Planners say new village house is too far from bus stop 

A bid to build a new house on the edge of a village has been rejected after planners said it was too far from the nearest bus stop.

The proposals for the two-bedroom home at Howgate, were described by the applicants as ‘modest’ and would have seen it built in disused garden ground connected to an already established house.

However Midlothian Council planners ruled the land was in designated countryside on the outskirts of the conservation village and was not a ‘sustainable location’.

In a developers statement the applicant had said the new property would be 1.2 miles from the nearest bus stop and they would expect to use the council’s subsidised Ring and Go service which provides taxi services for the equivalent of bus fares in rural communities.

But rejecting the proposals planners said council policy for housing in rural sites required them to be accessible by public transport which meant it had to be within a mile of services such as bus stop with at least an hourly service.

They said of the application: “The site is not in the proximity of any public transport or existing walking/cycling routes, meaning the development would be entirely car dependant.”

Concerns were also raised about the removal of trees and hedges to create access to a new three vehicle driveway for the house although applicants argued loss would be kept to a minimum and involve only plantings which had been made in the last 12 years.

The applicants also challenged claims the new house would be in the countryside insisting it was within the Howgate boundary and already had an
established use as ‘residential’.

Rejecting the application planners said it  was an “unsuitable development in the countryside”.

They added: “It has not been justified that the proposed development has been sited in a sustainable location and it fails to address the global climate crisis in this respect.”

No objections to the proposals were lodged with the council.

By Marie Sharp Local Democracy Reporter

The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) is a public service news agency. It is funded by the BBC, provided by the local news sector (in Edinburgh that is Reach plc (the publisher behind Edinburgh Live and The Daily Record) and used by many qualifying partners. Local Democracy Reporters cover news about top-tier local authorities and other public service organisations.

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