CLEAN, fresh drinking water could soon be on tap near Dunbar High Street.

More than 75 ‘blue taps’ have been installed across the country, including North Berwick, via Scottish Water’s Your Water Your Life campaign. The initiative was launched in 2018 to provide people with fresh, clear water when out.

East Lothian Council’s planning department is now considering whether to grant planning permission for a tap outside the public toilets on Bayswell Road.

A spokesperson for Scottish Water said they had “a wealth of experience” in installing the taps, which are about 160 centimetres tall, in historic landscapes.

Jacquie Bell, secretary of Dunbar’s community council, said: “It is certainly something that Dunbar Community Council will be looking at welcoming. If you look at social media, the public are positive about it. It is near the pool, near the start of the John Muir Way, and, when the toilets are closed and the pool is closed, there is not anywhere, unless you go into a shop, to get your bottle filled up.”

North Berwick’s tap, on the town’s Quality Street, was unveiled in the spring of 2020. Currently, it is the only Top Up Tap in East Lothian.

The Scottish Water spokesperson added: “The site of the new facility has been identified through a site visit to Dunbar and would be located in an area which would have a high footfall of potential consumers. This facility will offer benefits to the environment by encouraging the use of refillable bottles and reducing litter and waste, but also has benefits to health by providing tap water.”