Thursday October 2nd 2025
Save Kippielaw campaigners
Written by Midlothian View Reporter, Liam Eunson
A Midlothian community group, ‘Save Kippielaw’, are attempting to fight against a new housing development after a decision by the Midlothian Council Planning Committee added Kippielaw Farm to the shortlist for new housing in the forthcoming Local Development Plan.
Recently, relaunched on the 3rd of September at the Mayfield and Easthouses Community Council meeting, the campaign aims to persuade the midlothian council to not allocate the Kippielaw site for development either in the short term or long term.
The campiagners are objecting the council’s considered proposal to allow developers to build a new private housing development of between 300 to 500 houses in ‘all remaining green fields’ between the communities of Dalkeith and Easthouses, which will join up the communities of Dalkeith, Kippielaw and Easthouses.
The major objections to the plan surrounds the development of a triangle field which separates Kippielaw Housing Estate from Easthouses, and a number of fields behind Kippielaw Steading from Easthouses Way to Lauder Road.
Stephen Liddell of the campaign group, explained:
“This development would result in aprroximetly 1250 additional new residents who would want to use our GP practice including 300 school children who would need to be educated at Newbattle High School and Easthouses Primary School.
“The council only needs to find sites for 1660 new houses across Midlothian to meet the Scottish Goivernment target.
“Therefore, the Kippielaw Site is simply not required.”
Being the third time since 2014 that site has been under threat by planned housing developments, previous campaigns have resulted in the council backing the local community.
This new campaign has similarly received support from Midlothian MSP’s, such as Colin Beattie and Kirsty McNeil.
Colin Beattie MSP with Save Kippielaw campaigners
This time round the Council Planning Department originally decided to not shortlist the site, preferring not to allocate greenfield sites. However, the Kippielaw site was prompted again by a developer where it received support from one of three local councillors, which resulted in the site being added to the shortlist. Councillor Stuart McKenzie showed support towards the development, highlighting his reasoning at a planning meeting on the 26th of June.
During the meeting he explained:
“I was at the Seminar and I asked for that site to be included. My thinking is this. There is a lot of discussion within the Community Council etc. about sites generally. I counted up my figures and they were absolutely not ever in support of 60% of the sites. So when I looked at Mayfield and Easthouses there is a need for more housing.
“We have a new school in Easthouses. The rolls for that school are not generous. These sites would support those kids. Those sites would support Easthouses Primary.
“Now in terms of the expanding conurbaton, we also can’t expand that town settlement to the north because of the greenbelt. To the west the Lingerwood site is already allocated. There are a couple of sites south at Lawfield Farm. Why I didn’t pick those sites for additonal is because if we did build those sites then all the new people would need to drive right through Mayfield.
“If the elected members choose to increase the numbers which I think they need to for me, and you are never going to please everybody. For me those sites down at the bottom of the road stops people having to drive up through the town. It’s right in the right area for the catchment area for that brand-new primary school.
“In terms of doctors and stuff I think they could go to Dalkeith so if we are being really paroquial then that lessens the infrastructure burden on my own ward but to the detriment of Dalkeith. That was my thinking. That’s why I wanted Kippielaw included.”
This decision has shocked local residents. In the 2014 campaign over 1300 letters of objection were sent to the Council who listened to the local community, removing the site from the last Local Development Plan. In 2019 the site was proposed for a new Kippielaw Primary School and 50 acre housing development. Following another campaign, the council decided to build the school at Easthouses instead and the housing development was dropped.
This new campaign has already received more than 600 letters of objection.
Comments for supporting local residents include:
“The feelings of our local communities are Anger, Exhaustion and Betrayal. They are exhausted by having to go through this stressful process over and over.”
“The community feels betrayed that one of our own three Ward Councillors would do this to his own electorate.”
Stephen Liddell of the campaign group also explained:
“The local community are exhausted and angry that they are under attack yet again. They feel betrayed because their previous objections have been ignored. The current campaign has collected more than 600 letters of objection in its first three weeks alone.
“Mayfield and Easthouses Community Council has already agreed to accept five smaller sites totalling 206 houses which were shortlisted by the Planning Department because they would produce mainly Social Housing on brownfield sites. We do not need any more largescale private housing developmentsmconsuming our countryside in this area. The local Community hopes that the Council will support us again this time. The fight continues.”
Last night a campaign update was given at Mayfield and Easthouses Community Council meeting, where MSP support alongside the new number of 800 letters of objection was highlighted.
Alongside political support, the campiagn has become popular on social media alongside receiving additional support from neighbouring community councils.
During last night’s meeting an update from Stephen Liddell was read out, stating:
“Every one of our own Objection letters have been copied to Kirsty McNeill and Colin Beattie so they are aware of the strength of feeling from our local communities. In due course they will all be sent to the Head of Planning so that the Planning Department can verify the numbers and read every single letter.
“The Community response has been overwhelming. The vast majority of online objections contain personal comments so, aswell as signing a Pro-Forma Objection letter, people are individually telling us why they think that this proposed development is a bad idea.”
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