‘Tourist tax’ is not favoured by critics

The proposal to introduce coastal car parking charges was first put forward by Labour when it was in power in 2007, but was scrapped by the last SNP-Lib Dem coalition the following year.

The original plan would have involved significant investment of £100,000 to create new facilities at many of the county’s best beaches, including new public toilets.

They even went as far as spending £35,000 on parking meters, which were then put into storage when the scheme was derailed.

The reason for the proposal being abandoned was a report which estimated the annual income of the charge to be in the region of £350,000, which many felt was not worth the expenditure.

There were also concerns raised at the time about the impact the charges may have had on local tourism – a fear which has again been raised in opposition to the existing plan. The latest scheme, which does not involve any form of direct investment in the car parks, has been branded the charge a “tourism tax”.

Local businesses have said it would see people abandon the county’s coastline in favour of free beaches further afield.

Only two of the council’s car parks have previously charged for parking – and that was scrapped in 2007.

If introduced, the charges would apply to 13 car parks owned or managed by the council. These are: Longniddry Bents Nos 1, 2 and 3; Aberlady Bay Local Nature Reserve; Gullane Bents; Yellowcraig; Linkfield, Dunbar; Shore Road, Dunbar; Tyninghame Links; Skateraw; Whitesands; Barns Ness; and Thorntonloch.

However, many of these are on land not owned by the council, an issue which has still to be properly addressed.