Ambitious plans for house near Heugh Reservoir turned down

Geddes Consulting – on behalf of Tom Tait, retiring farmer of nearby Wamphray Farm – was requesting permission for a four-bedroom home to be built on a field to the east of the decommissioned water tank and west of Heugh Steadings.

The plans were initially withdrawn in September last year, as it was considered that construction of the house would contravene council policy on rural housing.

They were resubmitted last month after the applicants found “inconsistencies in the officer’s determination process” which had resulted in the original withdrawal.

However, East Lothian Council rejected this notion and decided to refuse the planning application.

In its refusal, it stated that the house would create an “undesirable precedent for the development of new houses in the countryside” and that the suburbanisation of the countryside would result in a “detriment to its character and amenity”.

Drawings showing how the proposed property at The Heugh would have looked

Additional concerns were raised about encroaching on the nearby listed building of Heugh Reservoir, which is considered of great architectural importance.

The modern architectural nature of the proposed house was also given as a reason for rejection as it would “not be in keeping with the existing group of buildings of the Heugh” and its location would be readily visible by the public, appearing “prominent, incongruous and intrusive”.

North Berwick Community Council also criticised the plans, having objected to the original application in September last year on the grounds of perceived negative visual impact.

At the time, members called the proposed development “dominant” and “out of place” in the local landscape.