Tuesday June 2nd 2026
Concern over new car park traffic on users of soft play, a gym and dance school in Spott Road Industrial Estate, Dunbar has been raised
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Marie Sharp
A new park and ride for workers building a new £1.6 billion super highway in East Lothian has been given the go ahead but all drivers will be required to carry ID signs on their vehicles.
Concern over road safety for youngster and families using a nearby soft play and dance school as well as the local coastguard base led councillors to back a call for a driver ID system to be in place so any road safety issues can be traced back to those involved.
Councillor Donna Collins, local ward member, said the move would address some of the concerns of residents as well as encouraging drivers to act responsibly.
Speaking at a meeting of East Lothian Council’s planning committee, Councillor Collins said she had doubts about backing the park and ride but weighed it up against the risk of having 500 cars using the cement works junction further along the A1, to drive onto the construction site itself.
Calling for an additional condition to be added into the planning approval which required a parking management scheme, approved by the council, which included and ID system, Councillor Collins said some windfarms in the Lammermuirs had employed a similar system on lorries which had been welcomed.
She said: “That identification has worked well for the lorries. I think it would help alleviate a lot of the concerns of the constituents especially around the soft play area and the dance school and of course the coastguards and everyone else on the industrial estate.”
Metlen Energy and Metals, who are involved in the construction of a substation and converter near Torness as part of the East Green Link Network project (EGL1), applied to East Lothian Council for planning permission for a 261 vehicle space car park which they will bus workers to and from each day.
Earlier their spokesperson welcomed the suggestion of a Driver ID for the park and ride and said they expected peak traffic times to and from the park to be between 6am and 7am and 6pm and 7pm as the workforce arrived and left.
The Eastern Green Link project (EGL1) is a two-gigawatt high voltage direct current electrical ‘super highway’ that will run from the Torness area in East Lothian, to Hawthorn Pit in County Durham, via the North Sea.
Groundwork got underway last year on the creation of an onshore converter station which will connect to a new substation near Braxton.
The converter station is being built on land between Dunbar Energy Recovery Facility and Dunbar Landfill by a consortium of GE Vernova and Metlen Energy & Metals.
SP Energy who are overseeing the project have said the Eastern Link will make the North Sea a “hidden powerhouse” of Europe.
Community councillor Jacquie Bell represented both Dunbar and West Barns Community Councils at the meeting raising their concerns about the impact on road safety in the area.
Mrs Bell told councillors: “There is concern that the proposals will add to existing road congestion on Spott Road and the existing junctions onto that road.”
She said congestion in the area had increased since the closure of Hospital Road in the town which has been shut for four years as part of a housing estate being built as well as new housing which has been completed in the area.
And she pointed out that three other planning applications were already in for new retail facilities to be built on land next to the park and ride bringing even more vehicles.
Mrs Bell said: “The community council is concerned about pedestrian and cyclists safety along Spott Road where pavements are narrow or non existent.
“It is requested that if this planning application is approved the developer provides community benefits finance to upgrade cycling and pedestrian access along Spott Road.”
Officers said the land proposed for the park and ride was part of a larger area already earmarked for employment use in the council’s Local Development Plan and that while the car park was not “strictly an employment generating use” it was supporting construction works at the EGL1 project.
Planning convenor Norman Hampshire told the meeting: “This application is in connection with a really important site of national energy.
“This is a compromise but Spott Road has been used as a car parking area in the past for windfarm construction and workers were bussed to the Lammermuirs.
“The car park will not have a significant impact on the community.”
Councillors unanimously backed the application which is for a temporary park and ride for the next five years with additional conditions including a parking management system, ensuring any future application for the site are brought to committee for decisions and a biodiversity plan was put in place while it exists.
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