A CALL for “more imaginative designs” has not been enough to stop plans for four houses in Dunbar getting the go-ahead.

Permission was given in February 2021 for four homes to be built in the garden grounds of Lochend Lodge, off the town’s Lochend Road.

That permission has since expired, which led to New Homes for Life reapplying to East Lothian Council.

Dunbar Community Council objected to the original plans and again voiced its concerns about the new application.

The group described the application as “an overdevelopment of the site with inappropriately scaled buildings and a complete loss of established greenspace/garden ground/habitat”.

According to the developer, various options were considered for the site, including a block of flats.

It said “market research” suggested that demand in the area was for four-bedroom houses in “a relatively traditional style”.

'More imaginative designs'

The community council disagreed and said that the design was “yet more white render”.

The planning officer’s report sums up the objection: “There are many other developers in the area building four-bedroom houses.

“What is lacking is bungalows [for those] seeking to downsize/needing one-level living who do not wish a flat.

“There is also a shortage of single-person dwellings.

“The design of the houses is yet more white render. There should be consideration of the vernacular red sandstone. More imaginative designs should be considered.

“Use of renewable energy should be included in design.”

Other concerns included road safety and the likelihood of more cars joining the street and neighbouring Spott Road.

Planning officers considered whether the site would be “sufficiently capable” of accommodating four new homes.

They felt it could include garden ground, vehicle access, turning and off-street parking without being “an overdevelopment of it”.

Similarly, they said: “They would not appear prominent or obtrusive within the streetscape and would not compete architecturally with the built form of any of the existing houses and buildings of the surrounding area.”