THE county’s MSP has described plans for up to 150 new homes on a farmer’s field between Fishergate Road and Seton View, Port Seton, as “inappropriate”.

Some nearby residents are furious that the land, which is currently classed as agricultural, has been targeted by developers.

East Lothian MSP Iain Gray met with people living at Seton View last week and backed their calls for the proposal – which he described as “piecemeal” – to be scrapped.

Speaking after the meeting with residents, Mr Gray said: “I don’t generally make a habit of getting involved in local planning decisions, which are a matter for councillors, but I am more than fed up with local decisions about these issues being overturned, as we have seen so often in the past, by SNP Ministers.

“The site is not among those identified by the council for potential future development and seems inappropriate on a number of levels, not least the impact it will have on the local amenity.

“East Lothian needs to take its fair share of new housing but it must do so in a planned, strategic way, and that is what the council is trying to do in its local plan.

“Piecemeal developments which don’t fit into the bigger picture can cause damage to communities and I believe this proposal falls into that category.”