East Lothian Access Study 1: Case for Change Report
Peter Brett Associates (PBA) were appointed by East Lothian Council to develop a Case for Change in line with the Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG) in January 2019.
The key issue driving the need for the study is the ongoing economic growth across the Edinburgh city region creating significant housing and employment land demands. These are being accommodated in East Lothian through the land-use proposals coming forward from the East Lothian Local Development Plan (ELLDP) and its emerging second iteration as well as the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Regional Deal. These are expected to have impacts upon transport demand, travel patterns and the transport infrastructure both within East Lothian and neighbouring areas.
Alongside this there has been a longstanding aspiration to provide Haddington with more direct connectivity to the rail network. Funding was consequently awarded from the Scottish Government’s Local Rail Development Fund to examine this further and this study incorporates the findings from this work.
The scope of the study is predominantly looking at the corridor through the west of East Lothian broadly following the A1 and East Coast Main Line as shown adjacent. It is here where most journeys converge on the transport network. The corridor incorporates the main settlements of Haddington, Tranent, Prestonpans and Musselburgh as well as the smaller settlements in the area. However, consideration has also been given to the wider East Lothian transport network and travel demands taking into account the major settlements at North Berwick and Dunbar.