http://www.sundayherald.com/52295
Latest News from their Campaign:
SAVE DALKEITH PARK - WEEKLY UPDATE - Saturday 15th October 2005
THIS WEEK
• Two representatives from the ‘Portobello Campaign Against the Superstore' attended our weekly meeting. They were really
enthusiastic and gave us lots of tips for furthering our campaign.
• On Thursday 6th, we were on the TV, both at lunchtime and teatime. Scotland Today ran a short feature with interviews from Liz,
Mags, Jim Muirhead and some interested passers-by.
• Lord James Douglas-Hamilton asked a question in parliament: ‘To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider carrying out an
up-to-date environmental impact assessment of the A68 Dalkeith bypass, in light of other infrastructure changes that have been
implemented or planned in the Lothians since 1996'.
• The Sunday Herald have written an article about some of the issues raised by our campaign, it should be in the paper on Sunday 16
October.
WHAT NEXT
• A ‘walk in the park' is being organised for Tuesday 18th Walk details below
• Meet for both walks at 1.45p.m. at the Dalkeith Park Gates at the end of the High Street.
• Toddler and mums easy walk about 1 hour ( Any dogs on leads please )
• Longer Walk at easy pace suitable all ages about 1 to 1.1/2 Hours.( Sorry no dogs)
• E-petition is nearly ready to be submitted to the Scottish Parliament website.
If you have any ideas or suggestions we would be glad to hear them. Send us an email or telephone us on 07967 488703, leave a message and somebody will get back to you.
If you would prefer not to receive information from us email us at info@save-dalkeith-park,org.uk with 'unsubscribe' in the subject line
Save Dalkeith Country Park
Save Dalkeith park
SAVE DALKEITH PARK Information
Dalkeith Park is situated between the town of Dalkeith and the A1. The Park is part of the Edinburgh Green Belt. There has been a Dalkeith Park since the 1630's. The current 1088 acres of designed landscape dates from the 1720's and appears in Historic Scotland's Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes.
It is a well-used amenity, easily accessed by foot, cycle, car or bus. Use of the park has increased steadily over the years and it now attracts more than 50,000 visitors annually. An area of outstanding natural beauty, it is a popular retreat for wildlife enthusiasts, cyclists, fishermen, horse-riders, orienteering groups and walkers.
This ‘little piece of heaven' was obtained by our Scottish Executive under a ‘compulsory purchase' so that they can build a bypass right through it!
The Park is a haven for wildlife including brown hare, roe deer, foxes, heron, buzzards, goshawks, otters, badgers and kingfishers to name but a few.
In fact the River Esk Valley is a listed wildlife site.
The Dalkeith Park is a unique asset to the area and should be preserved as part of our natural heritage for the enjoyment of future generations.
The Dalkeith Northern bypass has a long history. Planning permission for a single carriageway road was first granted in 1993 following a public local inquiry. In 1996 following a further inquiry, permission was given to construct a dual carriageway. The road was not constructed and in 1999 the Strategic Roads Review put the scheme in abeyance. The review considered that the scheme had generally negative ratings on environmental factors including global air quality, water, ecology, visual impacts, heritage and landscape character. On 16 June 2005 Nicol Stephen the then Transport Minister announced that the scheme should proceed "as a matter of urgency".
The proposed bypass will cost in the region of £30m to £40m.
Since 1996, and the last public inquiry, there have been considerable changes to the infrastructure of the area that will impact upon the need for a bypass and the proposed route. The A1 has been dualled, there is now an A7 bypass to the south of Dalkeith and the plans for the Borders rail link are progressing. From the original assessment it is only estimated that traffic in Dalkeith would be reduced by 39%. The congestion on Edinburgh City bypass which the Dalkeith bypass would feed on to is likely to nullify any time savings that might have been achieved. Traffic volumes in Dalkeith that formed the basis of the decision to dual the road have not been met. For example it was predicted that by 2000 in mid - afternoon there would be 139 queuing vehicles at the junction in Dalkeith on the A68.
