Fa’side Lodge site now home to new council and assisted living properties
A site in the centre of Tranent, with a rich and varied history, has now been transformed as the home of 28 much-needed new council houses, 13 of which will be assisted living properties.
The land near the top of Church Street became available for development following the demolition of the Fa’side Lodge care home in 2016. We then worked with partners to identify the best use of the site.
The result is that we now have 10 much-needed new one-bedroom flats as well as four two-bedroom flats and a wheelchair accessible bungalow for council rent. In addition, 13 properties will be leased to East Lothian Health and Social Care Partnership for people with support needs – a mix of one and two-bedroom flats, cottage flats and bungalows – all built by JR Group.
High build standards include future-proofing features such as being digitally enabled, electric vehicle infrastructure and points, automatic fire suppression systems and zero direct emissions heating.
The site has been an important one in Tranent life for centuries, lately as the location of the Fa’side Lodge care home which was built in the 1970s, as well as a church and GP surgery. Before that it housed the much-loved Tranent Public School, which was built in 1877 but was sadly destroyed by fire in 1958. It is believed that housing had been on the site since the early 17th century and it was known as Pigeon Square up to the mid-1800s, before being demolished ahead of the school construction.
