Cala Homes (East) is to start work in the coming weeks on a new 620-home development on greenfield land at Newton and Wellington Farms, located between Old Craighall and Millerhill.

Included in plans are a new bus park and ride that will cater for commuters travelling from Midlothian and East Lothian into Edinburgh, while a spine road is to be built through the heart of the development that will connect Millerhill to the city bypass and the A68 – further improving connectivity between Dalkeith and Danderhall allowing users to bypass the busy Sheriffhall Junction.

As part of early works, Old Craighall Road – which runs through to the site – is to be upgraded by Cala with the introduction of a new road and footways, lighting, drainage, and pedestrian crossings, making the route safer for families and commuters.

Derek Lawson, strategic land director with Cala Homes (East), said: “As well as providing a timely boost to housing supply, this development will have a significant long-term positive impact on the local transportation network in this part of Midlothian.”

Construction on site will begin in early August, with the upgrading of Old Craighall Road requiring an initial 12-week closure from 6 September. The local bus route (Prentice 111) will be diverted to accommodate the maintenance work, the costs of which are being met by Cala.

In order to raise awareness of the temporary closure, Cala will host a joint public event with Midlothian Council on 10th August at Danderhall Community Hub between 6pm and 8pm to explain the road improvements and the temporary diversion routes. Information and updates will also be available on Cala’s website.

Derek added: “We fully appreciate this closure will be an inconvenience and we want to make sure the local community have every opportunity to stay informed of progress. For those who cannot attend the public event, we will also be setting up a webpage, which will explain the proposals and local diversions in more detail. Thereafter the website will provide regular updates on progress of the site works.”

Midlothian Council’s cabinet member with responsibility for roads, Councillor Dianne Alexander said: “We’ll work with Cala to keep disruption to a minimum and share progress updates.

“Please come along to the meeting where Cala representatives will be explaining more about the project and our staff can answer any council-related questions.”

Cala initially proposed a road closure for 46 weeks. This closure duration has been reduced significantly owing to a redesign of the road drainage solution. This will allow the road to be opened earlier but regulated by traffic management whilst the remainder of the upgrade works are completed. A local footpath diversion will be in place to ensure connectivity between Millerhill and Old Craighall is maintained.