This has not happened which calls into question the entire basis of the case for the bypass as it cannot be justified by traffic volumes.
Any evidence supporting the construction of the bypass and the proposed route is 10 to 15 years old. The latest environmental assessment was carried out in 1995.
Council Directive 85/337/EEC on the Assessment of the Effects of Certain Private and Public Projects on the Environment came into force in July 1988. It imposed a requirement on all EU States to consider whether applications for planning permission required an assessment of the effects on the environment and the submission of an environmental statement which reports on the impact of the proposed development. No such statement has been produced in the case of the Dalkeith northern bypass. There can be no doubt that the proposed bypass would fall within Annex II of the Directive given its proximity to an SSSI and its impact on the flora and fauna of the Park. Dalkeith Park which will be bisected by the bypass is also included in the Historic Scotland Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes which ensures that this aspect requires to be taken into account. The Environmental Assessment that was carried out in 1995 was on the basis that Dalkeith Park was not a designed landscape and therefore this cannot have been considered.
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
The importance of this is that there is a formal procedure set down at European Union level not just for ensuring that environmental information about the impact of the project supplied by the developer but also that the public get a chance to comment on the information to say whether it is, for example, inaccurate or to provide additional information. This is designed to help improve the quality of the decision. Current EIA Regulations also require a consideration of alternatives. Strategic Environmental Assessment, a new mechanism, for assessing the environmental impact of development plans also means that when considering alternatives, it should not just be, for example, one road against another, but whether public transport improvements such as rail enhancements would be a suitable alternative.
The EIA carried out by the executive regarding the bypass is not compliant with Council Directive 85/337/EEC which became effective in 1988. Interestingly this project was determined to be one that did not fall within the ambit of the environmental assessment regime. So there was no specific public consultation on the environmental information gathered. Instead the Executive simply carried out its own non-statutory environmental appraisal and did not consult as part of that with the public. That then raises a separate legal issue which is whether the Executive were right to determine that the project did not fall within the scope of the environmental assessment regime. No Public Consultation took place. Decisions where there ought to have been public consultation on environmental statements have been held unlawful by the House of Lords.
What should be done?
• The current plan to build the road should be put on hold immediately.
• The Executive should deliver on its promise to conduct a multi-modal appraisal. As part of that the road proposals should be re-evaluated in the light of current policy to take into account the changes in the last 10 – 15 years in the transport infrastructure, environment and recreational usage of the Park. There should be full public consultation as part of this.
• Most importantly, Dalkeith Park should be saved. It is a unique asset to the area and if the Executive is genuinely committed to a policy of sustainable development it should be preserved as part of our natural heritage for the enjoyment of future generations.
Without the intervention of the Scottish Parliament the Scottish Executive will proceed with this development on the basis of inadequate and out of date information.
Please lend your support to fight this blatant injustice.
Write to your MP/MSP/Councillor/press….. post on your local forums and join the fight for environmental justice!
Please go to Save Dalkeith Park campaign website for more info: http://www.save-dalkeith-park.org.uk
14/10/2005
Dalkeith Park is situated between the town of Dalkeith and the A1. The Park is part of the Edinburgh Green Belt. There has been a Dalkeith Park since the 1630's. The current 1088 acres of designed landscape dates from the 1720's and appears in Historic Scotland's Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes.
It is a well-used amenity, easily accessed by foot, cycle, car or bus. Use of the park has increased steadily over the years and it now attracts more than 50,000 visitors annually. An area of outstanding natural beauty, it is a popular retreat for wildlife enthusiasts, cyclists, fishermen, horse-riders, orienteering groups and walkers.
This ‘little piece of heaven' was obtained by our Scottish Executive under a ‘compulsory purchase' so that they can build a bypass right through it!
The Park is a haven for wildlife including brown hare, roe deer, foxes, heron, buzzards, goshawks, otters, badgers and kingfishers to name but a few.
