As a stand-off over who's responsible for this unsightly North Berwick pipe shows signs of reaching an end, Peter Kerr tells the story behind residents' pleas for action

Would civic officials tolerate a large pipe conveying raw sewage to become exposed in a children's playground or, indeed, across the entrance to their own offices?

Not likely. Yet this is precisely what East Lothian Council have allowed to persist for more than 21 years along the length of North Berwick's West Bay Beach, which is both a place of recreation for all and a world-renowned beauty spot to rival any in the country.

Would any of us, when visiting a seaside resort, whether in Britain or abroad, be inclined to return to the same town after having to clamber over an ugly sewage pipe littered with rotting seaweed to gain access to the beach? Not likely. Yet this is precisely what East Lothian Council, by condoning the defacement of one of their prize tourist attractions, expect North Berwick's visitors to do.

What makes matters even worse is that the local authority itself was responsible for this scandalous state of affairs arising in the first place. Municipal vandalism? It could be described so, albeit that the deed was inspired, not by any malicious motive, but with a view to saving money. That said, scant thought seems to have been given to the town's long-term loss of tourist revenue resulting from a decision to shave just 250,000 off a 12 million project by laying the sewer at a level shallow enough to permit gravity to do the job of a pumping station at one end of the bay.

The result, as predicted by experts at the time, was that the pipe's inadequate covering of sand was washed away as soon as certain tidal conditions prevailed. That has been happening at regular intervals ever since, with the associated problem of fly-infested seaweed, flotsam and jetsam becoming trapped in ponds of stagnant water between the pipe and the walls of houses skirting the bay.

It's hardly the sort of image that a town once described as the Biarritz of the north should be presenting to visitors. Nor does it show much respect on the part of those responsible at East Lothian Council for the local folk who pay their wages. Yet a spokesman for the council's department that manages the seafront claims that, "the (West Bay) beach is as the public would expect to find it". Yes, but only, I suspect, by those members of the public who have white sticks and blocked sinuses.

This is a place of priceless natural beauty, which, for centuries, has attracted admiring visitors from around the globe, as well as being cherished by those fortunate enough to live in the surrounding area. Even spoon-bending mystifier Uri Geller was so entranced by North Berwick's West Bay that he recently bought one of the three islets that lie offshore.

Why, then, has this gem in East Lothian's crown been allowed to degenerate into its present sorry state? The old chestnut of money, or the lack of it, is one reason - another, according to East Lothian Council's traditional stance, being that it isn't responsible for remedying the problem anyway.

Scottish Water owns the pipe, it says, so it's its problem. Conversely, Keith Brown, the relevant minister at Holyrood, is adamant that it isn't, and any concerns about the exposed sewer should be addressed by East Lothian Council. Scottish Water, meanwhile, has made it clear that the sewer is working fine and any ‘aesthetic' issues relating to the beach and its surrounding environment are East Lothian Council's responsibility.

Stalemate. Or, in other words, official poetry in motion.

However, thanks to the persistence of local residents, everything is about to change. Following a recent meeting of interested parties, convened in the council's plush Haddington offices (named, ironically, after John Muir, the East Lothian-born environmentalist of world renown, whose famous "Way" just happens to pass within spitting distance of the rogue pipe), the two public-funded adversaries have pledged to work together at last.

It will, of course, take time, and much ebbing and flowing of the tide while essential feasibility studies and costings are carried out. And then there's the matter of where the money will come from to cover the sewer with, say, a concrete walkway or promenade. So, holidaymakers, at least up to and including this year's Edinburgh Trades Fortnight, will still be able to enjoy their fish suppers while using the exposed sewer's manhole covers as picnic tables.

John Muir, turn in your grave.

n Peter Kerr is a bestselling author who lives in Haddington and is a lifelong devotee of North Berwick - www.peter-kerr.co.uk