Locals and retailers have been left fuming after East Lothian councillors approved parking charge proposals in the towns of Haddington, Dunbar, Musselburgh and Tranent last month.
Award winning retailer Shivakumar Kandaswamy, aka Shiva, who owns an off licence and Day-Today store in Haddington and a Premier shop in Dunbar, was “appalled” that the charge proposals had been approved. He accused the councillors of “callous” behaviour, claiming that “the voice of the people has been ignored”.
He told SLR: “The majority of my customers will be gone. People don’t want to park and shop because they don’t want to have to pay an extra £5. Half an hour parking is free, but people might have five or six shops to attend. My business will be gone.”
He shared his frustrations on Premier Dunbar’s Facebook page in a post entitled “Oppression against democracy”, which received over 250 likes.
One local commented: “Surely a money-making exercise by the Council which will in itself put pressure on already struggling small businesses!”, while another said: “It is all about raising revenue and to hell with the high street businesses that rely on footfall for their survival.”
The Musselburgh Business Partnership had also strongly rejected the parking proposals. Sharon Brown, owner of Blueberry Gifts, and chair of the Musselburgh Business Partnership said: “This is the first time I have genuinely worried about the future of my shop. Things have been tough this year for lots of us on the High Street with cost of living hitting hard so folk are spending less. This just feels a kick in the teeth from East Lothian Council.”
Income from town centre parking charges is expected to generate a net return investment of £15m over 10 years, helping to maintain vital infrastructure in East Lothian, claimed the proposals.
Shiva is now in the process of setting up a crowdfunder in order to take legal action against the charges.
