PERMISSION has finally been granted for land at Beveridge Row, near Dunbar, to be turned into housing.

The hotly contested planning application has been in the pipeline for nearly two years and the final decision comes exactly a year after Scottish Government-appointed Reporter Dan Jackman visited the site.

Developer Hallam Land Management had initially appealed to the Scottish Government after East Lothian Council failed to make a decision on their application for planning permission in principle for housing at the site within the allotted timescale.

The Reporter then declared he was minded to approve the application, subject to various details being agreed – despite widespread opposition to the plans.

The final stumbling block centred on the financial contribution to education provision.

A total of £562,610 (£6,251.22 per new house) will be used to create additional accommodation at both West Barns Primary School and Dunbar Grammar School.

Ward councillor Norman Hampshire, East Lothian Council’s housing and environment spokesman, reiterated that the council had held firm to ensure it got the figure it was after.

He said: “We provided a figure and we held on and they have given us that figure.

“We use a formula that is based on lots of development sites.

“The developer has agreed and the contribution is now complete.

“If we had lost this one, other developers would have wanted the money they give reduced.” However, the latest decision does not necessarily mean the end of the issues surrounding the site.

A potential developer would still have to submit detailed plans for the number of houses and the design, which would need to be rubber-stamped by either the local authority or potentially the Scottish Government.

Hallam Land Management now aims to submit detailed plans.

Gary Smith, the company’s Scotland director, was unsure when that would be but added it was likely to be “sooner rather than later”.

He added: “It’s a decision we are pleased with and in agreement with.

“It will deliver some much-needed private and affordable housing for East Lothian.

“We are very pleased and think it is the correct decision.” Dunbar Community Council has been vocal throughout the procedure against the plans, with fears it will erase the gap between West Barns and Belhaven.

Jacquie Bell, vice-chairwoman and secretary of the group, described it as an “appalling decision”.

She said: “It’s losing prime agricultural land for housing where there is no infrastructure for the housing, no public transport and Beveridge Row is really narrow.” She acknowledged the financial contribution to the local schools but questioned if local councillors or planners would have given the scheme the green light.