Construction has begun on 36 new council homes in Wallyford, adjacent to the Learning Campus. All properties will be let for social rent by East Lothian Council and will comprise a mix of two-, three- and four-bedroom terraced and semi-detached houses.

Built by McTaggart Construction on the council's behalf, the project has a total cost of just over £7.5 million including the land purchase. Funding includes a contribution of just over £3 million from East Lothian Council, with the remainder coming from the Scottish Government's Affordable Housing Supply Programme.

The site forms part of the wider Wallyford development, which in recent years has delivered several housing projects alongside the new Learning Campus.

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Councillor Andy Forrest, East Lothian Council's Cabinet Member for Housing and Property Maintenance, said: "It was great to be here today to mark the start of construction on these new homes, which will be a great addition to the council's housing assets and will make a real difference to a number of families. Social housing is in huge demand in East Lothian as we are one of Scotland's fastest growing areas.

"Developments like these help us in our efforts to meet the demand for social housing and to meet the principles of our Local Housing Strategy, including creating well-connected communities with a range of accessible, affordable housing; tackling homelessness; and ensuring our homes are energy efficient, high standard and in line with our climate change targets."

Janice Russell, Managing Director at McTaggart Construction, said: "It's great to see this development underway. We're pleased to be working with East Lothian Council to deliver much-needed new affordable homes for the area. We've already recruited local labour and we're working closely with the local school as well as East Lothian Works, the council's employability service, to make sure this project creates real opportunities for people in the area."

Completion is expected in early 2028.