A BID to open a snack van at a coastal car park has been given the go-ahead after a planning convenor told disgruntled residents not everyone was “fortunate enough” to live at the beach.

The plans for the van at the Shore Road car park, on the John Muir Way at Belhaven, drew 17 protests and were described by one elected councillor as “sacrilege”.

Local residents pleaded with East Lothian Council’s planning committee to refuse planning permission, arguing it went against everything naturalist John Muir, who was born in Dunbar, stood for and strived to achieve.

Other residents pointed to road safety concerns on the streets surrounding the car park, which at one point last year saw 1,000 vehicles a day visiting it.

Local residents said that their streets were already jammed by the overspill of the car park, which sits near a popular surf school which operates from the bay, adding that the snack van would only attract more visitors.

One man said that if he left his home to go grocery shopping at the weekend, he would return to find he could not park within half a mile of his home, adding: “If that is not impacting on my amenity, I don’t know what is.”

However, Councillor Norman Hampshire, local ward councillor, council leader and planning convenor, insisted that the snack van – which will be powered by batteries rather than a generator and use compostable cutlery – would be a welcome addition for people who visited the beach and walked the John Muir Way.

He told protesters: “A lot of people are not fortunate to be able to buy a house close to the beach and they would enjoy the opportunity to walk down there and enjoy a cup of coffee.”

Fellow ward councillor Sue Kempson called in the application for the van to the committee after planning officers recommended it for approval.

At a previous bid to put a snack van on the site two years ago, which was thrown out, Dr Kempson described visitors to the van as having their “grotty coffee”, adding: “I’m sorry but I have used snack bars and never had decent coffee [from them].”

Dr Kempson told the committee that she was concerned about the impact of the new snack van, which was being sited at a different point of the car park, further away from housing, on the grass area it was designated.

She supported residents' concerns about the snack van being on the John Muir Way.

She said: “To give permission for this van on the John Muir site, Dunbar, is to me sacrilege.”

Jacquie Bell, from Dunbar Community Council, which also objected to the snack van, pointed out that the Shore Road car park was “an anomaly” among coastal car parks in East Lothian because it was next to residential streets.

She said: “This is not a NIMBY objection, the priority concern is road safety.”

And she criticised the council for advertising the site as a potential snack van placement, saying the financial gain for the local authority of tendering the site was “outweighed by the impact of the van”.

Bethan and Markos Akgum, who applied for permission to operate the snack van at the site, said that they had switched to electric batteries and reduced the size of the van, as well as changing its colour, after feedback from the community.

Bethan told the committee that plans were in place to monitor litter by using branded compostable containers, which she suggested could be marked with the initials of customers to make them more responsible for disposing of them properly.

The efforts of the applicants were welcomed by many councillors on the committee.

Mr Hampshire said that he had lived in Dunbar all his life and had fond memories of visiting the bay while growing up and with his family, and the provision of a snack van would be appreciated.

He said: “Every time I am down at Belhaven, someone will come and ask me ‘where can I buy a coffee?’ and there is nowhere, only a long, long walk to buy a cup of coffee.

“The van will be adjacent to the John Muir Way and hundreds of walkers will welcome it. I think it will be an asset to people who use the bay.”

The committee voted by 10 votes to one to approve the snack van. Dr Kempson was the only councillor to vote against it.