Masterplan: north-east of Tranent, East Lothian, Scotland
part of East Lothian Council Structure Plan


masterplan image from Blindwells Development

Around 1600 houses are planned at this former open-cast coal mine just east of Tranent - north-east side of the A1 just east of the Prestonpans/Tranent junction - by Wemyss and March Estates. The Blindwells settlement is part of East Lothian's planned 4800 house total. The development is due to include employment buildings, not simply housing.

East Lothian New Town, by well-known UK masterplanner/architect.

Blindwells site: www.blindwells-development.com
Edinburgh Green Belt Trust: www.egbt.org.uk/map.html

Blindwells, East Lothian: context image from Blindwells Development

News Excerpt re Blindwells from Aug 2005:
East Lothian Local Plan Approved

A self-contained new town of 1,600 homes on the former opencast coal site at Blindwells looks increasingly likely. Although smaller than the Scottish New Towns back in the sixties the massive site could accommodate another 2,500 to 3,000 houses in the future.

The 130 hectares earmarked are expected to cope with housing demand to the year 2015 and will have its own community centre, pre-school facility, primary and secondary schools.The new Local Plan as expected rejects proposals for new towns to be built at Drem or Fenton Barns.

Following approval of the plan there would be six weeks for any further objections before coming back for final approval.


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Blindwells - Website: www.scottishcoal.co.uk

News Excerpts re East Lothian New Town - from 2002:

East Lothian: New Town
Planning officials have set their sights on the former Scottish Coal site at Blindwells, near Tranent, as the most promising site for creating an entire new town. East Lothian council is trying to identify space for 5000 new homes in the coming years to cope with growing demand for properties in the area. Other sites, including Fenton Barns and Drem, are also being considered as potential sites for the new town, but planning officials believe Blindwells looks like the best option. Building a new town is seen as a better idea than extending existing towns and villages and possibly destroying their community spirit:
12.02.02
One quarter of those homes must be built on land previously not earmarked for housing.
09.02.02

Blindwells
East Lothian Council's Local Transport Strategy is to 'reduce overall dependence on the private car'. So what do its planners do? They recommend building a new town in a location with no hope of having a rail link in the foreseeable future. This seems to have been chosen specifically with car reliance in mind.
18.02.02

Cambourne Visit
Well done to East Lothian Council for getting out and investigating New Towns:
A new village with a hi-tech business park and 3,000 homes under construction, impressed East Lothian Councillors and officials when they went to see how an English council was meeting the demand for housing.
03.05.02

East Lothian New Town Options

The plot thickens as farmers James Miller sr, of Kilduff and Charles Russell of Muirton have given developers Glassedin Estates options on around 400 ha of land around Drem:
05.04.02




East Lothian News:

DRAFT STRUCTURE PLAN: ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSE
The draft Lothian Structure Plan has been branded 'vague and non-specific' and likely to lead to a mentality of profit before environmental good.The statement came from the East Lothian Environment Group (ELEG) a body with around 40 members throughout the county.
12.04.02

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