COUNCILLORS will finally return to meeting in person in Haddington Town House – more than three years after the venue was closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
East Lothian Council meetings have been held virtually since the pandemic struck in March 2020.
Since then, the town centre building has undergone £600,000 of repairs and refurbishments but the council has confirmed it will open soon.
However, the building will not open for community groups such as Haddington and District Community Council due to financial challenges facing the local authority.
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Councillor Colin McGinn, cabinet member for community wellbeing, was pleased that progress was being made, although a date for when councillors will meet in person is yet to be confirmed.
He said: “Haddington Town House is a much-loved local landmark at the heart of the town centre.
“We are pleased that works to enhance the fabric of the building are approaching completion.”
Work on the Town House has included repointing, stonework and electric repairs. Those works are due to be complete within a matter of weeks.
One of the other aspects of the work is the installation of a “hybrid” meeting system in the council chamber on the ground floor.
The technology will enable people who want to join council meetings on an “in-person” basis to do so, while also enabling others to join the meeting remotely, be it from home or another office.
The equipment needs to remain in place permanently, which means the chamber will be unsuitable for events other than meetings.
The rest of the building – which has also been disused since the start of the pandemic – will continue to be temporarily “mothballed” and remain unavailable for public use for the foreseeable future.
The historic building will be used only as a venue for meetings of East Lothian Council – which last met there on March 17, 2020 – and its committees until further notice.
Mr McGinn highlighted the financial challenges facing the council.
He said: “The council, like all local authorities, is dealing with very significant cost pressures at the current time.
“The financial challenges have been compounded by the fact that some of our teams are extremely stretched, with vacancies and staff shortages, and so we are having to focus our limited resources on essential frontline services such as the cleaning of schools and care homes.
“Unfortunately, with the exception of meetings of East Lothian Council and its committees, the Town House will remain unavailable for general public use for the foreseeable future.
“Anyone who makes an enquiry about booking the Town House will be signposted to alternative facilities available locally, such as Knox Academy, which has a range of bookable spaces which are already open, staffed and available for public and community use. These arrangements have already been working well.
“We thank the community for their understanding and patience, and we will look to provide a further update in the months ahead.”
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