MORE than £1.3 million will be given to East Lothian Council after a major development on the outskirts of Macmerry was approved.

Balfour Beatty Homes will build 122 new homes and 20 flats on the western edge of the village, with work starting in the coming months.

As part of the planning approval, the developer will have to put forward money for various improvements in nearby infrastructure.

Contributions towards improvements at the village’s primary school, Tranent’s Ross High School, surrounding roads and sporting provision total £1,322,444.20.

A spokeswoman for East Lothian Council said: “Section 75 agreements are proportional to the size of any development and, as they are used to improve infrastructure such as any necessary increase in education provision and upgrades or installation of transport links, they are essential in enabling East Lothian Council to ensure development is carried out in a sustainable, controlled way.”

Discussions surrounding the land to the west and north of the village’s Main Street have been ongoing for more than four years.

Originally, as many as 200 homes were planned for the site but that number has been reduced over time.

Now, Balfour Beatty Homes is looking to start building the new homes, which will include 36 affordable homes.

A spokeswoman for the housing giant said: “We did get planning approval and we are really, really pleased.

“We will mobilising on site in the first half of this year.”

The 36 affordable properties will be split into cottage flats and terraced homes.

Twelve of the cottage flats will be one bedroom, with the remaining eight featuring two bedrooms.

Eight of the terraced homes will have two bedrooms, seven will have three bedrooms and there will be a single four-bedroom home.

Six bungalows, all featuring three bedrooms, will make up part of the private home section of the site.

A further 37 homes will have three bedrooms, with 49 four-bedroom properties and 14 two-bedroom homes.

Eight objections to the proposals came from members of the public, who raised concerns including building on agricultural land and that the new development was “swallowing up” the old buildings of the village.

As part of the planning conditions, the seven-figure sum has to be transferred to the local authority.

The biggest amount of money – £671,944 – goes towards the provision of additional accommodation at Ross High School, with a further £500,266 going towards Macmerry Primary School.

The council will also receive £53,832.20 for an off-site sporting provision in the village.

More than £26,000 will go towards road improvements, including Old Craighall Junction, Salters Road Interchange and Bankton Interchange on the A1, and improvements to Tranent and Musselburgh town centres.

Finally, nearly £70,000 will go towards “a segregated active travel corridor” – a designated route, away from traffic, where active travel such as walking or cycling can be undertaken safely.

Permission for a second site – featuring 94 houses and eight flats – on land north of St Germains Terrace was given in May 2019.