Camping pods could be created in the walled former stackyard at a farm near Wallyford.

It is also hoped to restore a derelict farmhouse at West Mains Farm, which neighbours St Clement’s Wells Farm, for a farm worker and his family.

A planning application for the project has been lodged with East Lothian Council by the owner of both farms, Janice Laird.

An access and design statement said that a “convincing case” had been made for the provision of a farm manager’s house to oversee the running of the former holding.

An appraisal by an agricultural and rural development consultant said: “West Mains’ original farmhouse position is perfectly sited to oversee and attend to the increasing numbers of herd and flock which will augment the expansion of the existing livestock at St Clement’s Wells.”

It explained: “West Mains Farm was operated as part of a neighbouring farm until its relatively recent integration into the St Clement’s Wells portfolio. The farm includes the remains of a farmhouse and steading.

“The house is in a derelict condition, with the original masonry external walls in existence to wall head level.

“The objective of this planning application is to renovate the farmhouse at West Mains to house an essential farm worker and his family.”

The appraisal said that Mrs Laird would like to “explore the possibility” of providing holiday camping accommodation in the walled former stackyard of the steading, in line with the council’s commitment to “diverse on-farm tourism development to provide a supplementary income for the farm business”.

She planned to have the new accommodation reinstated within the external walls of the original farmhouse and to extend the habitable space into the roof, with the addition of dormer windows.

A small entrance porch would be added to the south elevation and this would represent the only “modest variation” to the footprint of the original property.

Vehicular access would be achieved from the adjacent B-class public highway.

Level access to the house would be provided from the south private garden. A scheme of rural landscaping and boundary fencing would be incorporated to “sensitively” integrate the restored property and garden grounds into the farm setting.

The access and design statement said there was an “acknowledged requirement” for tourist-related accommodation in East Lothian.

It said: “The walled former stackyard of West Mains Farm provides an excellent opportunity to discreetly site several sensitively designed camping pods for the use of visitors to rural East Lothian.

“The site links with a number of established rambles and cycle routes and is ideally located to facilitate the exploration of the adjacent countryside.”

The pods have been designed to be energy efficient, using green construction technology. Refuse and recycling facilities were included in the layout. Daily management of the enterprise would be carried out from the farm manager’s house.

The access and design statement said: “This application attempts to sensitively restore a previous farmhouse to house an essential farm worker and his family.

“A secondary proposal of this application seeks to enhance the viability of the farm by addressing the subject of local tourism and recreation within the countryside to the advantage of the greater farm business.”