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Home , Midlothian, Newbattle, Newtongrange

Accessibility Report

August 2013

Newbattle Accessibility Report

CONTROL SHEET

CLIENT: Persimmon Homes

PROJECT TITLE: Newbattle

REPORT TITLE: Accessibility Report

PROJECT REFERENCE: 99999/ED/TR/01

Issue and Approval Schedule:

ISSUE 1 Name Signature Date

Issue

Prepared by Suzanne Bullimore 15/08/13

Reviewed by Calum Robertson 28/08/13

Approved by Donald 29/08/13

Revision Record:

Issue Date Status Description By Chk App

2

3

This report has been prepared in accordance with procedure OP/P02 of the Fairhurst Quality Management System.

Newbattle Accessibility Report

Contents

1 Introduction ______1

1.1 Introduction 1

2 Accessibility ______2

2.1 Introduction and Surrounding Land Use 2 2.2 Pedestrian Provision 3 2.3 Cycling 6 2.4 Public Transport 7 2.5 Rail 9 2.6 Access by Private Car 9 2.7 Vehicular Access to development sites 9

3 Development Trips______10

3.1 Trip Generation 10

4 Summary and Conclusion______12

4.1 Summary 12 4.2 Conclusions 12

Newbattle Accessibility Report

1 Introduction

1.1 Introduction

1.1.1 This report has been prepared on behalf of Persimmon Homes in support of proposals for residential development of up to 180 dwellings at Newbattle Home Farm, , .

1.1.2 The site includes 26 acres of agricultural land on the northern edge of Newtongrange adjacent to the settlement boundary and existing residential areas. The Midlothian Local Plan was adopted in 2008 and confirms that the site is located in countryside within a conservation area (but outwith the green belt) comprising agricultural land. Most of the site is located outwith land currently designated as a Nationally Important Garden and Designated Landscape. The site comprises three separate parts, separated only by existing local roads B703 Newbattle Road and The Beeches.

• Part 1 – 9.24 acres (3.74ha)

• Part 2 – 12.94 acres (5.23ha)

• Part 3 – 5.75 acres (2.33 ha)

1.1.3 The site location is displayed in red at Figure 1.

Figure 1 Site Location 1.1.4 The report reviews accessibility to the site considering firstly the most sustainable modes of travel by walking and cycling, then by public transport and finally by private car.

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Newbattle Accessibility Report

2 Accessibility

2.1 Introduction and Surrounding Land Use

2.1.1 The site is well located in terms of existing facilities and amenities in Newtongrange, with an Accessibility Plan presented at Diagram 1.

2.1.2 The west of the site is bound by Ochre Burn. The River Esk and Doghouses Woods are located approximately 700m to the west. The A7 runs to the west of the site in a northerly-southerly direction through Newtongrange. The town of lies approximately 2km west of the site alongside Broomieknowe Golf Course.

2.1.3 The north of the site is bound by open fields. The river South Esk and Lord Ancrum’s Wood are located approximately 700m to the north within the settlement of Newbattle. The settlement of Eskbank is situated further north, approximately 1.5m, which can be reached via Newbattle Road (B703).

2.1.4 The east of the site is bound by open fields and a row of residential housing. There is a narrow footpath along the back of the houses which separates the properties from the site boundary.

Footpath between the residential housing and site boundary.

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Newbattle Accessibility Report

2.1.5 Newbattle High School is located approximately 1.8km to the east and can be accessed via Morris Road. The settlements of Mayfield and are located approximately 1km to the east of the site; Easthouses is located just to the north of Mayhouses.

2.1.6 The south of the site is bound by open woodland and residential properties which are part of the village Newtongrange. Newtongrange Primary School is located approximately 7.5km to the south of the site and Newbattle Community High School is approximately 750m to the east. Newtongrange village contains local amenities including churches, shops, supermarkets, public houses and a post office. The location of these amenities can be seen at Diagram 1.

2.1.7 B703 Newbattle Road runs in a north-south direction from Eskbank to Newtongrange separating Parts 1 and 2 of the site. The Beeches also runs in a north-south direction separating Parts 2 and 3 of the site, connecting to B703 Newbattle Road a short distance to the north of the site.

