CONCERN over the continued closure of a main spine road built to support a major new development was raised as councillors were asked to approve more housing next to it.
The distributor road for the development of 1,450 houses to the south of Wallyford in East Lothian has still to be adopted by the local authority, despite hundreds of homes already being constructed or under construction at the site and a new primary school opening just off it.
At a virtual meeting of East Lothian Council’s planning committee this week, councillors raised concerns about the closed road and a lack of shops on the site.
The committee, which earlier had approved plans for a new secondary school and learning campus which will lie off the spine road as well, was asked to approve planning permission for 105 new homes at the south-east point of the site, south of Fa’side Avenue.
Councillor Norman Hampshire, planning convenor, told officials: “It is really important with the number of units we have on that site that the spine road needs to be opened as soon as possible, particularly for emergency vehicles.”
READ MORE: New £46m secondary campus approved
Marshall Greenshields, from the council’s roads department, told the committee: “We are close to adopting the main spine road and can expect it to be opening in the next couple of months, possibly even sooner than that.”
Concerns were also raised about the lack of any retail units on the site to date, with new residents having to rely on the village’s existing shops.
Mr Hampshire called for more work to be carried out on facilities for people moving into the new homes.
He said: “As more of this development comes forward, we need to make sure all parts come together at the same time.”
The committee unanimously approved the plans for the 105 new houses for Barratt Homes.
All of the 105 houses will be private houses for sale and will be made up of 56
terraced/semi-detached houses, all with three bedrooms, and 49 detached houses with four bedrooms.
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