Plans for a new family park in the East Lothian countryside have been recommended for refusal by planners over concerns about road safety.
The operator of East Links Family Park, outside Dunbar, submitted plans to ‘relocate’ the business to East Fortune Farm, six miles away, after its lease runs out at its current site.
The plans brought more than 550 representations from the public with the vast majority objecting.
Now planners are recommending councillors reject the proposal after ruling the location ‘unsustainable’ with a lack of safe public transport and access for vehicles failing to meet their road service’s standards.
A report on the proposal says that while the applicant described the plan as the ‘relocation of East Links Family Park’ to the new site, the owner of the current site has made it clear it will continue to operate with a new tenant.
Planners say the application is a ‘new family park’ which potentially means two would be operating within six miles of each other.
And while the council’s own economic development team are backing the plans, the report says concern over transport links and access outweigh any benefits.
The site currently has a single bus service which operates every two hours and drops people at a bus stop which is a 15 minute walk from it, with no public footpath.
The proposed access sites for the new family park don’t offer enough visibility in both directions to meet council standards.
The report says: “Whilst there could be some economic benefit, this is not a material consideration that would outweigh the fact that the proposed scheme of development is contrary to the Development Plan with
regards to it being located in an unsustainable location.
It adds: “Road Services advise that the existing bus facilities are insufficient for the needs of the development and, moreover, would represent a significant road safety risk. These road safety risks have not been satisfactorily addressed by the applicant during the determination period. ”
Planners received 552 representations, with 461 objecting to the application including a petition with some 313 signatures and 88 representations supporting it. Three made comments but did not object nor support the proposal.
The full report and recommendations will go before the council’s planning committee next week.
By Marie Sharp Local Democracy Reporter
The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) is a public service news agency. It is funded by the BBC, provided by the local news sector (in Edinburgh that is Reach plc (the publisher behind Edinburgh Live and The Daily Record) and used by many qualifying partners. Local Democracy Reporters cover news about top-tier local authorities and other public service organisations.
