Wednesday February 4th 2026
Artists impression of proposed houses on slope at Cairnbank Road, Penicuik (photo from the Midlothian Planning Portal).
Written by Midlothian View Reporter, Liam Eunson
Concern over the loss of an historic part of a town’s industrial heritage saw councillors reject plans for housing.
Midlothian planners refused permission for three houses to be built on land at Cairnbank Road, in Penicuik, saying the proposed gardens, which will be constructed over a former mill lade, would overlook part of each other’s gardens.
But in an appeal by the applicants, they claimed the council’s planning officers ‘construed’ the reason for refusal adding it is common for neighbours to be able to see the lower part of each other’s gardens.
The application was the latest in a series of attempts to build split level housing on the sloping site. A previous application was rejected because it retained the lade making the gardens ‘too small’.
The latest application proposed filling it in to extend the garden space over it.
However a meeting of Midlothian Council’s Local Review Body this week saw elected members raise concerns about the loss of the lade which was described as an important part of the town’s history.
Councillor Connor McManus questioned whether losing the historic waterway went against the local authority’s own policy.
Planning chief Peter Arnsdorf told the meeting: “The mill lade, the channel is obviously a historical feature so there is a requirement either to protect such a feature or if development takes place to trigger archaeological works or recording.
“The actual structure itself isn’t listed so it doesn’t have that extra status, but in terms of the policy it is a material consideration but the officers did not trigger it as one of the reasons for refusal as there are other reasons.”
Councillor Dianne Alexander said she was also concerned about the loss of the lade as well as wildlife and fauna at the site where nearly half of the trees would be removed to make way for the housing with developers planning to replace them.
Councillor Alexander said: “I think it would be a great loss to have these taken away.”
And Councillor Peter Smaill said: “The lade I think is an important feature in the paper-making town and I would be very sorry to see these houses built, which I also consider by virtue of their scale and design not really acceptable in the Cairnbank area.”
Concerns were also raised about accessing the site through the narrow private road to construct the new homes.
However Councillor Willie McEwan pointed out other houses had been given the go ahead on the wider site at Cairnbank adding he was not concerned about the proposals.
Planners had described the houses as ‘regimented’ adding that while the would appear to be single storey from the road, viewed from the south they would be “very large, bulky and obtrusive”.
The Local Review Body rejected the appeal against planners decision to refuse permission for the houses.
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