Edinburgh path linking Stenhouse and Longstone discussed by councillors as sinkhole remains six months on

The Burnside is a public right of way path which connects Longstone Road with Stenhouse Mill Lane. The path has been in place for at least 150 years on land which is currently understood to be owned by the Earl of Morton.

The Burnside Bridge was repaired by the council in January following a period of more than three years during which damage to the bridge prevented access to the path from the Longstone Road end.

The sinkhole on the path at The Burnside between Longstone and Stenhouse appeared in May and has been closed off since. | National World

On May 31, a large sink hole was found on the path. The council erected barriers to prevent access to the affected area and a diversion route was established by users of the path. Subsequently, ward councillors and stakeholders have been unable to engage the council in discussions about improving safety and accessibility at the site.

Independent councillor Ross McKenzie raised a ‘Save the Burnside’ motion on Monday, November 18 for a safety assessment of the affected area and calling on a report to provide options for investment to safeguard the path for future use.

Longstone Community Council secretary Alan Gordon was at yesterday’s transport and environment committee meeting.

He said: “It went as well as could be expected, without much significantly changing. We welcomed Cllr McKenzie’s call for more action to be taken, as the lack of engagement from the council and the land owner has been frustrating.

“Nobody has done a proper survey of what is going on there. We don’t know how safe the rest of the path is. They have closed it off but nobody has got an engineer out to have a look at it.

“I spoke at the meeting as we are just trying to bring the issue to light and bring clarity from the community’s perspective. About what the path means to us and how important it is.

“It was good to see though that councillors did make a site visit to see the issue for themselves. The site now needs to be properly assessed.”

More robust fencing has been placed around the sinkhole at The Burnside by the Water of Leith, at the back of the old Longstone Inn pub. | National World

Alan welcomed the more robust fencing erected around the sinkhole in the past couple of weeks, after the initial barriers kept blowing down and sometimes falling into the sinkhole.

However, he also raised concerns about the current diversion on a grass path and how it could become hard to navigate as the weather worsens this winter.

He added: “The other issue is the safety of the river bank next to the path, which is in danger of collapse, destroying that public right of way. It’s not an issue that is going to go away as it appears climate change will lead to more severe weather including flooding, which has been an issue there in the past.

“Adverse weather is sure to come at some point this winter and when that happens there is going to be tens of thousands of cubic metres of water battering down there and it will collapse the wall if nothing is done.”

A larger fence is also in place at the Burnside Bridge leading up to the sinkhole, with one of the original red and white barriers that had been place seen in the bushes after blowing away. | National World

Councillors agreed with Cllr MacKenzie’s motion and will now receive a report about the future of the path.

Alan said: “We are happy that it is now being taken more seriously. We as a community council can’t afford to pursue land owners, we are just local volunteers trying to stand up for our community.

“We can’t afford to lose this path. It’s a barrier between us and the communities and services on that side of the river.

“We just want clarity and an indication that somebody is going to do something. The community just wants them to get on with it. It’s not really the council’s fault, but we as a community are looking for the council to help us and get the landowner to fulfil their obligations.”

Alan added that while he is happy to see proposals for another bridge linking the communities slightly down the river behind the Sainsbury’s store, he still wants the current link at Burnside re-opened as soon as possible.