Campaigners in historic village claim they were ‘misinformed’ by housebuilder

OTHER developments have reduced access to areas long enjoyed by communities. In 2019, locals in Roslin formed Chapel Lawns Action in Midlothian to protest about plans for a CALA development which would allow vehicles to cross a local path.

“The university has conducted its business in a way that suggests it doesn’t care what negative impact it leaves behind when it sells out,” the group told the Midlothian Advertiser in 2019. The university denied the claim and said it “engaged with residents”.

The university wanted to sell land to developers, but the landlocked site would only be accessible via the council-owned public path, according to a local source.

Documents seen by The Ferret show Midlothian Council agreed to sell sections of the path to the university for £1. In exchange, the university sold two land plots for the same price to accommodate a high school centre of excellence, which does not feature in the council’s local development plan. The council granted planning permission for the university’s path plans, despite 72 local objections.

CALA initially told locals the new development would be a cul-de-sac, but residents later discovered news of further developments via the council website with a road going right through Roslin, a source told The Ferret.

“We were upset. We had a meeting with the developer who was unsympathetic and denied that we’d been misinformed.”

They added: “Residents are concerned once a school is built, all fields in the green belt close to the school are up for development, swallowing up the rural historical village of Roslin.”

The council said no decision has been made on a site for a new school, which would be subject to a public consultation.