Below is a letter submitted to the East Lothian Courier for inclusion on Wednesday 1st February by HADAS following a presentation given to both us and the Community Council on the proposed development at Letham.

from Haddington and District Amenity Society, 23 January 2006

Proposed Housing Development on Huge Scale.

On 16 January 2006, the planning consultants RPS together with three of the country’s largest house-builders (AWG Property, Cala Homes and Taylor Woodrow Developments) presented their outline plan to build 750 houses at Letham Mains, on the western outskirts of Haddington. Their masterplan report was presented to representatives of Haddington and District Amenity Society (HADAS) and Haddington Community Council at a meeting at the Maitlandfield House Hotel requested by the developers to begin the public consultation process. The report brings massive expansion of Haddington one step closer to reality.

Ian Arnott, HADAS Committee member, opened the meeting by asking for the evidence to justify the expansion of Haddington’s population by at least 25%. When in 2004 HADAS wrote twice to the Communities Minister questioning in principle the allocation of 750 houses to Haddington in the draft Edinburgh and Lothians Structure Plan, the only responses were unhelpful, standard letters avoiding the question.

Where is the development framework and all the other preliminary information required by East Lothian Local Plan, Mr Arnott asked. The Local Plan requires the masterplan for the development to show how it can be integrated with the town, how an already congested town centre will cope with a further increase in traffic and why it will not irreversibly damage the character and fabric of a medieval town centre.

The developers’ presentation to the meeting concentrated on landscape issues and showed that they were not in a position to deal with the fundamental points raised by Mr Arnott. They revealed that legal options to buy the Letham Mains site have been in place for some time, fuelling concerns that the selection of this site was developer-led rather than planner-led. The options affect an area of 53 hectares, comprising a block of 4 fields bounded by the B6471 West Road from Haddington to the bypass, existing housing at Burnside, the A6093 Pencaitland Road and the grounds of Letham House. In response to Mr Arnott’s second question, the developers admitted that preparation of their masterplan had gone ahead even though the development framework for the site, to be prepared by East Lothian Council, is not yet available. The developers stated that guidance has been received from the Council only on one point: the need for and siting of a new primary school within the development. However the RPS report lists liaison on many other issues, including affordable housing, transportation, community facilities and the environment, although not on planning.

Following the presentation, the main questions of the evening concerned roads, traffic and community facilities. Those present expressed their concerns about the impact on the town centre of the apparently inexorable increase in traffic and the pressure on educational and primary healthcare provision of an unprecedented population increase. Jan Wilson (Haddington Community Council Chairman) doubted whether the proposed roads would be adequate and made a comparison with current traffic congestion in Sidegate, to which the new housing at Briery Bank and the Maltings will contribute further. She also expressed concern about adequate healthcare and school provision and the siting of a school in the middle of a housing estate.

Roger Kirby (HADAS) said that HADAS had campaigned since the production of its own Traffic Survey in 1998 for a western relief road – a bypass linking the Pencaitland Road to the A1- to relieve the bottle-neck of heavy traffic at Knox Place traffic lights. This had been accepted in the past. The masterplan shows an estate distributor road winding north-south through the proposed residential area but, whilst it might become a ‘rat-run’, it would not provide the remedy the town centre so desperately needs. "This is not the relief road we require," he said. The response was that the Council had not mentioned a relief road.

Bill Friel (HADAS) referred to the 2001 Oscar Faber Traffic Survey, commissioned by ELC, which concluded that "Court Street and High Street have reached their environmental capacity". It was strange that under potentially heavier traffic conditions, no problems were foreseen.

Sheena Richardson (Haddington West Councillor) reminded the developers of the need to keep heavy traffic out of the centre of the town and away from Knox Academy, the two primary schools and the nursery school. To questions from Jan Wilson and Councillor Richardson on community issues, RPS said they had received no guidance from ELC on core community facilities such as shops or a health centre but would make land available to private businesses and would provide site services. There was little response to further questions on social integration and physical integration of the site with the rest of Haddington. Ian Arnott reminded the meeting that HADAS’s aim is sustainable development and that "organic growth" differs entirely from "block planning".

In conclusion, the consultants acting for the developers stated that "nothing in the scheme is set in stone apart from 750 houses" and offered a further presentation, bringing the consultants responsible for traffic issues, once they had answers to the questions raised.

After the main meeting, Jan Wilson commented on the danger that "the new Haddington will take over the old Haddington". HADAS’s view was expressed by Linden Jarvis (HADAS Chairman) that the presentation had done little to allay the concerns regarding the impacts of a massive increase in the size of the town. He stated "It seems extraordinary that we are told that the only certainty in the current situation is the 750 houses – planning seems to take a back seat. The Council has not even carried out its commitment to prepare a development framework. The developers have stated that the Council has had little involvement and they have come to meet us to try to win our support. We are prepared to listen when they are ready with some well thought-out proposals – but as things stand we feel that the town cannot take 750 houses, however presented".