By kittywink, submitted on Tue, 18/10/2005 - 05:39
Scottish executive intends to build a bypass through a 'little piece of heaven'.Save Dalkeith Park campaign group needs your support to cobat this blatant abuse of power.
SAVE DALKEITH PARK
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
SAVE DALKEITH PARK
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
Police brutality, Sue the state!