John Muir Way to reopen after diversion around landfall construction site
The diversion of the John Muir Way national footpath around the Inch Cape Offshore Wind Farm construction site at landfall will be removed this week, with the Cockenzie seafront section to fully re-open from Saturday 17 January.
The footpath was temporarily closed and diverted in late 2024 to enable significant engineering work to be carried out at the landfall site, adjacent to the main substation construction site. This work included the removal and restoration of 35 metres of seawall and the installation of ducts for the project’s two export cables to be pulled through.
The two export cables will transmit the power generated by the wind turbines offshore to the new substation, where it will be converted before being transmitted under Edinburgh Road to the Scottish Power Energy Networks 275kV substation, and on to the national grid.
Inch Cape’s first export cable was pulled into the site in September with the second one due to arrive in early summer 2026. There will be a need for a further brief closure to allow for the pull-in of this second export cable however it is not expected to be for more than a few days.
There may be occasional short closures of the footpath in the interest of public safety, for example when landscaping work is carried out towards the end of the project, however the Inch Cape project team will provide notifications well ahead of any such closures. The new footpath created adjacent to the substation site will remain in place.
Inch Cape and its contractors have appreciated the patience and cooperation from the local community during the diversion and throughout the ongoing construction activity at the substation site.
