A RETIRED town planner has launched a ‘Save Musselburgh’ campaign, amidst plans to build thousands of new houses in the area over the next decade.

Barry Turner, chairman of the Inveresk Village Society, a member of Musselburgh Conservation Society and the Musselburgh Area Partnership, is mustering local residents to back his call to reduce the number of homes planned and his vision to safeguard the town’s four major Green Belt sites.

He has mooted the idea of community groups joining together under one banner to fight unwanted housing proposals, fearing that Musselburgh could become part of “an unbroken sea of bricks and concrete” stretching from Cramond to Longniddry.

Mr Turner, a former East Lothian councillor, is urging people to make their views heard when East Lothian Council’s public consultation on the draft Local Development Plan begins.

The document will set out how the county will deliver the 10,050 new homes in the period to 2024 required by the Scottish Government’s Strategic Development Plan and provision of 76 hectares of employment land for economic development purposes.

Mr Turner said: “It would seem that over 3,000 new homes will be proposed for the Musselburgh area over the next 16 years or so in addition to what is already committed, which brings the total to nearer 5,000. This stems from the so called compact growth strategy, which sees that part of East Lothian nearest Edinburgh taking much of the growth.

“For Musselburgh, this represents a massive and damaging change to the shape, nature and identity of the town and something like a 50 per cent increase in population.

“Musselburgh cannot take this. The area would literally be overwhelmed by new housing, exacerbated by major developments proposed nearby in Edinburgh and Midlothian. The proposals for the Musselburgh area are unrealistic and over-ambitious, and there must be serious doubts about their deliverability.

“Musselburgh does not have the capacity or infrastructure to support such an expansion and there is little or no prospect of improvement to cater for numbers on this scale. The enormous traffic impact, especially in the town centre where there are already serious air quality issues, casts doubts upon the arguments for and alleged advantages of concentration, as does the acute overcrowding on the local trains.”

He added: “As far as Musselburgh is concerned, we should say enough is enough beyond this Local Plan. Musselburgh is effectively full. The alternative is that our town simply becomes part of an unbroken sea of bricks and concrete stretching from Cramond in the west to Longniddry in the east.”

Mr Turner wants protection for: - Newhailes Park and Brunstane to the west, separating Musselburgh and Edinburgh; - The open strip on the west side of the Esk from the Haugh and through Musselburgh Golf Club into Dalkeith Park; - The major area of land to the south and south east which includes the site of the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh, separating Musselburgh from Wallyford and Whitecraig; - The open land eastwards along the coast and north of Haddington Road, including Goshen Farm,which is no longer a council preferred site for housing development.

“They collectively provide Musselburgh with its physical setting and make a major contribution to its character and individuality. They provide breathing space, separation from adjoining communities and they bring the countryside into the town,” said Mr Turner.

He is also calling for a “significant reduction” in the number of new homes allocated to Musselburgh by at least 1,000, with a “more equitable” spread across East Lothian.

Mr Turner said: “If we can get a reduction in housing numbers for Musselburgh we will not need so much new secondary school provision. This would mean that we can limit the size of any new provision on the edge of the town, far away from where most children live, and keep as many as possible walking to school.”

He added: “It is about building houses in the right places so as to lessen the impact of development. Rather than a haphazard definition of sites around Musselburgh based largely upon developers’ aspirations, we need some proper planning which respects the aspirations of our communities. A starting point for the proposals should be a vision for the long term structure and physical identity of the town based upon what gives it its identity now and makes it an attractive place to live and do business.

“The Wallyford development which wraps around the rear of the settlement and enables its regeneration does not compromise [the area's identity]. Neither would development at Old Craighall and around Queen Margaret University, and this location has the advantage of channelling generated traffic onto the A1 and away from the town centre. But no-go areas are Howe Mire at the core of the battlefield site and Whitecraig North which would both open up other land for development, and of course Goshen and Drummohr.”

A spokesperson for East Lothian Council said: “The council expects to publish its proposed Local Development Plan in June. As soon as possible after that there will be a period of no less than six weeks for formal representations on the plan to be made. The council will then consider whether it can resolve any of the representations by making changes to the plan or, if not, any unresolved objections will considered at an examination into the plan held by the Planning and Environmental Appeals Division of the Scottish Government, the recommendations of which will be largely binding on the council.”