ENTREPRENEURS looking to bring their business to Dunbar should be “supported” by the town’s community council.

New life has been breathed into the former Coast Gallery, which has been turned into a cafe on the town’s High Street.

However, Dunbar Community Council raised concerns about the number of cafes already operating in the town and whether it would result in “an overprovision of cafes within the locality”.

East Lothian Council’s planning department labelled the letter an objection but Alasdair Swan, treasurer of the community council, questioned whether the community council had wanted to object.

He said: “I think we have to be really careful if we want to raise concerns that we don’t write and say we object.

“We did not object.

“It is our role to support entrepreneurs to come into High Street. It is not our business to say they should not be there or run their business.

“We are entitled to say we have concerns. It just concerns me that we absolutely as community councillors do not want to be seen as gatekeepers.”

The community council had raised concerns regarding the suitability of the former retail outlet as a cafe.

The planning officer’s report outlined that the number of other cafes in the town was “not a material planning consideration relevant to the determination of this application”.

Jo Crerar, who is behind the business, plans to sell both hot and cold food from the premises, with the ethos of the business being to offer “healthy, delicious salads, filled bagels, poke salads, smoothies and speciality coffee from roasteries from around the UK and Europe”.