Tuesday December 9th 2025
Musselburgh HigH Street.
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Marie Sharp
East Lothian councillors today gave officers the go ahead to move forward with plans to introduce parking charges in four town centres despite public opposition.
In a meeting which began with noisy protests outside the council chambers in Haddington Town House, members were asked to give officers the green light to begin the process to introduce Traffic Regulation Orders to support on street and off street charges in Dunbar, Haddington, Musselburgh and Tranent.
In the county’s biggest town of Musselburgh, parking charge plans were welcomed by local members with Councillors Andy Forrest saying there was no doubt the town needed action.
He said: “There is no doubt Musselburgh needs parking management. There are no spaces seven days a week in Musselburgh town centre.”
And fellow ward member Scottish Greens councillor Shona McIntosh told the meeting: “The charges we are proposing for Musselburgh are cheaper than taking the bus into town. I do not think it should be cheaper but that is the scale of the charges we are talking about.”
Earlier in the meeting Councillor McIntosh had said the proposals for all four town centres were never about whether parking charges should be introduced but about how they would be imposed.
She told the meeting: “There was never going to be a referendum about charging for parking, it was about how to introduce parking charges.”
In Haddington, where the meeting took place, concerns had been raised about proposals to provide council workers with free parking permits when the current long stay car parks at the council’s headquarters John Muir House in the town and Tesco begin charging.
Officers insisted the plans were in a ‘very early stage’ and work still had to be done to understand the demand between frontline council staff and the public.
Councillor John McMillan said he had lived in Haddington since the 1980s and was proud to live in the town but he said the comments from residents and businesses in the town often mentioned a need for more enforcement of parking rules.
He said: “If you want more enforcement you have to pay for it.”
Earlier council officers had stressed the meeting was being asked to approve the next stage of plans for parking charges in Dunbar, Haddington, Musselburgh and Tranent and there would still be public consultation opportunities as the process to apply for Traffic Regulation Orders moved forward with reassurances it was not a ‘done deal’.
The SNP group councillors produced amendments for all four proposals which said more transparency was needed along with clearer communication with the public moving forward and listed a number of areas in each town where additional work was needed.
However a call, in the amendment for plans for the towns to be delayed until a review of the impact on North Berwick, where charges have already been approved, was brought back to council was rejected in each case.
Earlier in the day councillors voted to approve the next stage of plans for Dunbar to go ahead and this afternoon the proposals for Haddington, Musselburgh and Tranent were also approved with near identical votes.
In each case councillors approved the officers request to start work on Traffic Regulation Orders alongside a revised amendment calling for more transparency but dropping the delay for North Berwick feedback as follows with councillors Shamin Akhtar, Ruaridh Bennett, Fiona Dugdale, Andy Forrest, Norman Hampshire, Carol McFarlane, Colin McGinn, Shona McIntosh, John McMIllan, Brooke Ritchie and Colin Yorkston supporting it.
Councillors Lyn Jardine, Neil Gilbert and Tom Trotter voted for the original amendment while Councillor Kenny McLeod supported the officers recommendation with no amendment and Councillors Lachlan Bruce, Donna Collins, Jeremy Findlay and George McGuire voted against the progression of the scheme.
The full details proposed for each town can be found HERE.
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