Shawfair boasting of Capital connection

Billboards promoting the new Midlothian town of Shawfair will boast of its closeness to Edinburgh city centre as a main selling point.

One of the promotional posters for Shawfair.

Developers of the new 4,000-home community have applied for planning permission to put up giant signs promoting the 15-minute journey from the houses to the heart of the Capital.

Using slogans including “Arthur’s Seat to your sofa in 15 minutes” and “Princes Street Gardens to your garden in 15 minutes”, the signs promise the best of both worlds to residents with “City Life & Country Living”.

Developers said on the Shawfair website last year that the desire to live in big cities is “waning”, pointing to data which claimed one in seven Londoners want to move following the pandemic.

One of the promotional posters for Shawfair.

However they say people still want to travel into Edinburgh and the new homes at Shawfair offer the perfect alternative.

They said: “While our lifestyles are shifting, proximity to a railway station remains important for leisure and work.

“Many of us will continue to commute by train or travel into a city for shopping and leisure.

“Edinburgh Waverley is just 15 minutes from Shawfair, meaning residents will have the best of both worlds, with a garden and more living space; while being able to quickly and easily access a cosmopolitan city with world heritage status.”

Shawfair lies to the south of Danderhall and has an hourly train service operating between Tweedbank and Edinburgh.