Plans to build on grazing land near West Calder have been rejected by West Lothian Council.
Carolyn Watson, speaking for the applicants, a farming family that owns the land, had argued that the two fields were no longer viable as grazing because of growing costs. The family had applied for planning permission to build 17 houses on the site, south of West Mains Crofts near West Calder.
Mrs Watson told a meeting of West Lothian Council’s Planning Committee the fields were not suitable for growing crops and had been used to graze cattle and sheep. However the land still needs to be fertilised and the cost of fertiliser has gone from £250 a tonne to £900 a tonne. Added to this was the costs of diesel travelling from the family home near Dechmont and back, a 22 mile round trip.
