Row erupts over Musselburgh town centre plan
Shops & Old Town Hall, Musselburgh
A row over creating a civic square near the Town Hall in Musselburgh erupted at a meeting of East Lothian Council’s cabinet on Tuesday.
Local councillors John Caldwell and Stuart Currie clashed over the plan which forms part of a strategy to regenerate the town centre.
The community will now get its say as part of a public consultation on the document which will also be produced as an easy to read leaflet.
The strategy proposes transforming the area around the Mercat Cross, used for parking, into a landscaped pedestrian space which could be used by cafes and restaurants. Artwork, such as a full size Roman soldier or civilian as a reminder of the town’s Roman past, could be installed. A redesign of the street east towards the Pinkie Pillars would provide additional parking separated from the road by a centrally positioned kerbed footway on which trees would be placed.
Councillor Caldwell (Ind) welcomed the report, saying people needed to be attracted to the town centre to shop in “a nice pleasant atmosphere.”
He explained: “What we need is a reason for people to come to the town centre - one of which is a variety of goods to be sold in the shops and we need parking.”
He said the area earmarked as a civic square was currently used from time to time for the events like the Honest Toun Festival and army careers.
But he added: “The last thing we want to do is replace that with bronze statues sitting in the middle of that area with seats round about it. This is not the continent - we don’t want people sitting out on the streets having coffee there.”
Full story, including Councillor Currie’s comments, in this week’s Musselburgh News on sale now.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Musselburgh
Sunday 19 May 2013
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 9 C to 17 C
Wind Speed: 7 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 10 C to 20 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: North east
