History
Craiglockhart was effectively a replacement site for Blackford Hill which is under two miles to the east. In practice the two sites served distinct purposes: Blackford Hill was used only for the 1951 television link from Manchester and possibly thought unsuitable for further expansion. Craiglockhart is mentioned in archive papers relating to the Linesman/Mediator radar link between Dundonald and Boulmer. As of September 1966 the site had not yet been obtained by the Post Office, however an in-service date of June 1968 was thought to be possible.
Although the radar link used other sites from the 1951 route it seems television traffic was diverted during the 1960s to run via Calisle and Craiglockhart's main role was as a telephony terminal for Edinburgh. A local cable link connected to the STV Gateway Theatre studios at Leith, with an SHF link between Craiglockhart and Kirk o'Shotts but network diagrams show no permanent television circuits running east from Craiglockhart.
It is possible an interim arrangement was in place for the radar link but the tower at Craiglockhart was a "Type 5A" style by 1975 - this design was available by the end of the 1960s. Planning documents show this was just over 30 m tall and in "2 x 1" form with the wide faces of the tower aligned east/west. A 2003 planning application shows six large dishes on the eastern face of the tower - another application in 2005 shows this had reduced to three. The documents do not reveal the number of dishes on the western face but with the radar and TV links both out of use by the early 1990s it may have been empty by this stage.
Though used as a site share by mobile phone networks it seems there was little justification for BT to retain the station, situated close to a residential area. In late 2012 an application was made for the demolition of the building and tower and redevelopment for housing. The site - under its "street name" of 50 Greenbank Drive - was sold for GBP 1.4M in April 2014, with planning permission for 9 houses. The "Lockhart Woods" development now occupies the site and it's unlikely any trace remains.
