The final phase of a housing development at Hallhill, Dunbar, comprising 197 houses and 48 flats, has been approved by East Lothian Council's Planning Committee.

The application, from Taylor Wimpey, had been subject to public consultation including an event at Hallhill Sports Centre in January 2019. The development will include 28 affordable houses and 36 affordable flats as well as a community sports pitch.

A total of four objections had been raised to the plans, including from the community council, and covered concerns such as an increase in traffic and pressure on existing services in the town.

A motion to continue the application to allow for a recalculation of developer contributions for a safe route across the East Coast Main Line was outvoted. Committee members went on to approve the application by ten votes to one.


The Committee also approved 100 houses as part of the wider development at Windygoul South, Tranent. The houses, in the centre of the site, will be a mix of 85 detached, two semi-detached and 13 terraced houses of 18 different house types. There will be four single storey bungalows.

Consent was also granted for a snack van to be sited next to the public car park at Shore Road, Belhaven. The application had been called off the Scheme of Delegation list by Councillor Kempson due to concerns raised by local residents and the fact planning permission was refused for a snack van on the site in 2019.

Committee members heard that the current application was for a different area of the car park. The pitch was offered by East Lothian Council Estates with a licence condition that there would be no deep fat frying. The snack van trading hours will be 8.30am to 7.30pm, March to October from Tuesdays to Sundays. From November to February, trading hours would be 8.30am to 4.30pm, Tuesdays to Sundays, serving soup, hot and cold sandwiches and rolls, pancakes, wraps and hot and cold drinks.

A total of 17 objections were raised, including from Dunbar and Belhaven Community Councils, with concerns covering issues such as an unacceptable increase in traffic, visual impact on Belhaven Bay, litter and cooking odours.

Following discussions, committee members voted to approve the application by 10 votes to one.