2.2 Pedestrian Provision

2.2.1 Existing pedestrian provision in Newtongrange is of good standard with footways provided to both sides of most roads except for short distances where boundary issues preclude this.

2.2.2 Pedestrian footways will link to existing provision on B703 Newbattle Road and The Beeches. Walking isochrones have been overlaid on Diagram 1. .

2.2.3 Newbattle Road (to the east of Part 1 of the site and the west of Part 2 of the site) has a footway along both sides of its carriageway from the junction with Dalhousie Road/Bryans Road until Galadale Drive. From this point a footway is only present along its northbound carriageway until the river South Esk is reached where footways are present along both sides again.

2.2.4 The Beeches (to the east of Part 2 and the west of Part 3) has footways along both sides of the carriageway at a small section beside Part 3 of the site, however for the remainder of the road north of Gardiner Place there are no footways.

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Newbattle Accessibility Report

Mansfield Road/the Beeches

2.2.5 There are number of designated pedestrian crossing points on the road network facilitating access to the local amenities.

Dropped kerbs on B6482 Bryans Road side street

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Newbattle Accessibility Report

2.2.6 A puffin crossing with dropped kerbs and tactile paving is located on B6482 Mansfield Road to the south-east of the development outside the Key Store. Several of the side streets connecting onto Bryans Road have dropped kerbs and painted on footprints and writing telling the pedestrian to look left and right to assist with safe crossing. These are also included on all arms of the roundabouts of Bryans Road/NewbattleRoad/Dalhousie Road and Main Street. All of the arms of the junction (apart from Bryans Road) also have an island in the centre of the carriageway to facilitate crossing.

2.2.7 A zebra crossing is located on Bryans Road across from Welfare Park. This will assist children walking to Newtongrange Primary cross Bryans Road safely.

Zebra crossing on B6482 Bryans Road

2.2.8 The Land Reform () Act 2003 came into effect in 2005 which placed various duties on the Local Authorities, one of which was to draw up a plan for a system of paths ‘sufficient for purpose of giving the public reasonable access throughout the area’. These paths are known as core paths and all local authorities in Scotland were required to create a plan of Core Paths.

2.2.9 ’s Core Paths Plan provides information regarding the nature and location of available footpaths and cycleways within the general location of the development site. The existing Core Paths network comes close to the site in several locations. To the south a Core Path routes through Welfare Park from Bryans Road, Main Street and Park Road leading to Newtongrange Primary School. To the north, several core paths link onto the B703 at Newbattle Road. The Core Paths extend north to and east to Easthouses and Mayfield.

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Newbattle Accessibility Report

2.3 Cycling

2.3.1 Midlothian Council has produced its own Cycle Map providing an overview of cycle facilities throughout Midlothian. Two routes marked for cycling in the vicinity of the development are identified at Diagram 1. In addition to these routes, the permeable network of quiet local roads and paths make the location suitable for cycling trips.

2.3.2 Local roads in the vicinity of the development are generally lightly trafficked and suitable for journeys to education and employment, with local schools and a broad catchment area of local villages accessible within a comfortable cycling distance. The B6482 to the south of the site runs in an easterly-westerly direction and is marked on the cycling map as a main road with light traffic, confirming suitability for use as a cycle route. The B703 and the A7 adjacent to the site are identified as suitable for cycling, but suited to more experienced cyclists as traffic levels at peak periods can be heavier. These on-road routes connect the site with Dalkeith to the north, Newtongrange to the south and Mayfield and Easthouses to the east.

2.3.3 On a more strategic level, National Cycle Route 1 (NCR1) runs to the west of the site in a northerly-southerly direction. NCR1 is a long distance cycle route running down the east coast of Britain. NCR1 links the site with Galashiels and to the south and to the north.

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Newbattle Accessibility Report

2.4 Public Transport

2.4.1 Existing public transport in the vicinity of the site is exclusively provided by bus. The closest bus stops are marked on Diagram 1 and are within approximately 400m walk distance of the site as specified in PAN75 guidance. Buses serving these stops are provided by Buses and First Bus.

