Congratulations to the Dalkeith Defenders!

That the Parliament congratulates the Dalkeith Defenders on their efforts to save Dalkeith country park from development; applauds the huge support shown to the defenders by the local community, despite reports to the contrary; recognises the traffic problems in and around the Dalkeith area but understands that these are due to the lack of investment in public transport and environmentally sustainable planning legislation by successive governments; further accepts that the proposed development through the country park will do nothing to relieve the situation but will damage the environment and the local community and will ultimately increase traffic levels on the road, and therefore calls on the Scottish Executive to halt the development immediately and to undertake a multimodal transport study and an environmental impact study to address the traffic problem in a socially and environmentally just manner.