PLANS to create an access into a new 253-unit housing development through a single lane rural road have sparked protests by local residents.

The latest phase of building new homes at Letham Mains, on the outskirts of Haddington, had been widely accepted as necessary by people living in the rural community.

However calls for developers to stick to the Local Development Plan (LDP)and ensure access to the new estate is from a new distributor road built for that purpose have been ignored.

Instead developers have pushed forward with plans to create an additional access into the new housing through a rural lane at Letham Mains which has blind corners and is barely wide enough for a lorry.

And despite local objections, a report to East Lothian Council's planning committee next week will say that although the access is not in the local authority's LDP, roads officers have no objections.

The report states: "Whilst the proposed vehicular access from the site

onto the Letham Holdings Road does not feature in the Development Brief, the Development Brief does not state that there should not be a vehicular access onto Letham Holdings road from the site.

"Therefore and as there was no objection to the principle of this vehicular

access from Road Services the proposed means of access to the site is not inconsistent with the requirements of the Development Brief."

It acknowledges 36 objections to the new housing plans were lodged with the access route through Letham Mains raised.

James Stretton, who lives on the lane, said: "We accept that there is a need for the housing but have repeatedly raised concerns about the access through this single lane.

"It has blind corners and is wholly unsuited to be used as an access into the new housing.

"The lane itself is popular with cyclists, horse riders and dog walkers, never more so than in these current times."

Mr Stretton pointed to a photograph taken recently (attached)which showed a lorry trying to negotiate one of the bends.

The road has warning signs at its junction against HGV use.

The new housing is an extension to a larger development of around 800 homes  which is well underway with a new primary school.

A distributor road from Gateside at the entrance into Haddington from the A1 and Pencaitland Road at the south of the overall site is included in the LDP to serve traffic from the new housing.

Councillor Craig Hoy, ward member for Haddington and Lammermuir, said he would be attending the planning meeting next week in support of local residents.

Mr Hoy, who is not a planning committee member, said: “We should be encouraging the use of the new distributor road between Pencaitland Road and Gateside.

"The opening of an additional vehicle access route onto Letham Mains Holdings Lane runs the risk of creating a rat-run, which could be used to avoid traffic lights and congestion by those heading for the A1.

"The opening of a route onto this narrow, rural residential lane, which is also used daily by schoolchildren, walkers and horse-riders, will be bad news for residents and bad news for the environment.

"It should be reconsidered by the developer or rejected by the council.”