A PLAN has been created in a bid to revitalise a beach that was once a magnet for tourists but has now been labelled an eyesore.

Problems with sand disappearing off the beach at Dunbar’s East Beach have been raised over the last three years.

Pippa Swan, from the town’s community council, has been one of several volunteers working to find solutions to both the sand erosion problem and the excessive kelp being dumped naturally on the beach by the tide; the kelp attracts huge numbers of flies and has a nasty pong.

Dunbar Shore and Harbour Neighbourhood Group (DSHNG) has joined forces with both East Lothian Council and Dunbar and East Linton Area Partnership (DELAP) in a bid to help.

The group consulted with Royal Haskoning DHV, experts in coastal systems and regeneration projects, and now a plan to address the long-running problem has been agreed in principle.

Councillor Norman Hampshire, Dunbar and East Linton ward member, said: “Following consideration of the advice received from our experts, we will work towards the re-construction of the groyne, re-instate the seawall head and seek to have East Beach designated as a beneficial re-charge site.

“The re-charge status means that any port dredging material will have to consider East Beach as a place on which to deposit material and that should support any natural regeneration of the sand beach.”

The groyne re-construction and recharge designation should be complete by next spring, with hopes the wall head and pipe re-profiling will be done this year

Dave Northcott, East Lothian Council’s engineer, has been considering the visual and physical impact of the sewage interceptor pipe, which is now fully exposed.

“It is now clear from expert advice that the concrete casing to the pipe has accelerated the erosion of the beach,” he told the Courier.

“Removal of the pipeline is not a possibility but we are looking to carry out works that will see the pipeline profile softened and this will help waterborne sand to gather on the shore.

“Beach re-profiling up to the pipe has just been undertaken with storm cobbles and we will see how this bears up to the tides.

“We expect that concrete mattresses may be required to achieve a permanent solution.”

Local contractor Kevin Thomson has been working with the group for the last two years in the management of the kelp dumps, which can sometimes run to some 500 tons of vegetable matter.

Mike Shaw, of DSHNG, explained: “Farmers won’t take the kelp now because it can no longer be moved off the beach without it being loaded with stone.

“Our plan, agreed with East Lothian Council and Scottish Natural Heritage, is to move the kelp out to sea to wash kelp fly larvae out and freshen the weed before it turns into a rotten mess.

“In the past couple of months we have had to move it south along the beach, as that is the only place we can access low water.

“There have been complaints about this but the council has worked with AG Thomson and we have now agreed that material will be spread on rock and into ravines as far as possible.

“We are always limited by what the machines can do but Kevin and his team work so hard to make the plan work.”