COUNCILLORS will rule on whether a four-metre-tall sign advertising a housing development should be brought down.

Two, three, four and five-bedroom homes, as well as two-bedroom apartments, at Belhaven Gardens, in the Hallhill area of Dunbar, are available to buy from Taylor Wimpey.

However, the housing developer did not receive permission from East Lothian Council before putting the sign up at the junction of James Kirk Way and Yosemite Park.

Questions of who owns the land where the sign is sited have also been raised, while concerns about road safety have also been highlighted.

An application for retrospective permission was submitted to the local authority’s planning department in April.

Councillor Donna Collins, who represents the town on East Lothian Council, has now ‘called in’ the application, which means it will be discussed at the next meeting of the planning committee next week.

The issue was also discussed at a meeting of Dunbar Community Council last month.

'Standard practice'

Mrs Collins said: “Scottish planning. . . you can put in an application for any land, even if you do not own it.

“I have had four representations in total about road safety for that corner, [regarding] line of sight for any kids crossing the road.

“It is blind for the kids and also for any driver.”

Jacquie Bell, who is a member of the community council, told members that she too had received complaints about the sign being put in place without permission.

She noted that “big banners” had also been put along nearby Brodie Road highlighting the development.

The next meeting of East Lothian Council’s planning committee is on Tuesday, when a decision is due to be made on the sign.

Councillor Norman Hampshire, who chairs the planning committee and also represents Dunbar, was not in attendance at the community council meeting.

A spokesperson for Taylor Wimpey East Scotland told the Courier: “Due to an expected high level of interest and demand for our Belhaven Way development, we commissioned directional signage to be installed to assist customers in finding our new show homes, which opened to the public on Saturday, June 29.

“Whilst it is our standard practice to secure planning consent prior to erecting these types of signs, there was an oversight which meant this sign was installed prior to planning permission being obtained, and we apologise for this.

“We are now working to resolve this matter with East Lothian Council’s planning department and we hope to secure planning consent to be able to reinstall the sign shortly.

“Our show homes will continue to be available for customers to visit, and our opening times will remain as normal.”