THE owners of a house on the edge of a village have been told that they are not part of the community after a council map placed them outside its boundary.

Mr and Mrs Doyle, who own the house on the outskirts of West Barns, had successfully challenged previous claims by East Lothian Council officials that their property was not within the village lines.

But at a meeting of the local authority’s Local Review Body, they were told the planning officials’ position would stand, regardless of whether it was right or wrong.

Chairing the review body meeting, Councillor Lachlan Bruce said that Battleblent House, where the family live, was in the council’s Local Development Plan as sitting on land which had been classed as countryside.

He told the home’s owners: “You can make the argument that the boundary is wrong but that is the way the boundaries are drawn and we have to respect them.”

The owners of the house took their case to the review body after planning officers threw out an application to build four new homes in their garden because it was against their countryside policy.

Challenging the decision, the owners said a similar planning application was approved in 1998 after the then owners challenged the view that it was in the countryside.

At that time, councillors acknowledged an error had been made and overturned the refusal; that application was extended five years later.

However, a fresh application lodged last year was refused permission on the grounds that the planned houses were not in the village.

The owner of the house told the meeting: “We have lived in West Barns since moving into the house in 2002.

“I pass the sign for West Barns before I turn into our drive; our council tax says Battleblent House, West Barns; council letters relating to this case were addressed to me at Battleblent House, West Barns. The deeds to the house say Battleblent House, West Barns.

“I am asking you not to genuflect to the myth that our house has been transported out of West Barns.”

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) had objected to the plans, ruling there was a “medium” risk of flooding on the land; any decision to approve the plans would still have to be referred to the Scottish Government.

The three review body members voted unanimously to reject the appeal.