HOPES have been raised that progress could be made, at long last, on Wallyford’s greyhound stadium after those behind the long-shelved development submitted a planning application for homes at a neighbouring site.

Geddes Consulting and Sirius Sport and Leisure Limited have lodged initial plans for about 170 houses, to be built to the west of Salters Road, on an area of land known as Gula Flats/Howe Mire.

The scheme, which is described as a “mixed use development including circa 170 homes, employment, leisure and tourism uses, with new roads and infrastructure”, would be to the north of the A1 and just south of Barbachlaw Farm where, about a decade ago, developer Howard Wallace’s Sirius Sport and Leisure erected the steel framework of a greyhound stadium stand but the project ground to a halt due to financial issues.

Details of the Howe Mire proposals have been sent to Musselburgh East and Carberry’s councillors, as well as Wallyford Community Council, MP George Kerevan and Colin Beattie MSP.

A meeting, showcasing the latest proposals, will also be held at Wallyford Miners’ Welfare Society and Social Club, although a date is yet to be confirmed. It is understood there could be more than 25 workshops included within the Howe Mire site, which could be used for tourism-related businesses.

In 2011, Mr Wallace was turned down by East Lothian councillors in his application for 94 houses at Barbachlaw Farm, just off Salters Road – south-east of the stadium site at Victory Lane – and for a relocated stadium car park.

But he was successful on appeal to the Scottish Government, but with various conditions.

This included that “no work [other than preliminary site preparation works] shall be begun on the houses approved. . . until a binding contract be put in place to complete the stadium for use”.

In September this year, a planning application was submitted seeking alterations to the Barbachlaw housing plans and earlier this month proposals for Howe Mire were lodged with East Lothian Council.

Asked if the latest application would have a positive effect on the greyhound stadium project being resurrected, Bob Salter, from Geddes Consulting, said: “We are reaching the point when we can start to develop and the regeneration of Wallyford would be complete.”

Scott Allan, chairman of Wallyford Community Council, stressed it was important that infrastructure responded accordingly to any developments in the village, with the prospect of jobs being created. He highlighted that the latest development was described as including employment and leisure, which could offer local people the chance to find work without having to travel further afield.

All three Musselburgh East and Carberry Councillors, who are part of the local authority’s planning committee, have been notified about the latest proposals.

Councillor Stuart Currie, SNP, told the Courier: “The community wants to know what is going on.

“They are not impatient but they are just keen to know what is going on.

“The stadium is such an eyesore just now.”

Meanwhile, Mr Beattie added: “It’s clear that affordable homes are needed in the constituency – but this must be balanced by the appropriate level of investment in infrastructure such as roads, schools and GP surgeries.

“Beyond this we need to ensure that new housing developments become integrated into our communities and aren’t just treated as dormitories.

“What is required is a more joined up approach to community infrastructure, and I met with the Minister for Housing recently to raise all these issues.

“I’m glad to say he was very sympathetic to my concerns and I will be continuing to press the Scottish Government on this and the issue of what sort of communities we want in the future.”

George Kerevan MP added: “My feeling about this new application from Sirius Leisure is that it’s one step too far.

“There’s enough pressure on Wallyford already.

“I’m totally opposed to loading the majority of the housing development in East Lothian to the west of the county – I would prefer a more considered dispersal.

“We simply do not have the transport infrastructure.

“At peak periods the trains are crammed, and the AI corridor is backed up from Milton Link to Fort Kinnaird.

“170 new houses means 340 parking spaces, another huge addition to passenger and traffic problems.

“I would urge the Council to reject this proposal.”

Both Howe Mire and Barbachlaw are highlighted in the proposed local development plan.

If work goes ahead on the site, it would come on the heels of a near 1,500-home development, which will wrap around the southern side of the village.

Work on the site, named St Clements Well, got under way last summer and it is expected to include not just houses, but business units, a supermarket and sports facilities.

There are also plans to build a brand new primary school for Wallyford, which should be ready by the summer of 2018 and will replace the existing school, on the village’s Salters Road.