Solicitor John Richardson wanted his legacy to include cottages built in his home town of Haddington to house “deserving” people free of charge, forever.
The lawyer, who also served as Musselburgh town clerk, died in 1940 and, following the death of his stepdaughter in 1990, funds were distributed, with £267,000 given to the then district council in line with his request for the cottages.
His bequest asked his trustees to set aside “a sufficient sum to erect six cottages in the district of Haddington and having same erected, the said cottages shall be used for the occupation thereof by deserving natives of Haddington free of rent, rates and taxes, and the Burgh of Haddington shall out of said residue pay the cost of the erection and conditioning of said six cottages and set aside a sufficient sum to ensure the upkeep of said cottages and the payment of rates and taxes thereof in all time coming”.
A report due to go to East Lothian Council next week reveals that the money had, by March this year, grown to an amount just over £3 million and, while the council wanted to meet Mr Richardson’s bequest, it said that it was “unsustainable” and officers sought court guidance.
Now, they are asking for approval to use £1.6m of the funds to build six affordable housing units at Herdmanflat which would be owned by Haddington Common Good fund and leased to a midmarket rent firm.
The report says: “The court decreed that the sums forming the bequest should all be directed to the Common Good fund for Haddington.
“All monies assigned to the bequest have now been allocated to the Haddington Common Good Fund and as such the bequest has now been dissolved and requirement now deemed to have been met.”
The report says that council officers still want to provide the housing, which would be affordable, with rent going back to the Common Good fund.
And they said that part of the Herdmanflat site, which is being built as an older residents’ estate with 145 homes, would be ideal for the new units.
The report says: “These units would be held for the benefit of the Common Good fund for Haddington and the proposal would be to lease these to East Lothian Mid-Market Homes (ELMMH), who could lease to tenants for mid-market rent.
“The terms of the rent and the lease still require to be developed,
but initial calculations show that this should result in circa £37,000 per
annum for the Common Good fund for Haddington.”
Councillors will be asked to approve the use of the funds for six housing units next week.
