Plans have been agreed to transform Midlothian's former Newbattle High School site into a new primary school with additional homes.

A two-stream school will be built with capacity for 420 primary pupils and 120 pre-school children. As well as the school, 150 homes will be constructed on site.

This follows previous approved recommendations to turn the Easthouses site into a 222-home development.

The cost of building the new school will be offset by reducing the size of the planned primary school at Kippielaw, which will reduce from pupil capacity for 630 primary pupils to pupil capacity for 420 primary pupils.

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Midlothian Council's Cabinet Member for Education, Cllr Jim Muirhead said: "Masterplans to regenerate key areas in Easthouses, Mayfield, Newtongrange and Gorebridge and the council’s social house building programme have identified sites with capacity for around 1,200 additional houses.

"This decision updates our Learning Estate Strategy, which makes sure we have enough school places for future pupil numbers, to take account of the pupils who will come from these additional houses.

"As the former Newbattle High School site is in council ownership and has to date been a school site, a new school building can be delivered relatively quickly."

(CM/JG)