WORK has begun on the first houses at a major new residential development in East Lothian, on the site of an opencast mine which closed in 2000.

Developer Hargreaves Land said Bellway had started on groundworks for the housebuilder’s 144-home Prince’s Gate development at Blindwells.

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The developer, part of Hargreaves Services, cited strong demand from housebuilders for other plots of land at the site. It plans to launch marketing of the next residential plot and announce the start of this phase of development in coming weeks, naming the housebuilder which will undertake this and the number of properties to be constructed.

A Hargreaves Land spokesman noted work on the site, prior to Bellway starting construction, had comprised remediation and infrastructure works. 

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Blindwells, less than 10 miles east of Edinburgh, has outline planning permission for 1,600 homes in total. Hargreaves Land’s proposals also include new education facilities, a healthcare hub, and retail outlets.

All homes at Prince’s Gate, a mixture of three, four and five-bedroom terraced, semi-detached and detached properties, will feature solar panels. The first houses will be available to reserve in the spring – when prices will be released.

Iain Slater, development and estates director at Hargreaves Land, said: “Over the past six years significant investment has been made in order to facilitate new residential development at Blindwells, so it is with great pleasure that we welcome the start of Prince’s Gate. 
“We have experienced a strong level of interest from housebuilders since we started marketing the scheme last year, which has led to us making excellent progress on the residential element. We have a lot to look forward to, despite the challenges that the pandemic has presented.”