councillors, officers highlight a lack of information and assessment in the landscape reports over the loss of hedgerow important to the character of the area and its visual impact. They say the proposed entrances for the site during construction fail to meet the required visibility distances with no mitigations offered to address the issue and there is insufficient information on the risks of surface water flooding. Speaking about the impact on the land itself, the council's landscaping officers said: 'We object due to lack of information and possible/likely loss of hedgerows important to the character of the area. Changing levels within the site may also impact on the adjacent hedgerow and trees. 'No information has been provided on this and this may have a greater impact on the existing landscape than suggested. Overall, we do have a number of concerns over the accuracy of the information submitted for consideration and we would ask that the additional information is submitted for our consideration.' The proposed BESS has been applied for by AEUK Battery Project and includes 80 BESS units, 200 metres of underground cabling, two emergency fire tanks, and safety fencing around the site. The applicants say construction is estimated to take up to 32 weeks if given the go ahead but once it is built is is expected there would only be one or two vehicle visits to the site each month. Local community councils have raised concerns from locals about the safety of the site and its impact on the area and officers recommend Energy Consent Unit considers the views of the organisations in its decision making. Councillors will be asked to debate the proposals and the council's response at a planning meeting next week after Councillor Donna Collins called it in because of local concerns. If council objections cannot be resolved with the applicants a public inquiry is likely to be held to decide the application. By Marie Sharp Local Democracy Reporter Like this: Like Related
Edinburgh Reporter
08-08-2025
- Business
- Edinburgh Reporter
Listed house owner bids for permission to grow vegetables
The owners of a listed house have applied for planning permission to create a working fruit and vegetable garden in its grounds. Plans to create a working domestic garden on the site of a former greenhouse in a walled garden space at Rosedate, on the edge of Rosewell, have been lodged with Midlothian planners. Rosedale was once the home of Archibald Hood, an entrepreneur who began mining at Whitehill Colliery in 1856 and established the colliery village of Rosewell before going on to set up collieries in Wales. The property is Category C listed and its current owners have applied for Listed Building Consent to change the landscaping around the house to incorporate the new kitchen gardens. It says the changed will 'improve the existing landscaping around the address and create a working vegetable garden on the site of the greenhouse base.' Concrete paving around the house will be replaced by limestone which it says is more in keeping with the house itself and new gravel pathways will replace old broken tarmac paths. The design statement for the new plans says: 'The location of the old greenhouse base is to be used for a new domestic sized greenhouse and a fruit cage will be installed next to, but not attached to, the old garden wall. 'The rest of the garden is to be improved with a mix of lawns, ornamental planting, trees and a wildlife pond.' The plans are currently available to view on the Midlothian Council planning portal. By Marie Sharp Local Democracy Reporter Like this: Like Related
Edinburgh Reporter
06-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Edinburgh Reporter
Dalkeith Country Park adventure playground tree maze plans revealed
Plans to extend a popular Midlothian adventure playground with a giant tree maze have been lodged with planners. The Buccleuch Estate, which operates Fort Douglas at Dalkeith Country Park, has applied to extend the boundary of the play park on a site of nearly 2 hectares – equivalent to almost four football pitches. The plans for the land, which is mainly covered in Douglas Fir trees show the creation of a maze within the trees as the operators look to 'continue enhancements and new attractions'. It is the latest in a line of planning applications and expansions at the park in recent years. Plans have also been lodged to put new shelters on the site. Two years ago the park applied for permission to expand its space to create more space for picnics and amenity space for families as its continued development of the attractions meant there was less open space. And in 2021 the Buccleuch Estate was granted planning permission to add two giant jumping pillows to the adventure playground. The estate has been praised by the council in the past for creating the play park around trees rather than removing them. The latest proposals also plan to work around the trees with no plans to remove any of them. Instead they are applying to move deer fencing to the wider boundary and create a new larger playground area. The plans can be viewed on the Midlothian Council planning portal. By Marie Sharp Local Democracy Reporter Like this: Like Related
