East Lothian Council is proposing to increase the overall number of car parking spaces in and around Haddington Town Centre in order to improve access and support the local economy.
To enable this, some existing long-stay car parking in the town centre would be re-designated for short-stay use. This will improve parking options for shoppers and visitors and help facilitate future plans to improve walking and cycling.
This would include the potential re-designation of the existing ‘Tesco long-stay’ car park for short-stay use. The status of the car park at John Muir House, East Lothian Council’s head office, will be reviewed to consider the potential for an area to be available for wider public use.
New long-stay car parking accommodating commuters or visitors who require to be parked in the town for longer periods or for the duration of the working day would be provided through the creation of an edge-of-centre 'Sustainable Transport Hub' at Whittingehame Drive within a short walk of the town centre.
This new facility would provide up to 220 long-stay parking spaces within a 10-minute walk of the town centre. It would also incorporate options for ‘park and ride’, ‘park and stride’, electric vehicle fast chargers, cycle parking and cycle hire.
East Lothian Council has asked EKOS an independent research organisation, to assess the potential economic impact of the proposals. EKOS would like to understand how local people currently use the town, how they used the town before COVID-19, and how that might change if these proposals were introduced. To this end, EKOS have asked a market research company called IBP to telephone residents of Haddington and the surrounding area to carry out a telephone survey.
The same survey is also available online for resident and users of the town centre to fill in. The survey can be accessed here until 15 June 2020. Please review the proposals before completing the survey.
If you have already filled in the online survey but also receive a call, please tell the caller you have already responded.
EKOS would also like to understand the view of the local businesses who operate in the town centre, specifically how an increase in the availability of car parking might affect them.
Businesses located in Haddington town centre should be contacted directly to arrange a time to take their own survey by telephone but can also email michael.dunn@ekos.co.uk to arrange an appointment.