THE Scottish Half Marathon causes “chaos and frustration” to residents impacted by road closures and limited public transport, a local councillor has said.

More than 4,000 runners will descend on the county this Sunday for the event, which is expected to raise more than £250,000 for good causes.

Preston/Seton/Gosford councillor Lachlan Bruce, writing in his fortnightly column in the Courier (see page 19), said: “On Sunday, the whole of Cockenzie and Port Seton will be closed off to traffic coming in and out of the village between 10am and 1pm.

“The main coast road between Musselburgh and Longniddry will be closed for 10 hours!”

The race “causes chaos and frustration” but he stressed that he wanted the event to stay.

He added: “These events should continue as they do a lot of good for those taking part in terms of physical and mental health as well as raising thousands [of pounds] for charity.”

The 13.1-mile race takes place entirely within East Lothian – runners will start at Meadowmill Sports Centre, by Tranent, and head towards Longniddry and near the entrance of Gosford House before making their way back along the coast road to Musselburgh.

The annual event is expected to raise in excess of a £250,000 for more than 200 different charities, led by Cancer Research and three established Scottish charities; Alzheimer Scotland, Chest, Heart & Stroke Scotland, and Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity.

To facilitate the running of the half marathon, roads in towns and villages will be closed. Organisers GSi Events met with Cockenzie and Port Seton Community Council earlier this month to discuss potential issues. The organisers have come under fire in the past for the disruption it causes to public transport and local businesses.

Sandra Scott, from GSi Events, told the community council that they listened to feedback each year and worked to improve the race for runners and the communities they go through.

At a meeting of the community council, local resident Sheila Chambers said Cockenzie and Port Seton had “less disruption from the full (Edinburgh) marathon than from the half marathon.”

She said: “The reason for the disruption is that the half marathon starts at Meadowmill.

“The participants run from Meadowmill along the A198, crossing the roundabout where a branch of the A198 leads to the bypass.

“This road and the B6371 to Cockenzie and Port Seton are closed temporarily.

“This causes inconvenience to motorists coming off the bypass to go to North Berwick and other places such as the Museum of Flight – always busy on a Sunday, as well as to local residents.”

Mrs Chambers added that other access roads to Cockenzie and Port Seton, such as Fishersgate Road, were also closed, meaning that residents of Cockenzie and Port Seton are “virtually trapped”.

Ms Scott said that organisers had looked at reducing the closures at Meadowmill roundabout to a smaller window of 11am to 11.20am to reduce congestion.

The full road closures on the day include, in Musselburgh from 5am to 4pm, the eastbound lane of Linkfield Road.

From 6am to 4pm, Managers Brae, Ravensheugh Road and Ravensheugh Crescent will be shut at their junctions with the B1348, and Mayville Bank and Hope Place will be completely closed. There will also be closures at the unnamed stretch of B1348 at Prestongrange from Ravensheugh Road to Prestonpans High Street, and the unnamed entrance to Drummohr at its junction with B1348/Ravensheugh Road.

Road closures in Prestonpans and Cockenzie and Port Seton include: from 6am to 3pm, the A198 from Lyars Road to just before the entrance to Gosford House, the B1348 coast road from Seton Sands Caravan Park to Lyars Road Junction, the Private Road to Gosford Saw Mill at its junction with A198, Dean Road between B1348 and Kings Avenue, the unnamed road west of Lyars Road at its junction with B1348 coast road, Barracks Street at its junction with B1348/Links Road, and Cope Lane at its junction with Viewforth.

The Promenade, Hares Close, Seton Place, and Gardeners Close will be completely closed, and Manse Lane and School Lane will be shut off at their junctions with High Street.

Park Road, Long Craigs, Castle Terrace and Links Court will all be shut at their junctions to Links Road. There will be a westbound exit to leave Port Seton via East Lorimer Place, and an eastbound exit allowing local access as far as Seton Sands Caravan Park.

From 6am to 3:30pm, Cookies Wynd, The Pottery, Wemyss Place, Salt Preston Place, West Harbour, Marshall Street, Barga Court, East Seaside, Ormiston Place, Sir Walter Scott Pend, Viewforth, West Seaside, Inchview North, the unnamed road to the boat enclosure, Prestonpans High Street, and Cockenzie High Street will all be completely closed off.

There will also be closures at Links Road/B1348 eastbound between Seton Place and Seton Sands Holiday Park entrance, B1348/Edinburgh Road from its junction with B1348 at Cockenzie Power Station to East Lorimer Place, Nethershot Road (Appin Drive) at its junction with B1348/Edinburgh Road, the unnamed stretch of B1348 at Cockenzie Power Station from Prestonpans High Street to Edinburgh Road, and Robertson Avenue, Pypers Wynd, and Harlaw Hill will all be closed at their junctions with B1348/High Street.

Furthermore, Prestongrange Road, Redburn Road North, New Street, and B1349 Ayres Wynd will all be closed at their junctions with B1348/High Street.

Road closures in Tranent and Longniddry include: from 10:50am to 11:20am, all Meadowmill Sports Centre access roads, as well as Coal Plant Road, at its junction with Meadowmill Roundabout.

From 10am to 12:45pm, Dean Road from the A198 junction to the King's Avenue junction, Glassel Park Road at its junction with Dean Road, King's Grove/Campbell Road Court at its junction with King's Road, Links Road from the junction with King's Road to Gosford, and Campbell Road at the junction with King's Road.

King's Avenue, King's Road, Gosford Road, Canty Grove, Dean Court, Dean Park, Cottlands Avenue, Old Dean Road/Stevenson Way, King's Park, and Longniddry Golf Club's access road will all be closed in their entirety.

From 10:50am until 12pm, Fishergate Road at its junction with A198 and the unnamed road to Seton Mains is closed in its entirety.

Furthermore, Lyars Road from Gosford Road to the B1377/A198 roundabout will be shut from 10am to 1pm.

There will also be parking restrictions in place around the county.

Further information can be found here.