Tuesday August 11th 2026
Parking meter on North Berwick high street
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Marie Sharp
Hundreds of people have taken part in a two month review of the impact of controversial parking charges in an East Lothian town.
North Berwick Community Council has carried out its own survey about the town centre parking meters after East Lothian Councillors refused to pause or review the scheme so soon after it was launched.
And the survey, which closes today, has attracted more than 650 responses from people keen to share their experience of the new charges.
Parking charges came into force in North Berwick at the start of June as part of the council’s plans to implement a parking management scheme across towns in the county.
A meeting of councillors before the summer recess heard claims traders are losing thousands of pounds a week as locals stay away because of confusion over the charges amid claims the signage is not clear and people are concerned about receiving a fine if they get it wrong.
Conservative councillors told the meeting shop owners and hospitality businesses said they had seen takings fall by between 20% to 60% compared to the same time in previous years with one saying they were down £1,000 a day.
However a call on the council to pause the charges while a review of its impact on businesses was carried out was rejected with Labour administration members insisting the benefits of the scheme were already being seen and it simply needed time to ‘bed in’.
The council’s SNP group put forward an alternative motion also calling for a review of the impact after two months however it was also rejected as the Labour administration instead called for officers to continue offering local businesses and residents support and bring a ‘report’ on issues back to council.
North Berwick Community Council launched its own two month review of the impact as some traders claim the summer season, traditionally the town’s busiest time of year, has been a disaster.
They said they were looking for all views on the scheme, positive and negative and seeking responses from as many people as possible affected by it.
Urging people to come forward to join the survey, they said: “The summary details will be shared with everyone ahead of the next East Lothian Council meeting to provide a snapshot of opinion in the town around parking. Every response will be kept confidential unless you state otherwise.
“The more people who provide views both positive and negative the better so please complete and encourage others to do so.”
Council meetings resume next week with the first full council meeting on August 25.
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