PLANS to build 90 houses in a major expansion of Elphinstone have been lodged with East Lothian Council.
Highland Development Ltd, which is based in Edinburgh, has applied for planning permission to build the houses on land on the western edge of the village.
And the company’s development masterplan highlights the possibility of building even more houses – potentially another 90 – by building on fields to the north.
 The developer also believes that land behind the village primary school could be used to build a school extension to cope with the increase in residents.
Concerns have been raised by the local community association about how the new housing, if approved, would affect traffic. 
Access to the housing would be off the main B6414 road into Elphinstone.
The masterplan, however, claims that the new housing would be in keeping with the historic growth of Elphinstone and points out that the land involved has been identified in East Lothian Council’s draft Local Development Plan as a potential housing site.
It states: “The character and identity of Elphinstone is created by pockets of low density residential developments which have been built up over different periods of the town’s history.
“The masterplan should respond to these positive features within the village and its surroundings, taking precedent from existing streetscapes whilst creating new residential streets and routes through the new development.
“Features such as the pedestrian network and open space could provide opportunities for the new settlement to integrate into the community.
“The result should be a special place which contributes to the characteristics of Elphinstone, preserving its cultural and historical associations, creating a new 21st-century neighbourhood which fully respects its location, history and context.”
Opponents to the development have raised concerns at the size of the site.
Although the planning application only involves a 25-acre section of the overall site, when the entire area which is proposed for eventual development is considered, it almost doubles the size of the village itself.
And they say an “informal path” included in the developers’ planning application actually goes through private properties and is therefore not possible.
They have quizzed developers about plans to ensure the route into the site is safe during construction and beyond, and the impact additional housing will have on a community which already has, they claim, above average power and water supply cuts.
They have also called for guarantees that construction will give local people jobs.