A SURVEY has been held in a bid to improve access to Dunbar Railway Station from the south.

Planning permission was previously given for a new path linking the Hallhill area of the town to the station’s southern platform, which opened at the end of 2019.

Currently, people looking to get to the new platform from the south have to use an underpass to get under the East Coast Mainline before crossing back over the busy railway line via a bridge.

A spokesperson for East Lothian Council said: “The planning application was approved; however, now that the project is at detailed design, it is common practice to seek feedback from the community and then we would take on board any suggestions that were practicable within the design parameters/project scope.

“Stantec and council officers also attended Dunbar Community Council one evening a few months back to talk through the project with them in advance of finalising designs.”

An online survey, which has now closed, outlined that a new access to the station from the south “has long been an aspiration” of East Lothian Council.

Pippa Swan, chairwoman of Dunbar Community Council, told the Courier that it was a long-held hope for the connectivity of both sides of the railway line to be improved.

She said: “We did not understand why they had not planned for that when the southern platform was built.

“One of our main ambitions is to make it really easy for people to access the southern platform without having to come by car.

“We hope it proves to be a win for the people who live south of the railway tracks and also ease the congestion problems.”