Group gives its backing to care home and nursery at Gateside

Proposals have been revealed for a three-storey, 60-bed care home on land to the west of Haddington’s Gateside Road.

The site would also include a nursery for up to 60 children up to the age of five.

Community councillors discussed the proposals from Mansfield Care at their meeting.

Therese Laing, the group’s planning liaison officer, said: “A 60-bed care home and a 60-space nursery will probably be great for Haddington.”

Paul Darling, also a planning liaison officer with the community council, felt that there were benefits to the nursery and care home being close to one another.

After the meeting, he said: “The feedback from the community council was all positive. We are happy to support it. The developers seem to have made the changes residents asked for.”

The site had been earmarked for a nursing home and extra-care flats more than five years ago.

Those plans, from a different developer, were approved before the scheme was ditched after a separate care home on Haddington’s Mill Wynd was built.

A further application for a builders’ merchant was then approved before, again, the developers behind that plan opted against moving ahead with the scheme.

Edinburgh-based Mansfield Care came forward last year and met with local residents to discuss its plans.

Alterations were made to the design proposals after residents raised concerns about the height of the building and parking provision.

Councillor John McMillan, who represents Haddington on East Lothian Council, said that residents had previously expressed their relief that the builders’ merchant was not going ahead.

A one-storey nursery, with two playrooms, changing facilities and a quiet room, would be built between the care home and West Road.