MAJOR events held in East Lothian will be put under extra scrutiny following a series of disruptions on county roads over the summer.’

Scottish Conservative councillors have called on East Lothian Council to look into the impacts and benefits of large-scale events which are held in the county each year.

They want to look in more detail into the way events are organised and run, as well as what they bring to the county.

A meeting of the council’s policy and performance review committee called for a report to be presented by officials into recent events and the way forward for future events.

Councillor Lachlan Bruce (Con), committee convener, said: “In my own ward of Preston, Seton, Gosford we have had a large number of events which have disrupted day-to-day life.

“Each event has come with confusion connected to road closures, changes to public transport and general disruption to daily life; this has in turn led to a lot of upset and disappointment with event organisers and the council within the communities affected.

“So I believe it is vitally important that we do look at the way we are organising these events and what benefits the community actually gets from hosting them.

“I want us to look at the ways information on events is communicated, how decisions that are being made can be more transparent and how we can improve the way communities benefit from the hosting of major events.

“I also hope that in the near future we will be in a position to open up the process so that the wider public can feed in too.

“This is the first step on what I hope will be a larger process of looking at how the council deals with major events going forward.”

Councillor Brian Small, leader of the opposition Conservative group, requested events were put under further scrutiny after receiving feedback from ward members attending community council meetings before and after recent events.

Among events held this summer in the county were the Edinburgh Marathon, Ironman, the East of Scotland Orange Walk, Scottish Half Marathon, Tour of Britain and Poppyscotland Sportive.

Mr Small said: “It is important that we listen to our residents’ concerns and act on them in a positive and appropriate way.

“In general people are pleased that our county attracts these events but want more consultation and communication with them to be an important part of the event planning process.

“Ensuring appropriate scrutiny is applied to council policies, practices and procedures is an extremely important part of my group’s role as the official opposition.”

A report on the recent events is expected to go before the committee at its next meeting in February.

A council spokesperson said: “Safety is paramount and each event notification is considered in detail. Event organisers are often invited to attend a meeting with representatives from various council teams and our partners in emergency services.

“The onus and responsibility for the full event, whether it be impact on transport routes, communications, safety etc, lies with the event organiser but this process also provides a ‘one-stop shop’ service where guidance on issues can be given by specialists involved.

“It is important for the council to accommodate a wide range of events, whether the benefits be of economic or community interest for towns or areas.

“However, it must be made clear that only events that have been through this safety process will ultimately be supported by the council and its partners.”