2.4.2 Details of current services, approximate frequencies and journey times are summarised at Table 1.

General Frequencies

Mon-Fri Operator Service Principle calling points Sat Sun Off Peak Eve Peak

Silverknowes - - Lothian Edinburgh - - Eskbank - 29 15 30 - 30 - Buses Newtongrange (Mon-Sat daytime) or at peak times only to Bryans - Mayfield

Baberton - - Longstone - - Lothian Haymarket - Edinburgh - Commonwealth Pool - 33 10 15 30 15 30 Buses - ERI - Dalkeith - Bryans - Newtongrange - Gowkshill - Gorebridge

Lothian Woodburn – Dalkeith – Hardengreen – 39 30 60 - 60 - Buses Bonnyrigg – Newtongrange - Gorebridge

Edinburgh Bus Station - Cameron Toll - ERI (Main Road) - Eskbank - - 3 First Bus 95A Newtongrange - North Middleton - Galashiels - - - - - jnys Hawick. Some daytime journeys extend to Longtown - Carlisle

Edinburgh - Cameron Toll - ERI - Eskbank - First Bus X95 Newtongrange - Heriot - Galashiels - Selkirk - 30 30 60 30 60 Hawick.- Longtown - Carlisle

Table 1 Bus services serving the development

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Newbattle Accessibility Report

2.4.3 The site is conveniently served by a number of frequent bus services providing journey opportunities to local and longer distance destinations. Lothian service 33 is the most frequent service, serving Edinburgh City Centre via Edinburgh Royal Infirmary up to every 10/15 minutes during weekdays and on Saturdays. Frequent Lothian services 29 and 33 offer connection opportunities at key nodes such as ERI, Cameron Toll and the city centre to destinations throughout Edinburgh.

2.4.4 First X95 provides Raillink connections between Edinburgh and Carlisle via Galashiels and Hawick and operates at 30 minute intervals daytime.

2.4.5 Passenger facilities vary at local bus stops, with some provided with shelters and timetable information whilst others have only a stop flag.

Bus stop on Park Road with shelter and timetable information

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Newbattle Accessibility Report

2.5 Rail

2.5.1 In 1969, the historic Waverley line which connected the to the National Rail Network was closed. Following years of campaigning in 2006, the Waverley Railway (Scotland) Act was passed by the Scottish Parliament, which authorised a partial restoration of the Waverley Line. The new will see four new stations built in Midlothian and three in the Scottish borders. Trains will run up to every half hour at peak times, and with an attractive journey time of less than 30 minutes to Edinburgh Waverley are likely to be the mode of choice for travel to work journeys, with the equivalent bus journey taking approximately 60 minutes.

2.5.2 The new station in Newtongrange will be located approximately 600m to the west of the site as shown at Diagram 1 within PAN75 guidance of walk distance to rail services of 800m.

2.6 Access by Private Car

2.6.1 The site is conveniently located for ease of access to both the local and strategic road networks within a short distance. The location of the site to the northern side of Newtongrange is anticipated to minimise the level of vehicle trips passing though the village.

2.6.2 B703 Newbattle Road runs in a north-south alignment between Parts 1 and 2 of the site. It is a single carriageway road with a speed limit of 20mph. B703 connects to A6094 to the north, serving Eskbank and Dalkeith. It links onto the B6482 to the south of the site, a single carriageway with a speed limit of 40mph. The B6482 links the site with Mayfield and Easthouses to the east and onto the A7 to the west, a major trunk route that runs south from Edinburgh to Carlisle in the North West England.

2.6.3 Bordering the east of Part 2 of the site and the west of Part 3 of the site is Mansfield Road, a single carriageway with a 30 mph speed limit. It becomes The Beeches further north and eventually joins onto B703 Newbattle Road. To the south it forms a junction with the B6482 at Bryans Road, it then turns into Suttieslea Road further South before rerouting north joining the site to Mayfield and Easthouses and then onto the A6106 at Dalkeith.

2.6.4 To the north the A7 links onto the A720 Bypass within 5km of the site, providing trunk connections to the east coast of Scotland via A1 and central and west Scotland via the M9 and M8.

