A COMMUNITY-led family and learning centre will close its doors midweek due to extreme short staffing.

The Pennypit Family and Learning Centre on Rope Walk, Prestonpans, will now be closed on Wednesdays for the entire day and Friday afternoons.

A spokesperson said: “Bookings have been contacted and in many cases relocated to other centres.

“We apologise for the inconvenience; we have been trying as much as possible to move staff across our four centres to cover centres. We will update you if there are any further closures anticipated as soon as possible.”

An East Lothian Council spokesperson added: “Across the public sector there are, for a variety of reasons, major staffing challenges at present and these are impacting significantly on a range of services, which are far from having returned to pre-pandemic ‘normal’.

"For example, when people catch COVID, they still need to self-isolate – as do those who are identified as close contacts.

"While this is the right course of action, the implications are causing huge staffing pressures within the council right now and our Communities services are among those affected.

“That’s why we are sometimes having to make difficult decisions about the allocation of staff resources, so that we can manage extreme COVID-related pressures while delivering priority services safely.

"These challenges can be compounded when we have, for example, staff vacancies, annual leave or other absence.

“We appreciate the fact that we cannot fully deliver services as ‘normal’ is inconvenient, but we are grateful to residents for their patience and understanding at this difficult time.

“We want to keep as many buildings open as possible and that’s why, in the face of current extreme staffing pressures, the Pennypit is temporarily closed all day on Wednesdays and on Friday afternoons.

"This will enable us to re-deploy staff to maintain reduced provision elsewhere.

"All bookings have been accommodated in other Preston Seton Gosford community centres.”