POTENTIAL parking charges in Haddington town centre have been questioned by the town’s community council.

Towns throughout East Lothian are facing the possibility of radical changes to parking layouts in the coming years.

East Lothian Council has already outlined a planned scheme for North Berwick, which has been met with anger by many residents and businesses.

Among the changes there would be the introduction of year-round controlled parking zones, charges for on-street parking and for parking within town centre car parks.

Residents within the zones would also have to pay for a parking permit.

Other towns are also expected to face potential changes in the coming months and years.

No timescale has been given for when parking in Haddington could be discussed.

However, Haddington and District Community Council has already told the local authority that it would not back metered parking in the town centre.

The issue was highlighted in the group’s annual general meeting earlier this month.

Therese Laing, chairwoman, gave a speech outlining what the group had been up to in the past 12 months.

She said: “Haddington and District Community Council wrote to East Lothian Council regarding the proposed introduction of parking charges in towns within East Lothian, beginning with North Berwick.

“Haddington and District Community Council was unanimous in that we opposed the introduction of metered parking in Haddington town centre.

“We wanted a minimum of 120 car parking spaces released behind the Plough Tavern for a new, exclusively public, short-term car park, accompanied by an effective fee collection and policing system; highly visible signage for this new car park and the long-stay car park behind Tesco for both residents and visitors.

“East Lothian Council has assured us that we will be kept fully informed of developments and we will be involved in the creation of any surveys which will be sent to residents in this regard.”

She later told the Courier that the group was keen for parking in the town centre to remain free-of-charge up to 90 minutes, with a charge for anyone wishing to stay longer.

Mrs Laing was first elected as chairwoman at last year’s annual general meeting.

At that time, she was joined by Jack Worden (vice-chairman), Morgwn Davies (secretary) and John Hamilton (treasurer) in taking on the office bearer roles.

Mrs Laing stressed that the group consisted of volunteers who “strive to do their best for that community”.

She said: “It hasn’t always been an easy year because most of the office bearers (me being one of them) were all new and we’ve been learning on our feet.

“What I do know is that we all share the same aim, which is to make Haddington and Lammermuir district the best it can be for everyone in our community.

“Over the past year, we have continued to foster deeper community links and I am proud to highlight some of the areas where we have played an important part.”

A spokesperson for the local authority said: “Our consultation in North Berwick was the first in a series of community consultations that will take place across East Lothian towns, with all proposals put forward focused on making it easier for residents to park as well as encouraging greater turnover of parking spaces to provide better access for all to businesses and services.

“While there are common challenges across our towns, there are also particular issues which are specific to some towns.

“The council will be undertaking extensive community consultation on proposed parking management changes covering our main towns – North Berwick, Musselburgh, Dunbar, Tranent, Prestonpans and Haddington – and the timescales for further consultations will be confirmed in due course.”