INDUSTRIAL units destroyed in a major fire at the end of last year could be rebuilt.

Hundreds of thousands of pounds’ worth of damage was caused following the fire at units at Fenton Barns.

The blaze raged for more than 12 hours and all the units affected were destroyed.

Now, plans have been submitted to see 10 replacement industrial units built on the site, off the B1345 north of Drem.

DC Watson and Sons, which owns Fenton Barns, is behind the plans to see the industrial units rebuilt.

Keith Chalmers Watson, managing director, was hoping that securing planning permission would be relatively straight forward.

He said: “We will have to wait another month to get consent, which I am hoping will not be difficult. It is only a replacement and I’m hoping it is nothing too serious.”

Since the fire, work has been carried out on the site to remove the damaged buildings and get things ready for the potential new units.

Already, tenants at Fenton Barns have been approached about the possibility of using the buildings.

If planning permission is given, it is expected the new units would be marketed for potential tenants.

Police investigations are continuing into the incident, which took place on December 5 last year.

The industrial units were used for a variety of purposes, from a car garage to a gym, and storage for classic organs.

Firefighters from North Berwick, East Linton and Haddington were initially called to the fire before colleagues from Newcraighall, Sighthill and Tollcross were also called out.

Mr Chalmers Watson said: “It was pretty upsetting for the eight units who lost all their contents – that was the worst of it.

“There were cars, an engineering outfit, a joiner – they lost everything.

“It has not been a good time for anybody.”

Following the fire, Detective Constable Gavin Morrison, of Dalkeith CID, urged members of the public to get in touch with any information.

He said: “This fire has caused substantial damage to these units, which will incur a significant financial cost to repair.”

A spokeswoman for Police Scotland confirmed they would welcome any information about the blaze.

She said: “Police in East Lothian investigated a wilful fireraising, which took place in the Fenton Barns area on Monday, December 5, 2016.

“Extensive enquiries, including the use of forensics, were conducted and any new information received will be thoroughly investigated.

“Anyone with information about this is urged to contact Police Scotland on 101 or speak to the charity Crimestoppers anonymously via 0800 555 111.”