This week's East Lothian Courier letters: August 20, 2026

Scottish Water tells us our area is currently experiencing ‘moderate scarcity’ – local river flows and groundwater levels are exceptionally low. Farmers and local businesses are being asked to restrict their water usage.

All the predictions are that we can expect similar dry summers in the future. Is it really sensible to replace agricultural land with something that we know will require so much water?

This is a foolish idea. It might look feasible on a map, but in reality it is not right for the area.

Gillian Birkby

North Berwick

Business blow

“The proposed visitor levy itself would be paid by the visitor rather than being a direct charge on accommodation businesses, although we recognise that businesses may face administrative and systems costs in collecting and remitting it.”

This quote from East Lothian Council is incorrect. I know because I’ve been in the self-catering part of the accommodation sector in Edinburgh since 2005.

The responsibility for collecting and remitting the additional tourist tax being proposed on local accommodation businesses in East Lothian will be applied to ALL bookings, whether it’s for a business/work stay in the county, a local family needing somewhere to stay if their home suffers fire or flood, someone staying locally to visit family or help elderly relatives.

It is not just for foreign tourists on a holiday, it’s all of us needing temporary accommodation.

It falls to the unlucky local operator to become an unpaid tax collector for the council on pain of a hefty fine (£50k in Edinburgh).

Therefore claiming this is paid by the visitor in practice is simply inaccurate. It will be impossible for many operators to increase pricing to cover this extra proposed five per cent tax on top of 20 per cent VAT.

To add insult to injury, it is then subject to further tax because HMRC does not treat it as a tax.

This makes the effective cost for local businesses more than five per cent and in no way recognises the onerous administrative burden this also adds compared to a simple flat fee model, where the guest simply scans a QR code and remits a per-person, per-night fee to the Council, thus removing the burden from the accommodation provider.

Effectively, it’s the council seeking to appropriate a stake in every accommodation provider’s business without paying for it, demanding extra money with menaces if operators don’t comply. A very unwanted partner in your wee business.

And if this brings extra footfall and spending to local pubs, shops, visitor attractions, golf clubs and restaurants, will they too be expected to pay the council for this? Currently no, but given this ‘logic’, why not?

It is just another revenue stream that the council will use to avoid meeting statutory obligations, shuffling funds to cover duties that regular council tax and block grants should pay for.

If Brexit was meant to be a bonfire of bureaucracy, to date we’ve seen nothing to indicate it worked; indeed, it has gone strongly in the opposite direction, with this being just the latest insult assaulting the small businesses struggling to make ends meet in the county.

They need this like a hole in the head and many will just see this as the last straw and close up shop, especially if the tourist tax pushes some over the VAT threshold.

Ralph Averbuch

Pencaitland

A great harbour

I have been involved in and around North Berwick’s harbour area for many years, and was part of the team through the Government empowerment policy in placing the area under local stewardship, the North Berwick Harbour Trust.

In my opinion, our harbour has never looked so good and so well cared for.

A huge credit must go to those making it happen, especially the hard yards done by the small army of hands-on harbour helpers, with the assistance of other volunteer groups like North Berwick in Bloom and Bass Rock Community Group.

The area, due to its harsh surroundings, requires constant maintenance and I hope this is being factored in when plans for future projects are being drawn up.

The margins of impact between development and overdevelopment are fine.

Once more, a huge thank you to all those doing such a terrific job in looking after the jewel in North Berwick’s crown.

Gerry Hughes

Ware Road

North Berwick

Say no to cuts

I see there is an idea floating about setting up a political electoral organisation to ‘fight’ the parking charges in East Lothian at the next council election.

However, I have not seen its programme.

Does it intend to stop the parking charges and raise the funding East Lothian Council needs by charging extra for another service – such as emptying green bins; charging more for social care for the old, infirm and disabled; closing toilets; stopping grass-cutting by sacking staff; or through some other austerity cut?

Or is this new political organisation going to stand up to council officers, the SNP Scottish Government and the Labour Government, and organise a no-cuts budget and a mass civil-disobedience campaign against austerity?

Over nearly 16 years of economic, social and political correspondence to the Courier, I have tried to explain that the capitalist class, which owns, controls and runs the British economy, wants the working – and now middle – class to pay for the bailing-out of the 2008 financial crisis through continued austerity.

The Progressive Economy Forum thinktank estimates that, had austerity not been carried out, an extra £540 billion would have been spent on public services by 2019.

Local government has suffered hugely: more than £15 billion a year has been cut from funding to local councils since 2010. That is why East Lothian Council charges motorists for parking, among many other cuts and charges.

It is not the personal or moral fault of East Lothian councillors, but the result of 14 years of Conservative and two years of Labour national governments’ austerity cuts.

What I accuse ELC councillors of is a lack of political will to fight austerity cuts against the East Lothian and Scottish working class.

Jimmy Haddow

Socialist Party Scotland

Tranent

FBTS Online?

After the first week of Fringe by the Sea, your front page showed a lovely picture of a packed audience enjoying one of the shows in the Big Top: laughter, smiles, enjoyment on every face.

How did I feel as I scanned the rows of faces? Happy for them. Proud of being a resident of North Berwick being able to attract wonderful performers.

But my overwhelming feeling was sadness. Sadness because, due to health conditions, I will never be able to enjoy at first hand the performances of the Big Top.

My sadness and frustration must be shared by everyone barred by health, age or even difficulties of travel to North Berwick. Frustration most of all because there is a very simple solution that has never been tried: Fringe by the Sea Online, organised by a firm such as Eventbrite.

Audiences from across the world could and would view and pay – no need to incur difficulties and cost for travel, accommodation, parking etc. A huge increase in profit would be generated. The Big Top would still have packed audiences, as the atmosphere will be a huge attraction.

Morna Mulgray

Melbourne Place

North Berwick