The site lies within the defined Commercial Centre – Straiton Commercial Hub where the role of the centre is to accommodate development serving the regional catchment which cannot be accommodated within town centres – new retail or commercial leisure development.

The site extends to circa 9.13 acres (3.69 Hectares).

The planning application will propose 4 units within the site.

The units have not been pre-let to date but would suit e.g. hardware store, home furnishings, a discount variety store etc.

The statutory period for a ‘major’ planning application is 4 months but built in flexibility for presentation to planning committee etc, meaning likely 6-8 months.

We have submitted an EIA Screening Opinion to Midlothian Council and awaiting feedback.

Planning Statement; Pre-Application Consultation Report; Design and Access Statement; Landscape Plan; Transport Assessment; Phase 1 Habitat Survey; Level 2 Flood Risk Assessment; Drainage Impact Assessment; Tree Survey and Arborocultural Impact Assessment; Phase 1 Desk Study Geo Environmental and Mining Risk Assessment; Desktop Archaeological Survey; Noice Impact Assessment.

The application is currently expected to be submitted to Midlothian Council May 2024.

We are still at an early stage of design development whereby statutory and public consultation processes will impact upon the emerging design and layout.

The best way to keep up to date with the proposal is through the dedicated consultation website. The local councillors and community council will also be updated on a regular basis.

The site is owned and would be development by Lansdowne Investments who have been involved within the Straiton area and delivered projects including the Asda Straiton store.

If planning permission is granted, construction is likely to start winter 2024/25, with opening being at some point in 2025.

The successful Contractor will be registered with Considerate Contractors scheme which ensures that any impact from the construction works on the local public is adequately managed to minimise disruption. The Contractor will be experienced in managing the levels of dust coming from the site.

The materials for the elevations will consist of cladding, curtain walling (glazing), steelwork and masonry and for the roof, cladding, all in colours which are appropriate to the locale.

1 storey.

A Transport Assessment will form part of documents submitted for planning. The scope of this will be agreed with Midlothian Council in advance including assessment of the local road network. Assessment will include consideration of other local committed developments as well as the existing traffic on the network to consider available capacity and identify any improvements or mitigation required. The proposed design will also ensure the site is easily accessed by walking, cycling and public transport too to reduce reliance on private car use. As an extension of retail offering within the local area, it is expected that a proportion of customers will be those already visiting the area to use other shops. I.e. not all customers will be new trips on the local network.

The access strategy is still being developed (will be influenced by the network assessments). At this time vehicle access via both from A701 and Nivens Knowe Road is proposed. No new junctions onto A701 or Nivens Knowe Road are proposed (minimising impact during construction on A701 operation and to Asda)

The scope of assessment is to be agreed with Midlothian Council Transport team. As a minimum, the junctions of A701/Asda Access Road, A701/Niven Knowe Road and Nivens Knowe Road / Site Access will be assessed with consideration of other junctions in the A701 corridor south of the Edinburgh Bypass (A720)

Improvements are proposed to the junction of A701/Asda Access junction to provide a new pedestrian crossing across the minor arm of the junction (enabling north-south crossing for pedestrians). A new pedestrian footway is also to be provided within the site along the eastern footway of A701. The operation of the wider network will be considered as part of the Transport Assessment and improvements identified if required.

The flood risk assessment concluded that the site is not at risk from fluvial flooding, surface water flooding, groundwater flooding and drainage failure.

The ecology surveys carried out as part of the planning application preparation have not identified any ecological interest that could prevent planning permission being granted.

The archaeology survey carried out as part of the planning application preparation have not identified any archaeological interest that could prevent planning permission being granted.

The study area and proposed development are potentially impacted by localised contamination derived from previous site uses, including potential risks of elevated gases because of former mining as well as infilled and made ground. This would require further evaluation through Phase II investigations.

Research has indicated that there is a moderate risk of surface instability due to unrecorded shallow abandoned mine workings. Foundation options for any new development will be influenced by this.