A NEW £46million secondary school which has been over a decade in the making has finally been given the go-ahead.

Plans for the new Wallyford Learning Campus were approved by East Lothian councillors.

And the council’s planning convenor, Councillor Norman Hampshire, said that the state-of-the-art school would make Wallyford one of the “best communities in East Lothian”.

Members of the council’s planning committee met virtually today to  consider a planning application on behalf of the local authority for the new school.

It will include not just a secondary education facility for up to 960 pupils but also a school of excellence for pupils with severe and complex needs, an adult day care centre, and tots and teens facility.

It is expected to open in 2024.

Although an artist's impression of the school names it as 'Wallyford High School', it is yet to be formally named.

Once open, it will take children from the Wallyford Primary School and Pinkie St Peter's Primary School catchment areas. Children who attend Whitecraig Primary School and the other primary schools in Musselburgh will continue to go to Musselburgh Grammar School.

Morrison Construction is about to start rock clearing operations on site over the next few weeks.

The design of the campus also includes a new community centre for Wallyford with additional spaces for workshops drama spaces, dining facilities and sports halls.

More than 2,000 new homes are being built on the outskirts of the village of Wallyford and plans for a new school were initially approved five years ago.

But at the planning meeting, councillors recalled plans to bring a new secondary school to the community going back as far as 12 years.

And they hailed the work which had gone into designing and creating the new campus plans, which will bring together lifelong learning for everyone.

Concerns were raised over the car park, which will provide 92 spaces, and whether it would be enough, as well as playing areas for pupils.

Musselburgh councillor John Williamson pointed out that when parents’ evenings were held at Musselburgh Grammar School, where many of the new school’s pupils would previously have gone, the car park was “rammed”.

However, councillors were told that officers had no concerns about the number of spaces, with the car park meeting the local authority policy of one space for every two teachers.

And landscaping pointed out the design of the new campus meant there were a number of “imaginatively designed smaller spaces for children as opposed to one main playground”.

Councillor Colin McGinn, ward member, said that he was delighted the school campus was being given detailed planning permission.

He said: “This is a huge step in the council’s investment in education and lifelong learning.

“I believe it has been on the go for 12 years and a lot of work has gone into making it a reality.”

And Musselburgh councillor Andrew Forrest added: “It has been a long time in discussion and it would have been easy for the administration to push it forward but I think it has been worth the wait.”

Mr Hampshire hailed the new campus, which will be built north of a new Wallyford Primary School which opened two years ago, next to Mason’s Way, as a boost for the whole community.

He said: “It will make Wallyford a fantastic community and one of the best in East Lothian.”

The plans were approved unanimously.