THE speed limit on a section of the A6137 Aberlady Road near Haddington is to be reduced to 30mph before any additional housing is built beside it.

East Lothian Council has approved conditions associated with a planning application to build 89 homes on 6.3 hectares of land behind Haldane Avenue, to the north of Haddington – but told developer Bett Homes that work could not begin until a new speed limit had been introduced.

The special condition was brought in after one Haldane Avenue resident told the council’s planning committee the road was “an accident waiting to happen”.

Alistair Young urged the committee to reject the planned housing, which will see residents enter and leave the development from the A6137 Aberlady Road, which currently has a 60mph speed limit as it approaches the roundabout with Haddington’s Haldane Avenue.

Mr Young told the committee: “It is a black spot. I predict there is going to be an accident there. Before we are looking back and thinking why did we let that access go ahead, it should be relocated to a safer area.

“I hope there is not an accident but if there is people will be named and shamed.” Objections were also raised by Mr Young about the danger of flooding to housing on Haldane Avenue if the new development went ahead, as well as the loss of value to properties.

The plans for housing on the field to the north of Haldane Avenue were initially rejected by the planning committee but the decision was overturned on appeal by the Scottish Government’s Reporter.

The application then came back to East Lothian’s planning committee for approval of conditions and councillors, who had taken part in a site visit last week, called for the addition of the speed restriction.

Councillor Tom Trotter, who represents Haddington, asked if the speed limit could be reduced to 30mph from the point where the street lighting begins just south of the bridge over the A1.

Councillor Trotter said: “I have concern about the access being off Aberlady Road. If this is going ahead we should do our best to ensure safe access to the site and the maximum speed limit should be 30 miles an hour.” His view was backed by fellow councillors, with Norman Hampshire, planning convenor, expressing his disappointment that the application was going ahead after being initially turned down by the committee.

Mr Hampshire said: “I think we should put a condition in for a 30mph speed limit from where the street lighting starts.” The condition was unanimously backed by councillors and the application approved, with Haddington Councillor John McMillan the sole objector.

M McMillan said: “I am voting against it; I object for all the reasons Mr Young talked about.” East Lothian Council confirmed work will now start to bring in the reduced speed limit.

A spokesperson said: “Any change to a speed limit has to go through a formal statutory process. That process will involve public consultation.

“Work on that will require to start now that a planning condition of a 30mph speed limit on part of Aberlady Road has been imposed by the planning committee.”