FARM machinery and lorries travelling along Market Street are leaving buildings shaking, according to a town centre resident.

Concerns about the speed of vehicles and the condition of the buildings on the historic street were raised at Haddington’s community council meeting.

Members heard from David Barrett, who lives near the busy town centre street and felt that something needed to be done.

However, he claimed he had raised the issue with East Lothian Council previously – only to allegedly be told that nothing could be done until the buildings started falling onto the street.

Mr Barrett said: “I think one of the paradoxes about Market Street is we all see it during the day and Friday afternoon, it is more like Oxford Circus. You can walk faster than the traffic.

“But between 4am and 8am, and between 10pm and 1am, huge agricultural vehicles and HGVs actually hit 30 miles plus per hour through the town and our buildings shake, they physically shake.”

Mr Barrett was keen to see something done to slow vehicles down on the busy street.

He said: “I’m suggesting that some type of traffic calming is very necessary to preserve the fabric of the historic buildings.”

However, the idea of large vehicles doing more than 30 miles per hour on Market Street was refuted by Rab Moran.

The community councillor, who was an HGV driver for about 15 years, said: “I used to be an HGV driver and there is no way an articulated lorry or anything else for that matter clatters along Market Street at 30 miles per hour.

“You sometimes don’t get up to 10 miles per hour going along there.”

Mr Moran stressed that it was a rural community and there were occasions where farm machinery needed to use the roads.

Fellow community councillor Chris McEwan said there were issues with putting in traffic calming measures, such as speed humps.

He said: “Speed humps are going to be absolutely useless to anything over a normal car size.

“They are designed so ambulances can carry over.

“They would not slow down trucks or anything else.”

A spokeswoman for East Lothian Council confirmed that the issue was being investigated.

She said: “We are aware of Mr Barrett’s concerns and have advised that the council is currently looking at measures concerning traffic movement in and around Haddington.

“These plans may include consideration of traffic calming options to reduce speeds in certain areas.”