A “ROBUST” public consultation has been pledged on a plan for a second £35 million Musselburgh area high school at Wallyford, amidst fears that the proposal was being “railroaded” through.

During a heated debate in the council chambers in Haddington on Tuesday, SNP councillors rallied to condemn approving the “solution” before residents were given the chance to air their views on the three options that had been considered by education bosses.

Councillor Stuart Currie, SNP Group leader and Musselburgh East councillor, said: “There are many people who have said they believe it is a done deal – that come hell or high water the approval of the recommendation is the decision.

"Therefore the consultation is a box-ticking exercise to get to the same conclusion that members have already made. Why we have not asked people, now we know what the three viable options are, is beyond me, frankly.”

Councillor Norman Hampshire, Labour, stressed that the council was legally obliged to provide an option to consult on and a final decision would be made after public feedback was obtained.

Councillor Willie Innes, Labour council leader, added: “There was always going to be a consultation with the people of Musselburgh. All the options were going to be there, all the sites, everything the public needed to make up their mind. We weren’t demanding they agreed with this paper. We were allowing them to make up their own mind.

"In order for us to bring back this council to some togetherness and unity, I will move a change to the wording.”

He amended the recommendation to state that a "proposal” for a new school at Wallyford, rather than “solution”, be approved for consultation.

SNP councillors adjourned for five minutes to consider the change, which they ultimately supported.

Councillors also noted that there will be a formal consultation on the revision of the catchment boundaries of Pinkie St Peter’s Primary School, Wallyford Primary School, Musselburgh Grammar School, and Tranent's Sanderson’s Wynd Primary School and Ross High School.

The meeting heard that there would be “minimal impact” on the Tranent schools, as only a small cluster of houses near the new housing at Wallyford would be brought into Wallyford Primary School’s catchment area.

Three possible solutions have been identified for a new school for Musselburgh to cope with the massive surge in new houses: a second secondary school serving part of the area; a new S4-6 senior school on a separate site; a new enlarged school for S1-6, which would cost almost twice as much as the other two options.

With the removal of the proposal for a new secondary school at Goshen, which is no longer a preferred site for housing development, two suitable sites remained – Wallyford and Craighall.

Fiona Robertson, head of education, said: “The proposal for a new secondary school in the Wallyford area is considered to be the most reasonable, viable and appropriate course of action for the council based on the appraisal, the pre-consultation exercise, the alternative education solutions and the potential sites; most importantly, the educational benefits of our young people.”

Gaynor Allen and Sean Elliot, co-chairs of Musselburgh Grammar School Parent Council, issued a joint statement expressing “disappointment” at the lack of consultation by the council.

They said: “It seems the council’s approach has been geared towards railroading through their preferred solution, one which seems to be the cheapest based on the limited information provided to us. However, as a result of parental pressure, use of social media to raise awareness of exactly what the council were trying to do and the resulting feedback to our local councillors, we are somewhat relieved that instead of councillors being asked to approve the administration’s preferred ‘solution’ prior to a public consultation, the council meeting resolved to approve the recommendation for a full public consultation over a period of at least six weeks. “The provision of secondary school education for Musselburgh and the surrounding area is an issue of enormous magnitude for the whole community and the decision which is ultimately made will be irreversible once implemented. It is therefore imperative that everyone in our community is given the opportunity to fully understand the options, ask questions and voice their opinion to make it clear to East Lothian Council how and where we want our children to be educated.”

Iain Clark, chairman of the Pinkie Parent Council, said: “It was the view of Pinkie Parent Council that, prior to the council meeting, there had been insufficient clear information provided to parents in the community on the councils proposals which were only published last week. Some of the content has never been made known to the public. There has been a lack of upfront consultation to allow parents and school councils to engage with their local elected members.

“It would therefore be logical and fair that all options were included in any public consultation to allow members of the community to make their own views known based on all the potential options and all the facts, not just the councils, only recently published, preferred option.

"We hope now that East Lothian Council, prior to any final decision, will instigate an open, transparent and fair consultation on an issue which is extremely important to the whole community.”

Jason Rose, Green campaigner for Musselburgh, said: "A subtle change of words cannot hide the fact that East Lothian Council have put the cart before the horse. Our community should have been fully consulted before any recommendation was made but instead we got a one-sided last-minute questionnaire during the summer holidays. That’s simply no way to go about such an important decision affecting local children and future generations.

“As a parent with a child at primary school I, like other local parents, need an assurance from the council that my family’s views will count. We still haven’t had basic information presented to us about the pros and cons of different options.

“Musselburgh and its green belt is under huge pressure to accommodate thousands of extra homes in the coming years. As a community we should be prepared to push back against unrealistic expectations. Our infrastructure is already creaking at the seams. We should be in the driving seat when it comes to how our town and surrounding villages are developed.”

Councillor Shamin Akhtar, council cabinet spokesperson for education, said: “People can be assured that a thorough consultation process will be carried out, which will be robust in its level of engagement.”