Proposals for the A701 Relief Road and A702 Link Road in Midlothian

The A701 in Midlothian running from its junction with the A720 City Bypass to Penicuik is identified as a major development corridor in the Council’s Midlothian Local Development Plan (MLDP), as adopted in 2017. The Plan includes substantial allocations for new housing and commercial development; as well as providing for the continued expansion of the Midlothian Science Zone (incorporating the Easter Bush campus). As part of the preparation of the MLDP it was recognised that the capacity of the current A701 road would be inadequate to accommodate the travel demands consequent on the new development allocations, particularly at peak times. This related not just to the volume of traffic but also the adverse impact of congestion on the attractiveness and efficiency of public transport, and the lack of safe and attractive options for active travel (walking, wheeling, and cycling).

The MLDP therefore includes proposals for a new A701 relief road running from the existing junction with the A720 to the west of the current A701, to join the A703 road in the vicinity of Seafield Mill, and a further new length of road, the A702 Link, to join with the A702 trunk road, preferably at a junction that also incorporates the Bush Loan access into the Midlothian Science Zone. The removal of the majority of traffic from the current A701 provides the opportunity for this to become a route primarily for public transport and active travel.

The implementation of the development proposals in the MLDP is ongoing with planning consents in place and housing construction in progress. Concurrent with that the Council is taking forward work already undertaken on ground investigations on the alignment of the new road and traffic modelling projections.

In August 2018 the Council, along with the five other local authorities in the region, signed up to the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal with the UK and Scottish Governments ; that being a 15 year programme of specific projects to accelerate inclusive economic growth. One of the identified major projects is the expansion of the University of Edinburgh’s agritech facility at its Easter Bush campus. In preparing the business case for this project it was recognised that the long standing issue of inadequate access to the strategic road network, which remains a constraint on further development at Easter Bush, would need to be addressed. Accordingly, the road proposals which are identified in the MLDP are included in the overall Easter Bush City Region Deal project business case.

Following a procurement process the Council has recently appointed RPS Consultants as Project Managers for the roads scheme. RPS will take forward the scheme including the preparation of a definitive timetable for completion.