Nearly £7.5milion towards school facilities in Wallyford will be demanded as part of the price for a giant housing estate on the outskirts of the community.

East Lothian Council’s planning committee will meet via video conference tomorrow to discuss the proposals for 600 to 800 houses at the south and east of the village and on land at neighbouring Dolphingstone.

Planning permission in principle for the development was initially granted nearly three years ago by the committee against the recommendation of their officers.

Now they are being asked to agree to approve it on the understanding that developers pay £7,321,200 towards additional accommodation at the new Wallyford Primary and Nursery and the provision of a new Musselburgh secondary school.

They will also be asked to contribute over £420,000 towards road improvements at nearby Old Craighall and to agree a similar sum between themselves and Network Rail for transport improvements.

If given the go ahead the development will bring the number of new homes approved around Wallyford to around 2,050.

This takes the total number of new homes approved for the Wallyford area alongside the ongoing St Clements Wells site, to about 2,050.

A report to councillors next week will say that an agreement on developers contributions between council officers and developers East Lothian Development Ltd have not been agreed and the figures required have now been revised as time has passed.

It will ask councillors to agree to give developers a six month deadline to meet the payments requested.

A recommendation to go before the committee for approval states: “In accordance with the council's policy on time limits for completion of planning agreements it is recommended that the decision should also be that in the event of the Section 75 Agreement not having been executed by the applicant, the landowner and any other relevant party within six months of the decision taken on this application, the application shall then be refused for the reason that without the developer contributions to be secured by the Agreement the proposed development is unacceptable.”

The proposed development at the site will also include community facilities with a possible local supermarket and several commercial units included in the plans.