CONCERNS have been raised that the narrowing of a road over a busy bridge could lead to an accident.

More than 800 new homes are being built at Letham Mains, on Haddington’s western edge.

As part of the construction works, a footpath has been created along the south side of West Road, one of the main entrances to the town.

Graham Samuel, one of the town’s community councillors, aired concerns that the addition of the footpath had narrowed the road at the bridge over the St Laurence House Burn, near Knowes Road, to such an extent that it could result in an accident.

It was a fear that was echoed by other community councillors at the group’s meeting last month.

Mr Samuel said: “That bridge is getting narrower.”

Changes to the road layout on West Road will take place, with four junctions linking the road to the Letham Mains development, which is being built by a number of different housebuilders, including CALA Homes, Mactaggart and Mickel, and Stewart Milne Homes.

Three of those access points will be created to the eastern side of Gateside Cottage, with the remaining junction created to the west.

Paul Darling, one of the community council’s planning liaison officers, felt that a further change could see alterations to the traffic flow at the bridge.

He said that a chicane, or a built-out island on one-side of the road, could be a possibility to address any concerns.

He added: “There is no way you are getting two lorries across the bridge.”

The development, which was given the go-ahead in the summer of 2015, will also feature a primary school and sports pitch.

Access will also come from the A6093, which links Haddington and Pencaitland.

Concerns have also been raised at meetings of Haddington and Lammermuir Community and Police Partnership (CAPP) about the speed of vehicles travelling along the busy road.

A spokeswoman for East Lothian Council said: “The creation of a new footpath does narrow the road width slightly but is unavoidable due to the existing bridge structure.

“The narrower stretch occurs at a straight section of road and in a 30mph limit, allowing suitable conditions for two-way traffic.”