West Craigs Infrastructure Update - including Craigs/Maybury Junction

The Lib Dem team recently received updates on several infrastructure projects which are long overdue in West Craigs. We've brought them all together below. 

- New signalised junction at Craigs Road/Maybury Road

As part of the planning permissions for West Craigs, Taylor Wimpey is required to construct a new signalised crossing at the Craigs Road/Maybury Road junction. After years of delay, we are pleased to say the works on this new junction will finally begin next month.

The project is expected to take six to nine months to complete. Once finished, residents will be able to access and exit the western stretch of Craigs Road from both the north and south carriageways of Maybury Road.

The current junction is not only inconvenient, but also unsafe, for residents on foot so its great the work will finally be getting underway. Given the impact while the new junction is being constructed, the current trial closure of Cammo Road will be suspended. 

- Public transport in West Craigs

We know its a big problem that the West Craigs estate is not currently served by any regular bus services. Once the new Craigs/Maybury junction is completed, Lothian Buses will be diverting the 31 service through the estate. 

This will of course have an impact for East Craigs, as the 31 route is the only one serving that side of Maybury Road and will introduce an even longer journey time. We'll be working with Lothian to try and address this. 

- Edinburgh Gateway Bridge

As part of a legal agreement, the bridge over the railway line from West Craigs to Edinburgh Gateway station was supposed to be delivered by October 2023. However, it has not yet been possible to get the necessary consents in place from Network Rail due to protracted legal issues. 

We have now been told more positive discussions have begun after the matter was escalated to senior directors at Network Rail, and we are hopeful that works on the bridge will begin later this year. 

- Bus Gate on Turnhouse Road

As part of the original planning consent for West Craigs, it was suggested that access between Turnhouse Road and the Maybury junction would be restricted to public transport only. This would be controlled by way of a bus gate and a camera. We expect draft designs soon and these will be put out for local consultation. 

It is some years since the bus gate was first considered and we believe it is essential that residents of both the new and existing homes in West Craigs have their say before any final decision is taken. Even if this plan was progressed, it would be well into 2026 before any new bus gate became operational.

- Maybury Junction Works

Work on the draft designs for changes to the Maybury junction is currently going through an internal review and sign-off process by Council transport officers. The final design will be consulted on locally. 

Local Lib Dem councillor Ed Thornley said, “All of these issues have been long-running concerns for residents, and were raised again at the first meeting of the new community council. We hope this update is helpful, and please do get in touch if there's anything we can help with.”