HARBOUR chiefs have been given the go ahead to install CCTV cameras next to a historic battery.

Dunbar Harbour Trust’s plans to mount two cameras on an eight-metre high pole at Lamer Island were originally rejected after East Lothian Council’s planning officers ruled they would draw attention from the battery there.

However, a second application has now been given the green light after the trust moved the location of the pole to the other side of a wall.

The trust said the Lamer Island CCTV cameras, which have antennas, were required to link up a surveillance system with cameras already at the two harbours – Victoria and Cromwell – on either side of the battery.

The original plan saw the pole placed at the front of Lamer Island. Now it will be installed beside the east wall of the battery.

Officers approved an application for planning permission and one for listed building consent as required.

The council officer’s report on the listed building application said: “In its location, the proposed pole, whilst visible, would not occupy such a prominent position in front of the battery as did the CCTV camera recently refused planning permission and listed building consent.

“Instead, it would be seen alongside and in relation to the east wall of the Lamer Island Battery which would provide some screening for the proposed pole.”

The Lamer Island Battery is an 18th-century ‘D-plan’ bastion of squared sandstone rubble construction with pierced embrasure ornament openings, listed as being of special architectural or historic interest, Category B.

It was built as a civil defence outpost and has subsequently had various uses, including as an infectious diseases hospital in the 19th century and a military hospital during the First World War.

Dunbar Harbour Trust has carried out work to bring the battery back to life and provide access to it for all.

It is currently in use as an interpretation building and amphitheatre.

The trust had applied for CCTV planning permission to “address requests from the fishing community and generally improve safety and security coverage around the harbour”.