IT IS one of the longest-running land disputes of its kind in Scotland but the end is now in sight.
The first visualisation of 13 years of campaigning for a four-mile bike-friendly link connecting two East Lothian villages shows the work the community has put into the project.
Read more: End to 13-year right of way dispute 'within touching distance'
It became possible after a landowner offered land to complete the final mile-long section to Drem from Gullane and East Lothian Council has hired consultants to prepare a feasibility and design study.
Campaigners, house building giant CALA Homes, the council and the partners of West Fenton Farm are discussing options for the remaining three miles to Gullane, which may include reduced speed limits, traffic calming measures and an off-road path.
Read more: End to 13-year right of way dispute 'within touching distance'
The push is said to be one of the longest-running modern right of way battles in Scotland and means a safe route between the villages that separates cyclists and walkers from a dangerous main road.
Iain Monk, who is the spokesman for the Drem/Gullane Path Campaign annd pictured above with daughter Freya, 10, said: "The new path blueprints unveiled by CALA Homes represent a hugely significant milestone in our campaign to deliver a four-mile safe link connecting Gullane and Drem.
“For the first time the community will see what the first stretch from the Gullane end could look like.
"It is a very exciting step forward and we are pleased that CALA has invited our campaign group to help fine tune their designs."
Read more: End to 13-year right of way dispute 'within touching distance'
He said: "The partners of West Fenton Farm have also signalled that they are prepared to discuss options to continue the path over their land.
"That is great news.
“With consultants developing plans for the Drem section of the route and council-led discussions planned with businesses, residents and other stakeholders in the middle section of the proposed link, the final pieces of the jigsaw seem to be falling into place.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here