Decades-long wait over as green light given to new town at Blindwells

Lengthy discussions surrounding the planned new town at the former opencast mine at Blindwells took place at a meeting of the council’s planning committee yesterday (Wednesday) afternoon, where the first set of plans – one of the largest East Lothian has ever seen, including 1,600 homes, business units, a supermarket, a primary school and various green areas – were given the go-ahead.

However, a secondary school has not been included in the first phase of the plans.

An artist's impression of the completed Blindwells development. See video at the top of the page for a fly-around the streets of Blindwells.

Councillors considered a number of large housing developments at towns and villages throughout the county at yesterday’s meeting.

The biggest of those was at Blindwells, which have been in the pipeline for about 20 years.

READ MORE: Plans for Blindwells to at last be decided

Hargreaves Surface Mining Ltd, which is behind the scheme, was delighted to see it given the go-ahead, despite Councillor David Berry voting to turn the plans down and Councillor Peter MacKenzie abstaining.

The developers say work on the first homes at the site, between Tranent and Longniddry, could be under way in just a year’s time.

How the site currently looks, looking east towards Longniddry

Councillors looked at a 36-page report which recommended they grant approval and covered a range of topics, including potential road issues, infrastructure and the open space on the site.

House building is expected to begin in the north-west corner of the site, near the roundabout linking the A198 and B1361, in a year’s time.

Access would come from the A198 to the west, which is to be widened, and there is the possibility of a new exit being created off the northern roundabout at Bankton Junction of the A1.

Before any housing can be built, individual planning applications need to be submitted from housebuilders, with potentially more than 350 jobs created during the lengthy construction period.

The plans before the councillors for Blindwells, which has been talked about for more than 20 years, could be just the start of development.

Work on 1,600-home Phase 1 is expected to take place over the next 12-15 years, with plans for a second phase of Blindwells, further to the east, also in the pipeline. More phases are expected to follow.

A number of councillors remarked that the scheme was one that had long been mooted.

Fa’side councillor Donald Grant had chaired the Blindwells liaison committee in 1999 and said: “At last, we have a planning application in front of us.

“I’ve always been a supporter of Blindwells. It is a good concept and it was designed to take the pressure off Tranent, Prestonpans and Port Seton – it seemed to be a viable route to go down and I still believe that.”

Labour Party colleague Councillor Willie Innes, council leader, echoed those sentiments and added that one of the benefits of creating a new town was “you can start at the very beginning, take your time and, hopefully, get it right”.

However, there were concerns raised by both Peter MacKenzie and David Berry, both of whom are stepping down as councillors at the local authority elections in May.

Mr MacKenzie, who wanted the matter to be continued as he called for the potential of a footbridge over the railway to be looked at, feared that the road outside the site, the A198, was going to become increasingly busy, something Mr Berry echoed.

Mr MacKenzie said: “I have problems not only with that section of road but teenagers who from time to time will be coming on foot from Preston Lodge High School and then crossing the main Prestonpans road and attempting to cross this smaller section of road.”

Cause problems Council officials mentioned the potential for traffic lights on the A198 but Mr Berry, who said he had previously supported Blindwells, was concerned that the introduction of more traffic on to the road leading to Bankton Junction would cause problems.

READ MORE: Blindwells 'must be done right', says councillor

Early plans for the second phase of development – and an additional 1,600 homes – are already with East Lothian Council and a Proposal of Application Notice (PAN) was submitted 18 months ago. It is likely that a secondary school would only be built if Phase 2 at least was given the green light.

READ MORE: 6,000 homes could be built at Blindwells

A formal planning application, where members of the public would have their say on the proposals, is yet to be submitted.

When that happens, that could see the number of houses on the site double, with early plans also containing space for leisure and education uses, as well as a cemetery.

Work will start on the first phase of new homes early next year.

The site lies adjacent to the A1 and was initially conceived by the council as a way of delivering large numbers of additional houses in a way that eased pressure development pressure in existing communities in the area.

With an initial 1,600 houses (of which 480 are affordable), Blindwells is one of the largest residential developments given the go-ahead in Scotland in recent years.

The proposals include a mix of uses that include 25 acres of employment land that will bring well over 100 jobs to Blindwells in the medium term, a new primary school, a new park-and-ride facility, a site for a new rail halt, playing fields and more than 10 miles of pathways through the parkland and open space. Hargreaves, which owns the site, has been working with the council since 2013 to take the proposals forward.

As well as the construction of new entrances and access points for vehicles, Hargreaves will invest in surrounding roads and infrastructure to ensure to accommodate the extra residents.

An artist's impression of some of the housing at Blindwells.

Iain Slater, development and estates director for Hargreaves, said: “We are obviously delighted that the council has approved our application and we look forward to starting the construction work soon.

“I would like to thank East Lothian Council for its co-operation in helping realise the original vision for a new community at Blindwells.

“East Lothian is one of the most attractive places to live in the UK, and Hargreaves has worked hard to ensure that we create a high-quality new community of which the council and residents can be proud.

“By getting the right balance of housing, green space and facilities, we believe that Blindwells will quickly become a very desirable address for people from East Lothian and beyond.

“Hargreaves has been pleased to use its expertise in land reclamation to realise the aspiration to create a very special new community and we look forward to welcoming our first new residents in the near future. This development has been a long-term commitment and investment for Hargreaves and we see huge potential for further opportunities to expand and enhance this initial phase of housing development. We look forward to taking this phase and future phases forward in partnership with the local community and the council.”