Car park charge to be introduced at Dalkeith Country Park

Wednesday March 17th 2021

Dalkeith Country Park


Written by Midlothian View Reporter, Luke Jackson

Many people have been enjoying and discovering Dalkeith Country Park since the first lockdown. The Park has seen a significant increase in visitors, which has put pressure on its car parks, roads and pathways. The Park is therefore set to invest in a programme of upgrades to its car parking facilities, roads and pathways in order to reduce this pressure on parking and other infrastructure.

The plan is to build a new car park and entrance road into the Park and to upgrade some of its pathways. This will be funded through the introduction of a daily £3 parking fee from 20th April 2021. All funds raised from the charge will be invested directly into improving the Park’s existing infrastructure.

The aim is to create an enhanced visitor experience for all – making a visit to the Park safer, healthier and more enjoyable.

Remko Plooij, managing director at Dalkeith Country Park, explained:

“We want to ensure that the beauty of Dalkeith Country Park will be able to be enjoyed by generations to come and to provide the best possible facilities.

“Like many other outdoor facilities, attractions and spaces around Edinburgh and the Lothians, our car parks, roads and paths have been under pressure since the first lockdown.

“Our car parks and roads were not designed for such high numbers of vehicles and people on a daily basis and are not coping. We will be investing in these facilities and infrastructure and as such will be introducing a modest car parking charge. All funds raised will be reinvested in the Park to create the high standard of quality infrastructure that we believe our visitors should be able to expect from us.”

Dalkeith Country Park recently invested significantly installing a new pedestrian pathway and traffic segregation measures to encourage local visitors from Dalkeith to walk into the Park from Town Gate. Also, in partnership with Midlothian Council, investment has been made to upgrade the Town Gate entry area to ensure that it is a safer experience for pedestrians.

The area for the new car park and any additional entrance is under review. In the meantime King’s Gate is the main vehicle entrance and Town Gate is the main pedestrian entrance although vehicles can still access via vehicles.

The parking charge will apply to all cars entering the park regardless of whether the purpose of the visit is to use the cafe, the restaurant, the shop, Fort Douglas, attend the Wellbeing Lab or simply go out for a walk.

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