A BID to turn an empty unit at a new retail park into a pharmacy, after original plans for a cafe were dropped, has been given the green light.

Owners of Haddington Retail Park, on the western edge of the town, said that attempts to find a business to take on the cafe/takeaway unit had failed to find a tenant.

However, EPIC (No 2) Ltd said that interest had been shown in opening a chemist in the small unit and applied to council planners for permission to change the use of it from Class 3 to Class 1 to allow the new retail service.

GLM Romanes Ltd, which is behind the existing pharmacy on the town’s Market Street, is looking to expand and open on the site.

The Duns-based pharmacy, which also has two further pharmacies in East Lothian, also worked alongside NHS Lothian for a recent public consultation about the prospect of a pharmacy opening on the site.

READ MORE: 'High demand' for a new pharmacy at Haddington Retail Park

A report by East Lothian Council’s planning officers into EPIC's application for a certificate of lawfulness to change the unit's use said that the applicants had stated the retail park was supposed to be a ‘local centre’ for the west of the town, which has undergone a transformation in recent years as new housing developments have been built.

And they said that attempts to find a cafe/takeaway operator to move into the sole vacant unit on the site had failed.

Officers said: “The supporting statement submitted with this application states that all of the units have been built. They are also all occupied with the exception of Unit 4.

“It states that, despite extensive marketing, it has not been possible to find a Class 3 occupier for this unit.

“However, it states that there has been interest shown in occupying Unit 4 as a pharmacy (a Class 1 use) and that there is a high demand for a service facility of this type.

"It states that the approved Haddington Retail Park was, in part, considered to fulfil the role of a ‘local centre’ at the western end of Haddington and that a Class 1 use of the unoccupied building of Unit 4 would be consistent with that role.”

The retail park at Gateside opened last year with Aldi, Home Bargains and The Food Warehouse stores, as well as a Costa drive-thru.

READ MORE: New Aldi supermarket opens at Haddington Retail Park

In June, a Shell petrol station, complete with Greggs, Spar, LEON Coffee and VAPE Xchange, also opened on the site but the smaller retail unit set aside for a cafe/takeaway remained empty.

The arrival of a Starbucks drive-thru next door to the site earlier this year added to the facilities available to visitors.

East Lothian planners granted a certificate of lawfulness to the site owners to change the unit’s use.