As a result of the long awaited start of construction activity on the Powderhall Site, the section of St. Mark’s Path from Broughton Road over the Water of Leith has been closed and a temporary diversion put in place.  The NTBCC has been contacted by local residents concerned at the impact of the closure on pedestrians and cyclists and the unsuitability of the current diversion. Following a site visit and discussion at last Monday’s monthly meeting, NTBCC has issued an email to local Councillors calling for the path to be reopened urgently and for a suitable diversion route to be in place before any future closure is considered.

If you have any views about this closure and its impact on the community, please contact us.

The full text of our email is shown below:

The closure of the St Mark’s Path was discussed at the meeting of the New Town and Broughton Community Council on Monday. We had been alerted to a number of issues regarding this closure by local residents and have had some communication with Councillor Caldwell on this matter. 

Based on our review of the arrangements currently in place, we have a number of observations and concerns, as outlined below:

• • This closure was introduced with very little notice and no engagement with the local community or consideration of the needs of the users of this path which is a very well used part of the active travel network in this part of Edinburgh. 
  • This was not a closure in response to an emergency as the development on this site has been on hold for several years. The planning for the work should have included a proper assessment of the needs of walkers, wheelers and cyclists using this path. 
  • The posted notice states that the closure would be in place only until Sunday 7 December, but it is still closed, and we understand will be reinstated in January following a temporary reopening over the Christmas/New Year period when the site is closed. The notice also states that pedestrian flow shall be maintained. Clearly that is not correct.  
  • The current diversion is totally unsuitable especially for anyone with limited mobility due to the surfaces and inclines that they would be required to negotiate to allow them to rejoin the path beyond its closure.   The route of the diversion is through a private housing development with very inadequate signage. 
  • There has already been significant damage done to the path by construction traffic crossing the path which would need to be repaired before it can be reopened. 
  • There is no other suitable diversion currently available, but we understand that the Contractor has plans to build a path to the east of the current path to rejoin the main path before the bridge over the Water of Leith. Clearly until this diversion is available, the St Mark’s Path needs to remain open to pedestrians and cyclists. 

We are therefore seeking your urgent assistance with raising these matters with the relevant Council officers and ensuring that the following actions are progressed promptly:

• • Given the importance of this path to the active travel network and the lack of a suitable diversion, it needs to be repaired and reopened as soon as possible. 
  • If vehicular movement across the path is still required, then a suitable crossing should be installed with proper control of vehicular movements while the site is operational.
  • If the Contractor is going to be building a temporary path to be used as a diversion, the timing, location, surface finish, gradient and lighting of this path needs to be available for public review to ensure that it does provide a safe alternative route. 
  • Any future closures of the path that are required need to be better planned, communicated and implemented with full engagement with the community council and other stakeholders.

We look forward to hearing from you on this matter. If it would be helpful to do so, we would be prepared to facilitate a meeting with Council staff, local residents, active travel groups and you.