A GROUP of residents living at new housing in Musselburgh next to the Tesco Extra store have complained about a lack of privacy.

They say they are being overlooked by customers at the supermarket car park who can see through the fence into the communal garden area in front of their ground-floor properties at Mill House on Eskmills Road, which is managed by Dunedin Canmore Housing Association.

Margaret and Keith Morris moved from a Dunedin Canmore property in Bathgate last September into the phase two of Mill House – an amenity housing development for residents aged 55 and over.

Mrs Morris said: “There is no privacy whatsoever.

“People who park in the car park have been waving in.

“There were two young guys in a van and I was hanging out my washing and one was nudging the other.

I thought ‘I’m not having this’ – it’s ridiculous.

“It was Keith’s birthday recently and we had a barbecue. They were sitting lined up in their cars looking to see what was going on.

“I have sat outside with my breakfast some mornings and have had to lift my bowl of cereal and walk back in the house.”

Mrs Morris said that although there were some trees along the boundary, they shed their leaves in the autumn, leaving the area bare.

She claimed that she and her husband had called on the housing association for permission to fill in the gaps in the fence to allow more privacy but claimed they had been told they couldn’t as another resident liked it that way.

“We wanted to get these slats which are only 94p. We would pay for them and fill in the spaces,” she added.

She said they also called for a fence to be installed to stop people using an area past their flats as a shortcut to Tesco, claiming they were dumping rubbish including cans and bottles en route.

Neighbour Fiona Wilson said that motorists ate and slept in their vehicles and let their dogs out of cars.

“We are entitled to some sort of privacy,” she added.

“We can’t go out – everybody’s looking at us.

“My bedroom is also to the front.”

Another resident, who declined to be named agreed, saying: “We are getting no privacy and I can’t even sit out in the back garden for people looking in.”

Alan Glasgow, Dunedin Canmore housing director, said: “We are aware there are a small number of residents at Eskmills Road who have concerns about the garden fence.

“We’ll continue to work with the community and local partners to see what can be done to help further increase privacy when people are using the nearby car park.”

Dunedin Canmore stated that the pathway being used as a shortcut was the responsibility of East Lothian Council.