NEW proposals have been put forward to help ease North Berwick’s summer parking problems, with four more parking attendants now in place and a new car park near the primary school being mooted.

The suggestions from East Lothian Council are not formal plans but could potentially be introduced for peak tourist season, when a number of coronavirus restrictions are expected to have been eased.

Land owned by North Berwick Trust off Haddington Road, south-west of Law Primary School and next to Cala Homes’ Law Gardens development, could possibly become a long-stay car park with space for 120 vehicles.

Consideration was given to a park and ride running from this location but it was deemed not to be viable due to various factors including cost, distance from the town centre and uncertainty over public transport capacity.

Some of the town centre’s existing car parks could see changes if the suggestions are taken forward.

One proposal is to keep Kirk Ports Car Park on Law Road 60-minute maximum stay with no return.

The Glebe Car Park on St Andrew Street could then become a three-hour maximum stay with no return. It is currently 90 minutes.

All of the town’s other car parks, including the one on East Road and the Imperial Car Park on Melbourne Place, could stick with no time limit to allow residents to park outwith the current arrangements on Forth Street; whereby residents on High Street, Forth Street and the streets in between the two who have a valid permit can park on the north side of Forth Street without being subject to the current 90-minute limit.

Thought was given to temporarily expanding residential parking on Forth Street but that was deemed impractical due to consultation requirements and timescales.

The town’s library said it was happy to facilitate parking, but with residents using its car park as well as visitors, there was no scope for it to accommodate additional visitors.

Parking at the community centre could be restricted to weekends only as the centre is going to be in use during the week, such as by various classes, groups and the Kindness Co-operative.

As well as this, four new parking attendants became operational on Monday in East Lothian, with a higher visibility of parking attendants planned in North Berwick throughout the summer months.

There were previously six parking attendants in the county, with three deployed daily in East Lothian.

The car park at North Berwick High School will not be used during the summer due to ongoing development works at the schools and the contractor utilising the space.

Expanding parking space at Recreation Park is also not being supported due to the long-term damage to the ground and pitches that could cause.

A council spokesperson said: “We are working with the community looking at parking options coming out of lockdown to manage the significant demand likely to be experienced.”

The ideas were brought before North Berwick Community Council at its meeting earlier this month.

The group disagreed with a suggestion by Hilary Smith, chair of the local area partnership, of installing bollards at the Imperial Car Park to help with traffic flow and said it understood the issues with the park and ride.

During discussions, suggestions made by members of the group included using the staff car park at Law Primary School and the spaces in front of North Berwick Fry and along Kirk Ports for additional parking.

Judy Lockhart, community council chair, added: “We did feel that the proposed car park off Haddington Road is potentially too far away, particularly when families are travelling in and laden with picnics and beach toys, but had no solution other than when the town was full it was full.”

No decisions have been made at this stage, with discussions continuing and no suggestions as to when the plans could be implemented if they are agreed.