Locals asked to help name East Lothian's new town

School kids have helped come up with a shortlist of names

Author: John CallanPublished 31st Oct 2019

An effort is underway to name a new town being constructed in East Lothian.

It's being built on the former Blindwells colliery site between Tranent and Longniddry, with East Lothian Council promising 'affordable homes and first-class amenities'.

It will include new housing, a school, shops, sports facilities and parks.

To come up with a name for the settlement, the local authority asked local schoolchildren to come up with a shortlist of names.

From them, a shortlist was drawn up, including the options of Charlestoun, Hattonfield, Hopetoun, Muirdale and Nethermuir.

The option of Blindwells was added later, following calls from local residents.

A consultation is now underway to select a winner.

Council Leader Willie Innes said: “This is a truly exciting opportunity to come up with a name for this town. We wanted all school pupils in East Lothian to be involved as they are the generation who will be most likely to be living and working in this new settlement.

"We are very grateful to our schools for their deliberations and responses.

"As there has been a lot of public interest in what the new town will be called, we wanted to give the public the chance to vote on the final shortlist."

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