A new consultation has been launched to inform future plans for public parks, open spaces and greenspaces across East Lothian.
The council is currently updating the East Lothian Open Space Strategy for 2025 to review the quality, quantity and accessibility of the parks and open spaces in and around the county’s towns and villages.
The renewed strategy will be designed to protect and enhance publicly accessible open spaces while looking at ways to provide a high standard of additional locations in the coming years.
The previous East Lothian Open Space Strategy was approved by Cabinet in 2018 and set out objectives for both managing open spaces and their future provision under the planning process.
Council officers have re-visited and analysed the existing open spaces and are now presenting their draft findings for consideration. The detailed analysis has mapped the county’s 456 audited open spaces which totalled 1,857 hectares or nearly 19 million square metres.
Vital local resources
The public are being asked to take part in an online consultation to comment on these draft findings and suggest possible improvements, including giving their views on what makes a good park or greenspace to visit and use, to help the future planning of open space. Anyone wishing to take part can visit https://eastlothianconsultations.co.uk/policy-partnerships/consultation-on-east-lothian-open-space-strategy-r/ which includes links to all the relevant maps and tables.
The consultation will run between Wednesday, 4 June and Wednesday, 16 July.
Councillor Colin McGinn, East Lothian Council’s spokesperson for Community Wellbeing, said: “East Lothian’s parks, greenspaces, open spaces, and sports areas lie at the heart of our communities, and are important to benefit people’s health and wellbeing, to tackle climate change, and to support and enhance nature. They provide settings for outdoor play, sports and activities, social gatherings, civic events, and local food growing, as well as bringing in economic benefits through tourism.
“I would encourage everyone to share their views on these vital local resources and help shape the East Lothian Open Space Strategy 2025.”