PLANS to build more than 100 homes on land set aside for employment use have been thrown out after the site was compared to a ‘Field of Dreams’.

Developer Barratt wanted to put 116 homes and 15 business units on an 11-acre site at Kingslaw, Tranent, north of Haddington Road on the town’s eastern edge.

The agricultural land has been earmarked by East Lothian Council for business use but Barratt claimed the council’s vision was financially unviable.

They said the only way to make the “numbers add up” was to create a mixed use site with housing and industry.

But their claims were rejected by councillors after Provost John McMillan (Lab), cabinet spokesman on economic development, insisted: “If we build it, they will come.”

The quote, paraphrasing one made famous in the US baseball movie Field of Dreams starring Kevin Costner, came as he backed council officials who recommended the plans from Barratt and site owners The Co-operative be thrown out.

Jason Watt, from Barratt, told a meeting of East Lothian Council’s planning committee in Haddington last Tuesday that site drainage and geology issues meant it would cost £1.5m to get ready for development.

Once general costs were taken into account, the total development bill would be £2.25m – yet the value of the land was estimated at only £1.1m.

He said: “The numbers clearly do not add up and never will unless there is cross subsidising with a mixed use development.”

Ward councillor Kenny McLeod (SNP) backed the Barratt proposal, highlighting the lack of council housing available for rent in Tranent: the proposed Barratt development included 25 per cent affordable housing.

Mr McLeod said: “We need to keep the local connection and they are not building housing for rent in this area.

“It must be 50 years since a house was put in the area for rent.”

However, fellow Tranent, Wallyford and Macmerry councillor Colin McGinn (Lab) said he was concerned about the traffic that would be created by more than 100 homes on the site, which is on the opposite side of the town’s Haddington Road from Steading View.

He added: “We have a responsibility within Tranent to increase employment and opportunities for our young people.”

Councillor Brian Small (Con), opposition leader, told the committee: “There is no point in having a [Local Development] Plan if at the first turn we think we can turn it over. We need to give this business land the opportunity to develop.”

The committee was told that while the district valuer had agreed with developers that the land was not financially viable as a single business plot, they had said it could be made financially sound by developing it in phases.

Mr McMillan said: “We have enough land set aside for housing.

“People want –and need – local employment and if we build it they will come. This is a signal to developers we want to grow the number of jobs around the county.”

The committee voted by nine votes to two to support the officials’ recommendation to refuse the plans.