CONTROVERSIAL proposals for 150 houses to the south of Gullane are now with East Lothian Council.

CALA Management Ltd, which held a two-day community exhibition in the village in March, which looked at plans for both Saltcoats Field and Fenton Gait East, submitted the proposals to the local authority last month.

The Saltcoats Field site, the larger of the two sites, would include 150 homes, including 38 affordable units.

A number of concerns have already been raised by members of the public, as well as the formation of campaign group Gullane Opposes Over Development (GOOD), who would prefer to see the former Scottish Fire and Rescue Service College site, off Main Street, developed.

The group said they were “disappointed but unsurprised” by the planning application.

According to the design and access statement: “Places develop and grow, and Gullane is no different in this respect and has evolved over time, with neighbourhoods being established as the village has grown from the historic village centre and expanded to the northwest and to the north and south of Main Street.

“Due to the restrictions of the golf courses and coastal land to the north and west, it has been inevitable that the village has expanded in an eastward direction.

“The Saltcoats Field site represents the next logical step in the growth of the village that will help to create a balanced north-south settlement patter which will reflect the form of development to the north of Main Street.”

Among the concerns being raised by members of the community is how the development would impact upon the existing infrastructure in the village.

The document states: “An appropriate scale of new housing development within Gullane would enhance the viability of existing local businesses and services, potentially encouraging further local investment.

“This would in turn increase the vitality and viability of Gullane, making it an even more sustainable and desirable location to live, to the benefit of all residents and the wider East Lothian economy.”

Further details of the design of the houses would be included at a later stage, while space has also been left to the west of the site for the potential expansion of Gullane Primary School, which sits to the north of the site.

The GOOD spokesman said: “The Gullane Opposes Over-Development (GOOD) campaign is disappointed but unsurprised by CALA’s submission of a planning application for 150 houses on the greenfield site of Saltcoats Field.

“This application is untimely, as its approval would undoubtedly influence East Lothian Council’s new Local Development Plan, which has not been agreed yet, and also compromise the delivery of the brownfield site at the Scottish Fire Services College.

“GOOD continues to support development of this brownfield site, reflecting the Scottish Planning Policy that brownfield development should occur before that of greenfield sites.

“It is our understanding that when the council considers the planning application for Saltcoats Field it will not take account of previous objections.

“We therefore urge all those who oppose development on this site to lodge objections with the council by the deadline of Friday, September 2.

“GOOD is holding an information evening on Wednesday, August 24 in The Mallard Hotel from 7.30pm to provide help and information to anyone who wishes to object.”