ROAD safety campaigners are worried someone will be killed by a lorry heading to the waste transfer station at Easter Langlee – as it emerged vehicle routes have not been considered.

John Birnie and Tom Douglas believe all three routes leading to the site are currently unsuitable for heavy goods vehicles.

And they have written to council bosses to voice their concerns and ask how the project was approved without a preferred option being identified.

Mr Birnie, of Coopersknowe Crescent, said: “I don’t understand how they could say the roads are safe, when they are now telling us there was never a plan. They have got the choice of three roads. The first is the C77, which is impossible. Somebody would get killed every day.

“The second is the Lowood Bridge and that is unsuitable.

“If anybody is on that bridge, how will a 40-tonne lorry be able to pass? If it tried to squeeze through, it would hit the people and would crush them.

“The other option is bringing the traffic through the town and the community of Galashiels does not want that.

“The roads were not built for that use. It is dangerous.

“There never has been a route proposed on this application and there is still not one to this day.

“So how could it have been approved, without knowing where the traffic is going?”

Melrose community councillor Mr Douglas claimed SBC was “unnecessarily endangering the public’s lives and putting financial expedience before public safety” in a letter to council chief executive Tracey Logan.

And he asked to see a copy of a ‘pre-planning application decision’ on potential vehicle routes.

But, in a response, Ms Logan said: “I have been advised no such document exists.”

She added the council had considered a transport statement and a report from the public consultation process.

However, she admitted: “No detail of vehicle routes was included within either document. This was principally because at the time of the planning application, the contract for removing and treating wasted had not yet been awarded, meaning that the end destination was not known.

“The council has recently awarded the contract for waste recycling to Levenseat, a company based near Forth in North Lanarkshire. Levenseat will consider different routes at different times of the day, depending on circumstances such as traffic.... We anticipate Levenseat will determine the best routes over the coming weeks.”

An SBC spokesperson added: “The number of trips to the waste transfer station is largely in line with trips to the previous landfill site, and significantly less than could have been generated by an integrated waste management facility at Easter Langlee.

“As part of the planning application which was approved in November 2017, the council committed to improving the road network through additional street-lighting, better signage, localised road widening and removal of trees and vegetation, all of which have taken place.

“The council was not able to define a route during the planning process as the procurement exercise had not been completed and therefore SBC did not know the end destination or the preferred route.

“The new residual waste contract will see the majority of the waste treated to produce a refuse derived fuel – to generate heat and electricity – as well as recover materials which can be recycled.

“The closure of the landfill site and opening of waste transfer station will also see a reduction in harmful greenhouse gases from landfilling the waste and we believe it will also result in an improved recycling performance.”