In fact the River Esk Valley is a listed wildlife site.
The Dalkeith Park is a unique asset to the area and should be preserved as part of our natural heritage for the enjoyment of future generations.
The Dalkeith Northern bypass has a long history. Planning permission for a single carriageway road was first granted in 1993 following a public local inquiry. In 1996 following a further inquiry, permission was given to construct a dual carriageway. The road was not constructed and in 1999 the Strategic Roads Review put the scheme in abeyance. The review considered that the scheme had generally negative ratings on environmental factors including global air quality, water, ecology, visual impacts, heritage and landscape character. On 16 June 2005 Nicol Stephen the then Transport Minister announced that the scheme should proceed "as a matter of urgency".
The proposed bypass will cost in the region of £30m to £40m.
Since 1996, and the last public inquiry, there have been considerable changes to the infrastructure of the area that will impact upon the need for a bypass and the proposed route. The A1 has been dualled, there is now an A7 bypass to the south of Dalkeith and the plans for the Borders rail link are progressing. From the original assessment it is only estimated that traffic in Dalkeith would be reduced by 39%. The congestion on Edinburgh City bypass which the Dalkeith bypass would feed on to is likely to nullify any time savings that might have been achieved. Traffic volumes in Dalkeith that formed the basis of the decision to dual the road have not been met. For example it was predicted that by 2000 in mid - afternoon there would be 139 queuing vehicles at the junction in Dalkeith on the A68.
This has not happened which calls into question the entire basis of the case for the bypass as it cannot be justified by traffic volumes.
Any evidence supporting the construction of the bypass and the proposed route is 10 to 15 years old. The latest environmental assessment was carried out in 1995.
Council Directive 85/337/EEC on the Assessment of the Effects of Certain Private and Public Projects on the Environment came into force in July 1988. It imposed a requirement on all EU States to consider whether applications for planning permission required an assessment of the effects on the environment and the submission of an environmental statement which reports on the impact of the proposed development. No such statement has been produced in the case of the Dalkeith northern bypass. There can be no doubt that the proposed bypass would fall within Annex II of the Directive given its proximity to an SSSI and its impact on the flora and fauna of the Park. Dalkeith Park which will be bisected by the bypass is also included in the Historic Scotland Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes which ensures that this aspect requires to be taken into account. The Environmental Assessment that was carried out in 1995 was on the basis that Dalkeith Park was not a designed landscape and therefore this cannot have been considered.
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
The importance of this is that there is a formal procedure set down at European Union level not just for ensuring that environmental information about the impact of the project supplied by the developer but also that the public get a chance to comment on the information to say whether it is, for example, inaccurate or to provide additional information. This is designed to help improve the quality of the decision. Current EIA Regulations also require a consideration of alternatives. Strategic Environmental Assessment, a new mechanism, for assessing the environmental impact of development plans also means that when considering alternatives, it should not just be, for example, one road against another, but whether public transport improvements such as rail enhancements would be a suitable alternative.
The EIA carried out by the executive regarding the bypass is not compliant with Council Directive 85/337/EEC which became effective in 1988. Interestingly this project was determined to be one that did not fall within the ambit of the environmental assessment regime. So there was no specific public consultation on the environmental information gathered. Instead the Executive simply carried out its own non-statutory environmental appraisal and did not consult as part of that with the public. That then raises a separate legal issue which is whether the Executive were right to determine that the project did not fall within the scope of the environmental assessment regime. No Public Consultation took place. Decisions where there ought to have been public consultation on environmental statements have been held unlawful by the House of Lords.
What should be done?
• The current plan to build the road should be put on hold immediately.
• The Executive should deliver on its promise to conduct a multi-modal appraisal. As part of that the road proposals should be re-evaluated in the light of current policy to take into account the changes in the last 10 – 15 years in the transport infrastructure, environment and recreational usage of the Park. There should be full public consultation as part of this.
