NEIGHBOURS have hit out at “second-rate proposals” to redevelop an “eyesore” shelter at Glasclune.

North Berwick Youth Project is keen to carry out work to the run-down shelter to give their members a place to spend their time.

A post from the youth project said: “Over the past three years, young people have been looking at youth provision in North Berwick and have been shocked to learn just how much has been lost and never replaced.

“The team have been working hard to receive advice from East Lothian Council on what can be put in place to ensure a safe environment for all, as well as actions which can be taken to discourage anti-social behaviour. The young people would like to re-build the shelter with wider community involvement.”

But Kathryn and Douglas Paul, who live at Glasclune Gardens, would prefer to see the shelter demolished.

Mrs Paul said that, while she was not against giving young people a place of their own, she felt the shelter – which sits to the rear of the home the couple have lived in for 18 years – was not the right location.

The couple told the Courier they had experienced long-standing anti-social behaviour from youngsters who already gather at the shelter.

Mrs Paul said: “We’ve had bottles thrown into the garden – they are loud and they get up to all sorts. It’s been going on five or six years.”

Mr Paul, who is chairman of Glasclune Residents Association, said: “We feel that it is the wrong site for this.

“We are open to the accusation that it’s because it is at the back of our house and that’s partly fair – ideally we’d like to see the shelter pulled down.

“But rather than just saying it’s not right, we’ve offered to the youth project to fundraise for an alternative.

“There are a lot of people who live here who have experience of managing projects.”

Preliminary community consultation has taken place through an online survey, with 80 per cent backing the youth project’s proposals.

Lauren Cowie, project manager at North Berwick Youth Project, insisted plans were “still at a very early stage”.

She added: “We are committed to working with the entire community and in particular those who live near the proposed shelter. As the project moves forward, the community and the residents will be consulted at every stage, including the design.”

She also stressed that the group hoped the refurbished shelter could be used “for the whole community”, adding: “We hope that by taking a collaborative approach we will be able to deal with the concerns that have been raised.”