This is an archive of the Spott Dunbar Path project, which is no longer being taken forward. Components of it, such as the Quiet Road scheme and a Safer A1 Crossing are still being considered by local communities.

What was the problem?

The road route to Dunbar is narrow and dangerous and the community wanted a safer option for pedestrians and cyclists, especially the most direct route which entails crossing the A1 at grade.

Designing a Sustrans compliant surface on the preferred route was always going to be a major challenge without a creative solution and some flexibility, e.g. relaxing some of the stringent criteria regarding slope, width and lighting. In the end a fully compliant route would have been environmentally damaging and costly, but other options including a non compliant route and others with derogations (which may not have been fundable by Sustrans) were explored.