East Lothian houses delayed over sewage concerns given go ahead ‘to save school’

Elphinstone: So, here’s the scoop. Over 100 new homes in East Lothian were on hold because of sewage problems, but now they’re back on track. The council thinks these homes will help keep the local school alive.

Last November, the council hit pause on Bellway’s plans for the second phase of the development. They found out that some homes from the first phase weren’t even connected to the main sewer. Can you imagine? Instead, they had tankers coming in twice a week to deal with the mess.

Residents were not happy about the smell and noise from the tankers, so the planning committee wanted more info before moving forward. But today, they gave the thumbs up for 103 new homes after hearing that the developers were working with the community to fix the issues.

They also made sure that no new houses could be built until they sorted out the sewer connection. Bellway admitted they messed up a bit with the first phase but are now trying to make things right.

They’ve set up a dedicated email for residents to voice their concerns and plan to keep everyone updated through newsletters and monthly community meetings. Sounds like they’re trying to be more transparent, right?

But not everyone is thrilled. Some locals are still worried about the smell and noise from the sewage collection. One resident, Graham, mentioned that on Mondays, the tankers can be there all day, making it tough to enjoy his garden.

At the meeting, a councillor expressed disbelief that people were allowed to move into homes without proper sewage connections. She couldn’t support the new phase since it was almost double the homes originally planned for the village.

However, the planning convenor argued that these new homes are crucial for the village school’s future, which needs more families to survive. In the end, the committee approved the new homes by a vote of nine to two, with a couple of councillors opposing it.