THE retail park being built on the outskirts of Haddington should be treated as “an opportunity not a threat” to the town centre, the Provost of East Lothian has said.

Haddington Retail Park, on the western edge of the town, is due to open later this year and will include The Food Warehouse, Home Bargains, Costa Coffee and a petrol station.

Aldi will also swap its town centre site off Whittingehame Drive for a new, larger store in the retail park, with the occupier of a fifth unit yet to be revealed.

The retail park will have nearly 300 free-of-charge parking spaces and is also within walking distance of hundreds of new homes being built at nearby Gateside and Letham Mains.

Fears have previously been raised about the potential of the retail park taking trade away from the town centre.

However, ward councillor John McMillan, who is also provost and East Lothian Council’s spokesman for tourism and economic development, encouraged people to focus on the positives.

He described it as “a great opportunity” and not to “talk down your town centre”.

Mr McMillan, who was speaking at the town’s community council meeting, said: “We and the whole of the town needs to be proud and take this as an opportunity, not a threat.”

The councillor, who lives in the town, pointed to the good work of Haddington Business Community Partnership (HBCP) and Paul Kinnoch in trying to ensure the town centre remained vibrant, particularly at a time when trading conditions had been challenging due to coronavirus-related restrictions.

One of the initiatives saw half a dozen wooden cabins dotted around the town centre in the run-up to Christmas, with customers urged to spend their money in surrounding shops.

The plan is for the cabins to be used for seasonal markets, with hopes the first of those could take place this summer.

Discussions on the potential impact of the retail park on the town centre were raised by community councillor Therese Laing.

She said: “Walking along the West Road, I met a young mum with a toddler in a pushchair.

“She was saying she cannot wait for the retail park to open and she does not have to keep going down to High Street.

“We need to be really careful that it is not going to be [like] a village up there with shops and the school.

“We need to be thinking of ways to make sure everybody still uses the town centre.

“She is so tired walking up and down and cannot wait until the retail park opens.”

Pat Lemmon, community council vice-chairwoman, was keen for businesses in the town centre and retail park to work together.

She said: “I think discussions need to take place with businesses in there to look at ways to encourage people to use the town centre.”

Jan Wilson, former long-standing chairwoman of the community council, said that fears about the impact of an out-of-town retail development pre-dated the existing retail park.

She said: “This was the fear we had quite a number of years ago when Gateside Park was going to be built by Sainsbury’s.

“We feared [customers] would not come down to use the town centre. This is just what is coming true now. We have to try hard to get people to come down to use the businesses.”