Thursday August 20th 2026
Parking meter in North Berwick
Written by Midlothian View Reporter, Liam Eunson
North Berwick Community Council (NBCC) has made warnings of emerging economic and social harm, calling for a full review on North Berwick’s new parking scheme two months after it was introduced.
Prior to introduction and following, the scheme has seen heavy opposition with many local residents and businesses calling for the controversial scheme to be scrapped.
Revealed in a report this week, the scheme has brought in £111,000 in the first two months with £59,000 of the income spent on repairing parking meters that were vandalised in the few weeks following the scheme’s implementation.
The town’s community council are now calling on East Lothian council to ‘take the necessary steps to pause the town’s parking charges and associated parking enforcement as quickly as lawfully possible while an investigation and full review takes place’.
Calling on the local authority to pause the measures, the council made North Berwick the first town to introduce measures back on 1 June, estimating it could bring in more than £1 million a year once original costs are recouped.
In the first two weeks of the measures dozens of £100 parking tickets were issued a day on average, causing public outrage which has led to vandalism, public protests outside council meetings and a survey that has gathered hundreds of responses.
The call follows the community council’s two-month review of the scheme which stemmed from backlash from local traders.
Seven follow-up surveys generated 829 responses across visitors and shoppers, businesses, workers, commuters, residents inside and outside the controlled zones, and people with accessibility or mobility needs. A first survey wave generated 573 submissions around implementation, providing an important baseline for comparison.
NBCC says the warning signs are now too serious to justify continuing unchanged until a later review, particularly when traders are reporting reduced footfall and customers themselves say they are visiting less often and spending less.
NBCC is asking East Lothian Council to:
– pause the current charging arrangements and associated charging enforcement, using the appropriate lawful mechanism
– review its entire approach to parking in North Berwick before further damage is done to traders and the wider town economy
– commission transparent assessment of economic impact, accessibility, workers, parking displacement and rail-station pressure
– review the Traffic Regulation Order process, including outstanding objections and whether an independent hearing should have taken place
– publish the evidence and success criteria that will determine the scheme’s future.
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.
With the original aim ‘to make it easier for people to access businesses and amenities’ and increase footfall, on the high street business has been affected with one local business warning the Midlothian View back in February, 5 months before the charges were implemented, that the charges will ‘crash the high street’.
Bev Gilhooley, who owns pet store Barker and Bone on North Berwick high street told the Midlothian View in Febraury that she was concerned the measures would 'crash the high street'
North Berwick Community Council’s surveys are proving this to be the case, reporting:
– Visitors and shoppers: 71% said they were visiting less often, 62% spending less and 57% staying for less time; 87% reported a negative overall impact.
– Businesses and traders: among 32 substantive follow-up responses, 84% reported a negative impact on footfall, 81% on repeat visits and 75% on turnover or financial health.
– Workers: 91% reported a negative overall impact; 13 of 47 respondents had considered alternative employment and 12 had reduced the number of days they work in North Berwick.
– Accessibility: 91% of valid respondents reported reduced confidence visiting North Berwick and 86% rated access by car to health, care or support services poor or very poor.
– Displacement and rail: 95% of valid respondents outside the zones reported observing parking displacement; 91% of commuter respondents reported a negative effect on station-car-park fullness.
Speaking for NBCC, John Wellwood explained:
“ELC should not wait until the damage is irreversible before asking whether this scheme is working. Visitors are telling us they are coming less often and spending less, traders are reporting reduced footfall, workers are struggling with cost and availability, and residents are reporting parking displacement.”
“We are asking for a proportionate response: pause the charges, examine the evidence, measure what is happening to the town and review the process properly. For our traders, time matters. A business cannot recover a lost summer months later because a review eventually concludes that the policy had unintended consequences.”
Also prior to the measures being implemented, The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) explained that the introduction of charges looks ‘certain to be a serious blow to local businesses’ in the town, describing evidence from other Scottish towns where restrictions were introduced as a situation where ‘everyone loses’.
NBCC is also seeking Scottish Government scrutiny of whether an independent reporter from the Directorate for Planning and Environmental Appeals (DPEA) should have been appointed to consider outstanding objections before the Traffic Regulation Orders were made.
ELC’s report to councillors on 10 December 2024 recorded 338 representations relating to Order No. 4 — the on-street order covering waiting, loading and unloading — including 319 objections. The report also referred to an “implied requirement to hold a hearing to consider outstanding objections”. Councillors subsequently decided not to seek a DPEA public hearing and approved the orders.
Scottish regulations require a hearing in specified circumstances involving unresolved objections to certain loading or unloading prohibitions. NBCC is not claiming that the process has already been ruled unlawful; it is asking the Scottish Government to determine whether those statutory circumstances applied in North Berwick and to review the process independently.
Protest outside Haddington Hall in March calling for plans for parking charges in Haddington to be scrapped
Approved by the council in December 2024, a council spokesperson told the Midlothian View that the ‘measures are designed to address local challenges such as a lack of parking spaces during busy period’, adding:
“These measures are designed to address local challenges such as a lack of parking spaces during busy periods. By increasing the turnover of spaces, we aim to make it easier for people to access businesses and amenities and hope to see greater footfall as a result.
“In addition, the measures are intended to provide better parking enforcement and enhanced road safety while encouraging sustainable travel.”
Speaking about the North Berwick restrictions, Councillor John McMillan, spokesperson for economic development and tourism, said that the measures are aimed at encouraging active travel.
He said: “Most council areas in Scotland already have a form of town centre parking charges and we expect a range of benefits to be delivered by their introduction in North Berwick, including improved road safety through better enforcement of unsafe and illegal parking.
“By increasing the turnover of spaces and providing easier access for shopping, we hope to see greater footfall within local businesses too.
“These parking measures are also aimed at encouraging more people to adopt active travel options, improving their health and well-being while playing a part in tackling climate change.”
John Wellwood has provided a supplementary paper supporting the earlier request for scrutiny, focusing on outstanding objections, loading and unloading provisions and the decision not to seek an independent hearing. NBCC explained that they understand that Paul McLennan MSP is discussing the matter with the Transport Minister.
NBCC says success cannot be defined simply by the number of empty spaces inside charging zones or the income raised, explaining that a proper review must consider the town as one connected system, that should include:
– town-centre footfall, visitor frequency, length of stay and spending
– business turnover indicators, confidence, vacancies and closures
– worker parking costs, all-day availability, recruitment and retention
– access to health, care and support services for disabled and older people
– parking occupancy and displacement in residential streets and at the railway station
– seasonality, recognising that summer conditions do not represent the whole year.
NBCC explained that they also intend to repeat the surveys at approximately six months, but says the evidence already available justifies an immediate precautionary pause and investigation rather than allowing the present arrangements to continue unchanged.
The central question proposed by NBCC is whether the scheme is making North Berwick better overall — economically, socially and in terms of accessibility — or whether it is reducing visits and spending, damaging businesses and redistributing parking problems elsewhere.
Tweet Share on Facebook
