Published: Thursday, 4th February, 2010 6:00am

Landmark quest for homes in countryside is thrown out

A LANDMARK bid to build two new houses on the site of a builder's yard on the outskirts of Gullane has come unstuck.

A first-ever meeting of East Lothian Council's Local Review Body (Planning) board decided last Thursday that the building of the properties in the village's Saltcoats Road would breach current planning guidelines.

Councillors feared approving the scheme could "open the floodgates" to residential development in the countryside. The East Lothian Local Plan 2008 criteria states that no residential development can be erected within an agricultural site unless it provides wider economic benefit to the surrounding countryside, such as providing agriculture-related employment or supporting a farming venture.

The Saltcoats Road site is currently occupied by David Morin Builders Ltd which wants to move to new premises near to Drem, and hoped to implement a ruling stating that new homes could be built in the countryside if there was "a wider public benefit".

The company claimed the retention of the 20 jobs was reason enough to disregard the usual countryside rules.It will cost an estimated £142,000 for the company to move to the new premises and they hoped the building and sale of the two new properties would finance their relocation, it was heard.

Previously, East Lothian Council's planning committee unanimously rejected the application because the site lies outside the Gullane village boundary, placing it in the protected countryside area.

Councillor David Berry, council leader, said: "The site lies outside of the village boundary of Gullane, even though the western most part of the site is within the conservation area and the eastern most part where the two houses are proposed is not. The development is in the countryside and not in the village.

"The question to me is that is it reasonable for this builder's yard to relocate somewhere in East Lothian that is convenient to the business without requiring the new development? To me, the answer is yes.

"It does not necessarily require to incur costs of £142,000. Indeed if a business such as Morin's builder's yard has any sense at all it must be able to go to a lender and put a business case together. I would be alarmed if this precedent is set."

And Councillor Stuart MacKinnon added: "I support the decision to refuse this application. The development would change the aspects of the open site at Saltcoats Road.

"This is a site which is separated from the established residential area by the golf course.

"If a precedent is set I think it would open the floodgates to the number of these proposals which would very much undermine the council's principles in regard to development in the countryside."

The review body unanimously voted to support the planning committee's rejection of the application.

Under new planning guidelines brought in last year, planning applicants can ask for their application to be assessed by the new local review body instead of going through the usual planning system.