The move is an interim stage in the LDP2 preparation process. 

Through the Evidence Report stage, ministers agreed that East Lothian Council must identify land for 6,650 houses during the period of the next LDP, likely 2028-2038. Around half of that figure can be met through existing sites, most of which already have planning permission. This leaves around half to be found from new sites. 

In late 2024, the council undertook a call for sites exercise to ask which sites landowners and developers thought should be allocated to make up this number and for other types of development. Over 130 sites were submitted for a wide variety of uses including housing, retail, employment, woodland and minerals extraction.

Several Local Place Plans (LPP) have also been produced, some of which include site proposals. These have also been assessed by various council teams and key external agencies, looking at some key elements: 

• To protect designated sites, such as Green Belt and Countryside Around Towns and agricultural land
• To encourage sites that have good access to services through walking and cycling 
• To ensure sites are deliverable and can be relied on to come forward during the lifetime of the LDP
• To ensure impacts on infrastructure are acceptable and kept to a minimum. 
• To focus most of the development in the main settlements, particularly in the mid-west areas of the county
• To consider options for some small developments adjacent to smaller settlements 

The assessment process has narrowed down the list of potential sites considerably. The original list could have accommodated around 30,000 new homes in East Lothian; however, many sites have been ruled out by officers when our set criteria were applied.

Cabinet spokesperson for planning, Councillor Norman Hampshire, said: “This has been an enormous piece of work and a key element of our draft LDP2 which is expected to go to council for discussion towards the end of this year, before a 12-week period of public consultation and then assessment by the Scottish Government.

“Our assessment of sites is ongoing to determine the impact on infrastructure such as roads, water, sewage, health and education. This may lead to further refining of the preferred site list. Our team will also meet representatives from community councils and will speak to those community groups who have produced the Local Place Plans on the sites they proposed.”