An open letter demanding parking charge plans are shelved after East Lothian’s Provost John McMillan defended the scheme insisting the public’s objections ‘had been heard’ has been signed by more than 30 town centre businesses.
Councillor McMillan insisted people’s voices had been listened to during consultations ahead of the introduction of parking charges in North Berwick and said plans to roll out the scheme to other towns would be informed by the impact in the seaside town.
However, his comments sparked an angry reaction from retailers and businesses in his hometown of Haddington which is bracing itself for the charges coming there way in the near future.
In the open letter, published on social media, 34 town centre traders said the provost was like a man ‘congratulating himself on having found a fire extinguisher after setting the building alight’.
And they called on the council to pause plans for their town criticising the consultation over introducing on street and off street parking charges saying it began not with the question ‘is there a parking problem’ in the town but on the assumption charges were coming.
Mr McMillan gave an interview to his local weekly newspaper last week in which he defended the scheme in North Berwick and plans to roll it out .
He insisted residents had been given the chance to comment on the plans, both in consultations and during council meetings in the town itself.
He was quoted as saying “It’s very clear to me in the whole democratic process that the voice of those who object has been heard and expressed in the chamber.
“Given all the facts and the research that we’ve looked at, the council took a vote and decided to go ahead.”
The council introduced the North Berwick scheme at the start of the month with plans to introduce it in Haddington, Dunbarm Tranent, Prestonpans and Musselburgh in the coming years.
However concerns have been raised about the impact of the scheme in town centre visitors and retail businesses particularly where the financial benefits are low.
While the business case presented for North Berwick prior to the scheme being introduced suggested that once implementation costs were recouped over 10 years it could generate revenue of up to £1million, Haddington is estimated to bring in just £4,000 a year after a decade.
Now Haddington businesses are urging the council to rethink plans for their town insisting it has not been properly consulted on and evidence has not been produced to prove there is a problem in the town that needs to be addressed.
They say: “People who have challenged the scheme through petitions, consultations, responses, meetings and evidence have been treated as vexatious and unpleasant rather than a public to be heard.
“Opposition has been described as political, residents have been told they are mistaken.
“Haddington will not be used as the next live experiment for a policy that has not yet demonstrated it works in North Berwick. We want the council to pause the Haddington proposals.”
The full list of town centre traders who signed the petition are: Animal Magic; Burt Financial Planning; Café 24; Celebrations; Chapter One; Charlie’s Pies and Pate; David Todd Sales & Lettings; Day To Day; Diggory’s; Elite Travel; Erica; Fabrications; Falko; J & J Carpets & Flooring; Flames Fire Places & Stoves; Kevin Watt Butcher; Foraging Goat; Gibsons; Graham’s The Jeweller; Haddington Bikes; La Dolce Vita; Made Art Hub; Sanctuary Plants; Sharon’s Hair and Beauty Boutique; Haddington Whisky & Wines; Story 68; Health & Beauty; Heavy Metal Piercing; HiHopes Ink & Aesthetics; Hope James Hair; Irvines Home Hardware; The Elite Flooring Company; Turkish Barber, TV Repair Centre.
By Marie Sharp Local Democracy Reporter
