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AN EXPANSION of Elphinstone has been rubber-stamped almost 18 months after councillors gave it the go-ahead. Eighty new homes to the west of the village were approved by members of the local authority’s planning committee in December 2019. Now, the plans have been signed off by the planning department, with various technicalities ironed out. The scheme, which will be built between Tranent Road and the village’s football pitch, will see 76 new houses built alongside four flats. Highland Residential Developments Ltd’s proposals were unanimously approved by the planning committee a week before Christmas in 2019. At that time, Labour councillors Fiona O’Donnell and John McMillan were among those backing the plans.
MORE than £1.3 million will be given to East Lothian Council after a major development on the outskirts of Macmerry was approved. Balfour Beatty Homes will build 122 new homes and 20 flats on the western edge of the village, with work starting in the coming months. As part of the planning approval, the developer will have to put forward money for various improvements in nearby infrastructure. Contributions towards improvements at the village’s primary school, Tranent’s Ross High School, surrounding roads and sporting provision total £1,322,444.20. A spokeswoman for East Lothian Council said: “Section 75 agreements are proportional to the size of any development and, as they are used to improve infrastructure such as any necessary increase in education provision and upgrades or installation of transport links, they are essential in enabling East Lothian Council to ensure development is carried out in a sustainable, controlled way.”