• Most importantly, Dalkeith Park should be saved. It is a unique asset to the area and if the Executive is genuinely committed to a policy of sustainable development it should be preserved as part of our natural heritage for the enjoyment of future generations.
Without the intervention of the Scottish Parliament the Scottish Executive will proceed with this development on the basis of inadequate and out of date information.
Please lend your support to fight this blatant injustice.
Write to your MP/MSP/Councillor/press….. post on your local forums and join the fight for environmental justice!
Please go to Save Dalkeith Park campaign website for more info: http://www.save-dalkeith-park.org.uk
14/10/2005
Re: Save Dalkeith Country Park
All in favour of the campaign but it might be better thought out if it were a little less alienating and sexist...Gemini wrote:• • Toddler and mums easy walk about 1 hour
All I really need is love, but a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt!
-Lucy Van Pelt (in Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz)
-Lucy Van Pelt (in Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz)
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Pal of Porty
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- Joined: 30 Sep 2004, 13:41
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SAVE DALKEITH PARK - WEEKLY UPDATE - Sunday 30th October 2005
THIS WEEK
. Our e-petition, titled 'Dalkeith Northern Bypass' is up and running.
Please log on to the Scottish
Parliament website www.scottish.parliament.uk and pledge your
support. The 'information'
button will give you plenty background reading. Select 'discussion'
to add your comments.
Obviously we would like to collect as many signatures as
possible so please let your friends and families know about it.
. The Midlothian Advertiser ran an article this week entitled 'A68 bypass
protestors in legal threat'.
. The exhibition is still in the public library in Musselburgh.
. The total number of protest letters signed at the gate now stands at 2237.
WHAT NEXT
. Another 'walk in the park' is being organised for Tuesday 1st November.
Meet at 1.45p.m. at the
Dalkeith Park Gates at the end of the High Street. The walk will
split into two groups: toddler
and mums easy walk about 1 hour (any dogs on leads please); longer
walk at easy pace suitable
for all ages lasting about 1 to 1.1/2 hours (sorry no dogs). Phone
07715377309 if weather is bad.
. We will be handing in the petition to the Scottish parliament on Thursday
24th November at
midday. Please join us. Further details to follow.
If you have any ideas or suggestions we would be glad to hear them. Send us
an email or telephone us on 07967 488703, leave a message and somebody will
get back to you. If you would like a hard copy of the petition to collect
signatures please let us know.
THIS WEEK
. Our e-petition, titled 'Dalkeith Northern Bypass' is up and running.
Please log on to the Scottish
Parliament website www.scottish.parliament.uk and pledge your
support. The 'information'
button will give you plenty background reading. Select 'discussion'
to add your comments.
Obviously we would like to collect as many signatures as
possible so please let your friends and families know about it.
. The Midlothian Advertiser ran an article this week entitled 'A68 bypass
protestors in legal threat'.
. The exhibition is still in the public library in Musselburgh.
. The total number of protest letters signed at the gate now stands at 2237.
WHAT NEXT
. Another 'walk in the park' is being organised for Tuesday 1st November.
Meet at 1.45p.m. at the
Dalkeith Park Gates at the end of the High Street. The walk will
split into two groups: toddler
and mums easy walk about 1 hour (any dogs on leads please); longer
walk at easy pace suitable
for all ages lasting about 1 to 1.1/2 hours (sorry no dogs). Phone
07715377309 if weather is bad.
. We will be handing in the petition to the Scottish parliament on Thursday
24th November at
midday. Please join us. Further details to follow.
If you have any ideas or suggestions we would be glad to hear them. Send us
an email or telephone us on 07967 488703, leave a message and somebody will
get back to you. If you would like a hard copy of the petition to collect
signatures please let us know.
Article regarding bat colony at Dalkeith country Park
http://news.scotsman.com/edinburgh.cfm?id=2199302005
http://news.scotsman.com/edinburgh.cfm?id=2199302005