Published: Thursday, 8th May, 2008 09:05
New vets surgery is approved
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REVISED plans for a £1.6 million veterinary surgery and canine rehabilitation centre in Haldane Avenue have been given the green light by councillors – despite objections from nearby residents and the town’s community council.
On Tuesday, East Lothian’s planning committee unanimously approved the application by Links Veterinary Group for a “new veterinary surgery, kennels and rehabilitation centre with associated roadways, parking, street lighting and soft landscaping and signage”, at Alderston Field.
The company wants to vacate its existing Haddington surgery in Court Street in favour of a modern state-of-the-art complex on the north-west outskirts of the town.
But its initial plans for the council-owned site caused outrage among adjoining householders when first revealed last autumn.
Then, the application featured a ‘cattle crush’, a special cage used to restrain large animals during surgical operations.
Residents were angered by the potential noise from the kennels and the ‘cattle crush’, claiming they would be kept awake at night by the sounds of distressed animals.
At the time, these claims were dismissed as “ridiculous” by the company. However, it later amended the planning application, dropping the livestock facility and the outdoor kennels altogether.
Instead, it has now gone for an indoor kennels and cattery as part of its proposed range of services.
The community council, while sympathetic to the company’s wish to move to a larger site, objected to the proposed development on grounds of noise, and loss of neighbour privacy and amenity.
Former community council planning liaison officer, Norman Lawrie, claimed the group’s ability to mount a successful challenge to the application could have been compromised by the late disclosure of supporting statements from the applicant.
He told Tuesday’s meeting: “We were not aware of the applicant’s supporting statements until they were published on the council’s website on Friday.
“These statements were an indicator of the 14 sites that the applicant is alleged to have examined before settling on Alderston Field,” he said.
“The community is a statutory consultee, but this information was not in the public domain.”
Local ward councillor Ludovic Broun-Lindsay said: “In principle, I am sympathetic to the applicant’s desire to move, but where else can this go to?
“The new A1 adjoins the site and at times the traffic noise there is quite substantial.
“It seems inconceivable to me that the noise from a vets surgery will drown out that of the traffic on the A1.
“I cannot see any reason for refusing this development, so I am supporting it.”
Glen Watson, a director of the Links Veterinary Group, commented: “We are delighted with the committee’s decision. New facilities are badly needed.”
By law, the committee’s decision must be notified to the Scottish Government.
Construction is expected to start by August, for completion in May 2009.
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