Bid for homes at Gin Head given the go ahead by council

Permission was given to change Gin Head, east of North Berwick, into seven homes more than a decade ago. However, progress at the site has been slow.

East Lothian Council has agreed to extend planning permission on the site after another application was lodged with its planning department.

A statement included with the latest application reads: “The applicant, Jazcorp Ltd, has recently purchased the site and is keen to ensure that the planning permission is renewed ahead of being able to embark on the development.

“The site has suffered due to the unique nature of both its location and the development proposals but perhaps more pertinently, the series of permissions cover the period that saw the global financial crisis and the Covid pandemic.”

Proposals to develop the former radar station site at Gin Head, near North Berwick, have been approved by East Lothian Council. Image: East Lothian Council planning portal

In 2011, permission was granted for seven houses and private gardens on the site.

That permission was renewed at the beginning of 2016 and then renewed again in early 2020.

The cliff-top buildings are the remains of a radar station that dates back to 1943.

During the Second World War, the station was used to test naval radars. After the war years it continued to be used by the Admiralty for radar trials.

Thereafter, until the station, near Tantallon Castle, closed, it was used by a business company for the development of new types of radar.

Proposals to develop the former radar station site at Gin Head, near North Berwick, have been approved by East Lothian Council. Image: East Lothian Council planning portal

Prior to the pandemic, the unusual series of buildings were on the market for £2.5 million.

That seven-figure fee was down from a previous asking price of £3.5 million.

Drawings in the application note the seven homes would be split over four separate buildings, with further buildings used as garages.

The homes would range from one to four bedrooms, including a property overlooking the clifftop.

The developer hopes to “finally see the Gin Head site be brought back to life”.

The local authority’s planning department received three letters objecting to the proposals.

The main concerns focused on the creation of a new access road, as well as “erosion of historic landscape around Tantallon Castle”.