The rejection of plans to open a community cafe at Ormiston Library at weekends is “really disheartening”, according to the village’s community council.

A business plan had been submitted to East Lothian Council by two members of the community, who hoped to open a cafe for the public at weekends in the library, which is currently open only on Wednesdays and Fridays.

Funding of £5,000 had been secured from First Port’s ‘Start It’ fund, which they hoped would help cover the costs to get it started.

Scott Gillies, chair of Ormiston Community Council, said that the plans for a cafe would also help solve issues regarding the lack of toilet facilities at Ormiston’s play park.

He has since written a letter to the council to voice his frustration.

He said: “Ormiston play park has become one of the most visited parks in East Lothian over the last few years, due to the fantastic work by volunteer group Friends of Ormiston Park.

“What has proved to be a major issue is the lack of toilet facilities in the area, which has led to the unacceptable but entirely understandable practice of adults and children using the nearby bushes and trees as a toilet.

“This obviously creates a hygiene and environmental issue, with human waste, toilet roll and wipes just being discarded.

“Plans for a cafe would have allowed park users to visit the library to use the bathroom and also enjoy the cafe, which may have helped draw people to the park.”

Plans were first discussed in early 2021 with the council’s library services team and the local area partnership, exploring the option of using a room in the library to serve refreshments at the weekend.

A business plan was presented to East Lothian Council in June last year.

The team received an email from the council in March, saying that the building was still used to deliver council services and could not be declared surplus to requirements, and that internal discussions had identified that it would cost in excess of £100,000 to install the cafe.

Mr Gillies was disappointed by the council’s response.

He said: “Those behind the cafe have put an incredible amount of work into this project and it would be really disheartening for them and others in communities all over East Lothian who have ideas that could better the life of residents only for them to get tangled up in a web of bureaucracy.

“They are able to develop their plan to suit whatever alternatives the council could propose to allow the building to be used.”

Lindsey Mainds, chair of Friends of Ormiston Park, expressed her frustration.

She said: “The enormous popularity of Ormiston Park due to the redevelopment and regeneration project led by Friends of Ormiston Park has highlighted the real need for facilities such as toilets and a cafe.

“We were extremely disappointed to hear that ELC no longer wish to support these plans.

“This shows a complete lack of vision for the library.

“The nature of how ELC turned down the plans was also highly disrespectful and offhand, and lacked any kind of transparency regarding the details behind the decision by throwing in a completely unsubstantiated figure of £100,000 for alterations to justify their change of heart.

“East Lothian Council proudly claim to fully support local communities but this claim is not, in this case, backed up by their actions and we expect far more from them. “

East Lothian Council was asked by the Courier to comment.

In response, a council spokesperson said: “A letter from Ormiston Community Council has been received by our chief executive and we will be responding to the chair on the points he has raised.”