Wednesday November 4th 2026
Land outlined in red will be home to theSpace Diunbar after planning permission was approved pic courtesy ELC planning portal
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Marie Sharp
Councillors have backed a community group’s bid for a £15million leisure hub despite planners recommending it for refusal after hearing about the impact they have had on young people’s lives.
TheSpace project for Dunbar has been inspired by local youths and will create a multi-generational facility for people to come and learn, play and socialise.
It is the next stage in an organisation which has supported East Lothian communities for the last 20 years giving them a permanent home on the outskirts of the town for the first time.
And at a meeting of East Lothian Council’s planning committee this week co-founder Adrian Girling urged elected members to give them a chance to achieve their goal.
Mr Girling told the committee the plans had been years in planning and may still be years from becoming a reality but without their backing they would not be able to move to the next stage.
He said: “We do not disregard the issues raised (by planners) but we do think solutions can, and should, be found. Where there is a will there is a way.”
TheSpace project for Dunbar includes climbing walls, an auditorium, shuffleboard and cafe area, learning spaces and an apprentice academy as part of its multi-generational facility.
However East Lothian planners had argued the plans would lead to an unacceptable loss of prime agricultural land as it would be built on over two hectares of land on the outskirts of the town.
Applicants theSpace Scotland CIC said the vision for the Dunbar site is to create a dynamic, multi-purpose facility that grows from community action and thrives as a model of social enterprise.
Their design statement said: “Inspired by the legacy of theSpace North Berwick (2011–2015), this new space will embody the principle of being powered by youth, for the whole community.
“Designed as an inclusive and empowering hub for sport, leisure and entertainment, theSpace Dunbar will offer a wide range of high-quality facilities, activities, events, and clubs.
“Recognising that young people are not a separate group but a vital part of community life, theSpace Dunbar will actively promote the idea of ‘Youth in Community’—an ethos that supports integration, collaboration, and mutual respect across generations.”
The meeting heard from East Lammermuir Community Council who identified as one of the main funders of the project to date and said it provided something for their young people missing in their rural communities.
Chairman Chris Bruce told the committee: “There are no youth services in East Lammermuir, nowhere for our young people. The school bus takes them to Dunbar and brings them back unless they choose to take part in after school activities.
“When it comes to supporting our young people a unique light on the horizon has come from theSpace Dunbar. I make no apology for saying this community council is the biggest investor in the Space Dunbar to date.
“We know our young people will only make up a small fraction of those who go through its doors but we have supported this innovative, unusual, community interest company in its endeavours for three main reasons – we see the need, we see the success of previous and existing work theSpace does, and we support the innovation they are driving in the face of inertia, austerity and seeming never ending problems not under their control.”
Planning convenor Norman Hampshire, local ward member, led the debate on the application saying the proposed hub was something that ‘in hindsight’ the council itself should have been delivering for young people adding “as we are all aware we do not have the resource to deliver it”.
Councillor Hampshire said: “We have to rely on external organisations taking things forward and support them.
“This is hugely ambitious from a small community organisation and it is amazing the amount of funding they have been able to access to get to this point.”
Fellow ward councillor Donna Collins said: “I think this will be a massive boost to Dunbar, a massive boost to the youth and everybody else and I will be fully supporting it.”
The committee unanimously agreed to approve the application against officers recommendation with conditions to be agreed at the next meeting.
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