Writing in today's East Lothian Courier, Councillor Michael Veitch says SNP housing plans would be a disaster for East Lothian and that the blame for the pressure to build more housing in Musselburgh must lie with the Scottish Government.
"It was typical of the SNP to come to the council meeting on the East Lothian Local Development Plan criticising the administration for supporting a compact strategy on the west of the country, but failing to explain in any detail where they would choose to allocate houses.
"By definition, their proposal for a dispersed strategy would result in a huge increase in house building in Dunbar, North Berwick, East Linton, Haddington and surrounding communities, where the pace of new building is already faster than many of us would like.
"I wonder if SNP leader Stuart Currie has discussed his plans with his colleagues representing the Dunbar and Haddington wards, who owe it to their electorates to explain where these houses displaced from Musselburgh under their plans would be sited.
"Cllr Currie made clear at the council meeting that a future SNP administration on the council would look to alter the housing allocations in the proposed plan.
"At least voters in the east of the county now know where they stand come next May, namely that a vote for the SNP is a vote for vastly accelerated house building in the Dunbar, Haddington and North Berwick areas which would be a disaster for East Lothian.
"As for the undoubted pressure on Musselburgh and the west, the blame must lie squarely with the Scottish Government for insisting upon a ludicrously high figure of 10,000 new homes county-wide."