A BID for a family home which is “essential to the daily operations” of Castle Park Golf Club has been rejected.

Proposals for a six-bedroom home beside the golf club, to the south of Gifford, have been with East Lothian Council’s planning department since the beginning of last year.

LBA, representing Castle Park Golf & Leisure LLP, had attempted to demonstrate that the proposed property was “intrinsically and permanently linked to the golf club business”.

It said the design-led approach had led to “a thoughtful and considered proposal which can have a positive impact on its surroundings”.

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However, the local authority deemed the new home to be a housing development in the countryside, and believed the applicant had failed to demonstrate the property “to be necessary to support the sustainable management of a viable rural business, or that there was an essential need for a worker to live permanently at the site”.

Craig McLachlan, manager and owner of the site, was frustrated by the decision and said the possibility of an appeal was being weighed up.

He said: “They are making it impossible to run the business.

“It is not a house to sell in the country – the business needs linked accommodation.

“Golfers start at 6am on a summer morning and can be there until 11pm.

“Why are rural businesses shutting?

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“It is because you cannot get staff because rural businesses are hard to get to.”

Castle Park Golf Club was established in the mid-1990s as a nine-hole course, before expanding to a full 18-hole course in the early 2000s.

The economic downturn forced its closure in 2014, before the current owners bought and re-established the course the following year.

Last August, plans for 28 sunken lodges near the course were given the go ahead, with hopes work could start on the site “imminently”.

Proposals for the new one-and-a-half storey home for Mr McLachlan and his family were made at the same time.

The design and access statement with those plans noted: “It should be understood that the house is proposed to be fully and completely affiliated with the club, with direct connections through the dwelling into the clubhouse.

“The dwelling would be funded and owned by the business, not individuals, to ensure that the golf club has adequate provision for on-site servicing and security, due to its remote location, long into the future.

“In addition, the client is aware that the proposal is not a separate entity to the golf club but rather to provide support to the daily operations and management of the golf club.

“The owner is required to file frequent police reports to the local authorities due to regular incidents of crime and vandalism on site.

“Providing a safe and secure home will allow the family to manage and monitor the site safely 24/7.”

Two objections were received from members of the public, although Gifford Community Council offered no comment.

Concerns from members of the public included that there were properties in the area that had been up for sale and could have been bought by the applicant.

Planning officials noted that the proposed development site had not been identified for housing in the East Lothian Local Plan.

The planning officer said: “If approved, the proposed development would set an undesirable precedent for the development of new houses in similar circumstances elsewhere in the East Lothian countryside, the cumulative effect of which would result in a detrimental impact on the rural character and amenity of the countryside of East Lothian.”