John Richardson, a solicitor who also served as Musselburgh town clerk, died in 1940 and directed that part of his estate should fund cottages for “deserving” people in his home town to live in rent-free, in perpetuity.

After the death of his stepdaughter in 1990, £267,000 was distributed to the former district council in line with his wishes.

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.”

Councillors will be asked this week to approve the use of the funds for the construction of six new homes on the site of a former hospital. If approved, the properties would be owned by the Haddington Common Good Fund and leased to a mid-market rent firm.

A report due to go to East Lothian Council said: “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.

The report added: “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.”