Part 2: Design principles

2.1.1 National policy

Significant national reference documents include:

• National Transport Strategy (Scottish Government, 2020)
• Designing Streets (Scottish Government, 2010)
• National Roads Development Guide (SCOTS, 2017)
• Design Manual for Roads and Bridges (Highways England/Transport Scotland)
• Cycling by Design (Transport Scotland, 2020)
• Roads for All (Transport Scotland, 2013)
• Inclusive Mobility (Department for Transport, 2021)
• The SuDS Manual (Ciria, 2015)
• Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions (2016)
• The Traffic Signs Manual
• Well-managed Highway Infrastructure (Department for Transport, 2016)

In all cases, refer to the most recent versions.

2.1.2 Local Development Plan

East Lothian Council’s Local Development Plan 2018 sets out the following over-arching transport policies:

Policy T1: New developments shall be located on sites that are capable of being conveniently and safely accessed on foot and by cycle, by public transport as well as private vehicle, including adequate car parking provision in accordance with our standards.

Policy T2: New development must have no significant adverse impact on:

• Road safety;
• The convenience, safety and attractiveness of walking and cycling in the surrounding area;
• Public transport operations in the surrounding area, both existing and planned, including convenience of access to these and their travel times;
• The capacity of the surrounding road network to deal with traffic unrelated to the proposed development; and
• Residential amenity as a consequence of an increase in motorised traffic.

We have also published the following Supplementary Planning Guidance relevant to the design and layout of transport infrastructure:

• Development Briefs
• Design Standards for New Housing Areas
• Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS)

Note: These webpages are for reference by developers of housing and employment sites in East Lothian. They provide guidance on transport infrastructure against which Planning Applications will be assessed and evaluated, and set out East Lothian Council's procedures regarding the construction and adoption of new roads in accordance with current legislation. These pages supersede all previous versions of our Standards for Development Roads document. Revisions 01/07/2023 Document release