A HADDINGTON resident says the “semi-derelict state” of a street in the town centre is attracting “anti-social behaviour”.

Stuart Pe-Win, chairman of Haddington Central Tenants and Residents Association, has highlighted the state of Brown Street.

He told the Courier: “For some time, a part of Brown Street has been left to decay and is now in a semi-derelict state, despite being at the heart of Haddington.

“At one end, garbage regularly overflows and it’s a popular site for fly tipping; the mock Tudor house is empty and virtually a ruin; and the old shoemaker’s has been left a vacant lot strewn with rubbish and overgrowth.”

The mock Tudor property at 10/11 Brown Street, once a TV and repair shop, has been vacant for 10 years and is now falling into an extreme state of disrepair.

Mr Pe-Win, who lives on nearby Cross Lane, added: “Although the council say they’ve got a five-year plan, the historic close Burleigh’s Wa’s has been closed since 1997; and the council bought 10/11 Brown Street in 2010 and it’s all ground to a complete halt since then.

“I do appreciate it takes funding to rebuild but if you walk past it you have this horrible big boarding which was put up for public safety for a building which was demolished in 1999, so the principle for the close to be shut is no longer an issue; and the shop – you can look in the window, there’s decomposing boxes, posters, there’s no upkeep, there’s a tree growing out the top; periodically they cordon it off when something falls off.

“It’s in Haddington Conservation Area and yet you’ve got this really horrible blight right off High Street.

“Its woeful state attracts anti-social behaviour, is an awful eyesore and is now negatively impacting local residents.

“There doesn’t seem to have been any community engagement. It always seems to be somebody else’s problem.”

A spokesman for Haddington and District Community Council said: “The residents of the flat above were forced to leave because the building was deemed unstable; and then the shop had to close for the same reason.

“The land which is boarded off had a building on it, which years ago actually collapsed.

“The property is now owned by East Lothian Council. In August, Councillor Shamin Akhtar, a member of Haddington Business Community Partnership (HBCP) and a community councillor did a walk round and at that point the building [at 10/11 Brown Street] had been raised as a concern by Shamin, HBCP and the community council but we had no knowledge of who owned the building.”

A spokesperson for East Lothian Council said: “A five-year strategy was launched in 2009 and sought to increase the vibrancy and vitality of the town centre by encouraging new mixed use development on vacant sites and the comprehensive repair of historic buildings.

“Significant progress was made on the repair of buildings by both East Lothian Council and private owners with grant assistance under the Historic Environment Scotland Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme (CARS) (2009-14), resulting in the comprehensive repair and enhancement of 14 core town centre tenements in identified priority areas in Haddington.

“Private schemes to repair and convert buildings in Kilpair Street to housing, and the former George Hotel, now the mixed use George Court building, followed and the town centre was enhanced.

“There are now two town centre redevelopment sites that remain in need of investment – the small car park and adjacent buildings on the corner of Brown Street/Market Street and the former garage site on the corner of Victoria Terrace/Hardgate.

“The town centre continues to be adversely affected by these largely vacant sites.

“Both sites should be for mixed use development with commercial use on the ground floor and residential use above, and the council continues to seek appropriate investment and development for these sites.”