2.7 Vehicular Access to development sites

2.7.1 Vehicular access to each section of the development is anticipated to require to be provided as a ghost island priority junction. Designing Streets policy may require the provision of more than one access to each section of the development. It is anticipated that access proposals will form the subject of further discussions with Midlothian Council.

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Newbattle Accessibility Report

3 Development Trips

3.1 Trip Generation

3.1.1 A person trip rate was generated for the development using the TRICS v6.2.1 database. Table 2 displays the resultant person trip rates. A land use category of 03/K Mixed Private Housing was used which is defined by TRICS as:

‘Housing developments where at least 75% of units are privatey owned. Of the total number of units, less than 75% must be houses (sum of ‘’non-split’’ terraced, detached, semi-detached, bungalows, etc) and less than 75% must be flats (sum of flats in blocks and ‘’split houses).’

Weekday AM Peak Weekday PM Peak

Trip Rates Trips Trip Rates Trips

IN OUT IN OUT IN OUT IN OUT 0.137 0.675 25 121 0.481 0.272 87 49

Table 2 Person Trips 3.1.2 The Census data was used to establish mode split. The journey to work or place of study data for Dalkeith was broken down as shown in Table 3.

Mode Share

total public transport 21%

total car 63%

bicycle 1%

motorcycle, scooter or moped 1%

foot 9%

work from home 4%

other 1%

Total 100

Table 3 Census Mode Split

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Newbattle Accessibility Report

3.1.3 The mode spit data was applied to the vehicular person trip rates and the resultant trips are shown in Table 4.

Weekday AM Peak Weekday PM Peak

Trips Trips

IN OUT IN OUT 16 76 55 31

Table 4 Development Vehicle Trips

3.1.4 The level of vehicle trips predicted is anticipated to be comfortably accommodated on the local road network with minimal impact on existing network performance at peak periods.

3.1.5 It is anticipated that there will be a significant reduction in car trips to employment from the area on commissioning of the Borders Railway.

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Newbattle Accessibility Report

4 Summary and Conclusion

4.1 Summary

4.1.1 This Accessibility Report has been prepared on behalf of Persimmon Homes in support of proposals for residential development of up to 180 dwellings at Newbattle Home Farm, Newtongrange, Midlothian.

4.2 Conclusions

4.2.1 The report confirms that accessibility to and from the site by all modes of transport is good, with direct connection to existing pedestrian provision in Newtongrange village which allows access to local education, employment and convenience retail facilities.

4.2.2 Existing public transport connectivity is excellent, with a choice of frequent bus services within approximately 400m walk distance of the sites. The commissioning of Borders Rail, presently anticipated to be in 2015, will further improve connectivity, with Newtongrange station located within 800m wall distance of the development site.

4.2.3 Access by private car to the local and strategic road network is excellent, with direct connection to the permeable network of local roads and connection to the trunk road network within a short distance for strategic journeys.

4.2.4 An estimate of peak period vehicle trips has been prepared. It is considered that the additional vehicle trips will have minimal impact on network performance.

4.2.5 The report concludes that the site is well located for residential development in accessibility terms.

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Newbattle Accessibility Report

Diagram

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Lord Ancrum’s Wood

NEWBATTLE 99999 Newbattle

Newbattle Road

Accessibility Plan A7 Diagram 1 B703 B6392 KEY EASTHOUSES Development site

Bus Stop

Walking Routes to School

Disused Railway Line

Amenities Museum Doghouses Wood B6392 The Beeches Primary School Part 3 B6482 High School

College BONNYRIGG Part 1 Part 2 MAYFIELD Medical Centre

Church

A7

Mansfield Road Community/Leisure Centre

Bryans Road Hospital

Dalhousie Road Shop/supermarket

B6482 Public House B6482 Post Office

Routes

Welfare Main road Proposed Park

Railway Secondary road Station B703

NCR 1 Pedestrian

Crossings

Puffin A7 NEWTONGRANGE Zebra Isochrones

400m 800m

1600m

SB A7 Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and data-

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