Friday October 17th 2025
Plan for A701 relief road
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Marie Sharp
Plans for a new £55million road which will ease congestion around the Straiton Junction in Midlothian have been lodged with the council’s planners this week.
The new A701 relief road is expected to take around 9,000 vehicles off the main route every day and could boost the local economy by £189million.
Midlothian Council has included the new route, which will take vehicles from Straiton Junction west before linking to the A702 as well as providing a link to Seafield Moor Road (the A703) in its Local Development Plan.
It is unclear where the funds for the road will come from after the local authority revealed the cost had spiralled from an initial £22million three years ago.
A spokesperson for the council said that, funding permitting, it could be up and running by 2028 – adding funding was available for initial phases of the work but still being sought for the later phases.
The council is also planning to create a ‘sustainable travel corridor’ along the A701 which will include cycle lanes and says issues with congestion on the route had impacted on local communities and pedestrians and cyclists.
They said: “The A701 corridor is a very busy road and public transport corridor, that provides access between Midlothian and Edinburgh, as well as to the numerous retail, commercial and industrial areas within the Straiton, Bilston and Loanhead areas.
“The road network suffers from congestion at peak times, resulting in traffic delays and inconsistent journey times for both vehicles and public transport.
“The A701 acts as a barrier between communities in Bilston and Loanhead, whilst busy side roads also create a constraint along the corridor. Existing active travel routes are of poor quality, and safety issues have been identified for cyclists and pedestrians at numerous locations along the corridor.”
The council says the new relief road will “boost local jobs and the economy” and “support new developments along the A701 corridor and make travel safer, more reliable, and more environmentally friendly for people living in the area.”
It will also allow for the continued expansion of Midlothian Science Zone and the University of Edinburgh’s Easter Bush.
Plans have been lodged for viewing on Midlothian Council’s planning portal.
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