PLANS to build houses in a popular woodland have been approved after councillors heard that 1,300 people were on a waiting list for new homes.

Local people had launched a campaign against the proposed redevelopment of the old Herdmanflat Hospital site in Haddington to save an area of woodland which had become popular with families.

But a meeting of East Lothian Council’s planning committee on Tuesday heard that demand for the new affordable housing for older people in the county outweighed the loss to residents.

And Haddington and District Community Council said that there was no lack of green spaces in and around the town which could be accessed just a short distance from it.

Hundreds of people signed petitions calling for a halt to the development of the site.

READ MORE: Petition on housing plans at Herdmanflat Hospital rejected

Campaigners described the land at Herdmanflat as a "green lung" in their community and revealed that they had launched a bid to have the southern part of the site handed over in a community asset transfer.

At Tuesday's meeting, representatives of the local groups said that they accepted that the housing was needed but were asking for a reduction in the number of homes to keep woods on one section untouched.

A spokesperson for the campaign group, which is setting up the charity Haddington Community Woodlands to apply for the asset transfer, said that reducing the planned 145 homes by 53 would allow them to keep the land.

He said: “We are not opposed to the development but the local community values it as an open green space. The area we are talking about would have 53 housing units on it.”

Haddington Central Tenants and Residents Association also opposed the plans, asking for a rethink to allow the woodland to remain.

A spokesperson said: “It might not be a unique green space but it is a unique green space to the people who live there. It is where our children play and where we walk our dogs and spend time.”

The woodlands at the former Herdmanflat Hospital in Haddington are a popular place for youngsters like six-year-old Ailsa to enjoy

However, the community council said that it had taken into account the benefits for the entire town and felt that the advantages of developing the whole site for older residents took precedent.

The group's planning spokesperson Morgwn Davies told the meeting: “To keep a bit of open ground when, within five to 10 minutes, you can be in open countryside around Haddington, we believe [this application] will benefit Haddington as a community and a town."

The site was sold to the local authority by NHS Scotland after the services at Herdmanflat Hospital moved into the town’s new East Lothian Community Hospital; the understanding was that the Herdmanflat site would be used for older people.

The meeting heard that the new housing would be aimed at residents aged 55 and over and designed to allow them to adapt their home as they aged, living independently for longer.

READ MORE: Plans lodged for up to 145 homes at Herdmanflat Hospital

Planners told councillors that the development plans had been revised to take into account community concerns and, while overall there was likely to be the loss of 211 trees, including shrubs and young groups, there were plans to plant 1,250 trees in their place.

Their officer said that the plans for the site would create an "exemplary" development and meet an overwhelming demand for housing.

Councillor Colin Yorkston supported the application, saying: “I like the idea of housing that can be adapted. There are 1,300 people currently on the housing list that these houses would be suitable for.”

And Councillor John McMillan, a Haddington and Lammermuir ward councillor, said that he recalled growing up in Haddington when Herdmanflat was a hospital and there was a building on the land now claimed as woods.

He said: “It was not meant to be an open space, it is a man-made space that was developed.

"We have to think about the whole community."

A total of 38 objections were lodged to the application; however, councillors unanimously backed the plans.

Councillor Jeremy Findlay urged officers to continue to work with the community and consider the asset transfer request when it came, after being told that approving the application would not rule it out.