Councillors for East Lothian Council have welcomed the findings of a recent public consultation on plans aimed at improving Musselburgh town centre.

The consultation, which was held in June and July 2013, included drop-in events, public exhibitions and allowed residents to share their views on the proposals.

A majority of responses were in favour with the Strategy's suggested actions.

As part of the consultation, respondents were asked to prioritise what they saw as the most important actions needed to improve the town centre. The three highest ranked were, that the Tolbooth/Town Hall area of the High Street should be improved to create a pedestrian area and parking; environmental improvements should be made to the Bridge Street war memorial area, to include better access to the riverside, and heritage information available to visitors should be improved and new town trails developed.

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They were also asked to choose up to three areas for action from the same list that they thought would most benefit the economy of the town centre. The three options were that changes should be made to town centre car parks to increase turnover; pedestrian and parking improvements to the Tolbooth/Town Hall area of the High Street was also ranked highly, along with the view that and that visitor information on the town's heritage should be improved.

The appearance of the High Street is also regarded as poor by many, with lack of maintenance, litter and shop signage cited as examples of areas requiring improvement, while others said more could be made of the history and heritage of Musselburgh, for both visitors and local people.

Commenting on the findings, East Lothian Council's Economic Development and Tourism spokesperson, Councillor John McMillan, said: "The level and the quality of the response from local people shows that they have a real interest in what is being proposed in the Strategy and in what it could achieve for Musselburgh.

"The consultation has highlighted the priorities that residents, businesses and other organisations would like to see taken forward and there is clear recognition of the economic benefits these could bring for the town centre."

The implementation of the Musselburgh Town Centre Strategy will be co-ordinated by East Lothian Council with participation and support from the local community and business organisations. Progress will also be overseen by the Musselburgh Wards Area Partnership.

The Town Centre Strategy is for a five-year period, to the end of 2019.

(JP/MH)