A MUSSELBURGH councillor has hit out at the lack of council houses for rent in a new development being built at Wallyford.

Councillor Stuart Currie, member for Musselburgh East and Carberry and leader of the SNP opposition group on East Lothian Council, said the 25 per cent affordable homes – part of a development of 48 houses at Dovecot Wynd on Salters Road – would be sold on a low-cost home ownership basis.

“There will be no council houses for rent, and with more than 2,000 people in the Musselburgh area on the council house waiting list, hundreds looking for a council house to rent in Wallyford, this makes no sense at all,” he claimed.

The new houses are being offered for sale by Persimmon Homes at 32 per cent of the market value and the householders would still own 100 per cent of the property.

Mr Currie said that even with the 32 per cent discounted price, it would still leave people struggling to get a mortgage for £109,000 for the two-bedroom houses.

“This is increasingly happening because the council is not prepared to put funding into council housing," he said. "It is difficult for people on £20,000 a year to get a mortgage. This was an opportunity for 12 brand new council houses for rent in a development at Wallyford. People come to my surgeries every week desperately looking to rent a council house.”

Mr Currie claimed the Labour-led council seemed to be waiting for big developments to come on stream but added that this could take a decade.

He added: “The 1,500 new houses planned at Wallyford will have a completion rate of 150 a year. Small developments are coming through all the time.”

Mr Currie said under the former SNP ruling group, more than 400 council houses had been built and criticised the Labour/Conservative/independent administration for not building as many since coming into power four years ago.

He said that the former SNP administration had planned to build 28 council houses on the Wallyford site just before it left office after the previous election.

Councillor Norman Hampshire, East Lothian Council’s housing spokesman, said: “Twelve two-bed affordable houses have been secured at the Dovecot Wynd site through the council’s Affordable Housing Policy (AHP).

“These units will be delivered by the developer as discount housing for sale, a model approved by the cabinet in early 2015. Homes will be made available to qualifying purchasers at £109,000. This sale price was calculated at the point at which the delivery mechanism was agreed, in 2014, using the average income in the ward area. Were these properties not to sell, the council would have first right to purchase, ensuring that the opportunity to secure affordable housing is secured.

“The council is in discussion with developers across a range of sites in the area, which will see more than 350 affordable housing units delivered across a range of tenures.”

He added: “The council has prioritised and remains committed to delivering council housing and has delivered 281 homes since it came into power four years ago.”