East Lothian Council has approved plans to build a new secondary school at Wallyford and 105 new houses as part of the greater Wallyford development.

Councillors agreed unanimously to the first application on the agenda, which was an amendment to one of the conditions attached to a development at Papple Steading. Committee had previously granted permission for the development, which includes a shop, conference centre and café. A condition was that use of amplified music was to be monitored for two years from the date of planning approval. The committee agreed to amend that condition so that noise levels from amplified music will be monitored for one year from the first use of the auditorium.

The second report was an application for a new secondary school at Wallyford, which was also unanimously approved. The development had already undergone a widespread public consultation process including drop-in sessions and online consultations with community groups. Planning permission had been granted in 2015 for a mixed-use development of 1450 houses, amenities & a new school and community facilities on land to the south and southwest of Wallyford.


Detailed planning permission was granted for the erection of a learning campus building which will contain a secondary school designed to accommodate initially 950 pupils from the wider Musselburgh catchment area and other community facilities including a 20 pupil nursery, a 50 pupil Severe and Complex Needs Centre, an adult day centre, community library, café, community spaces and sports facilities. The application also includes associated playgrounds, two sports pitches, car parking, electric vehicle chargers, cycle shelters, play equipment and landscaping. Both the building and the site are designed to cater not only for secondary school pupils but for the wider community across all age groups. The development has an anticipated opening year of 2024.

As part of the greater Wallyford development, councillors also unanimously approved planning permission for a further 105 houses west of Fa’side Terrace.

The committee also unanimously approved a change to planning consent for new homes at Letham Mains, Haddington, which related to a change in some of the house types used on the site, with no change to the number of homes to be erected.