WOODEN cabins are being used in Haddington town centre to boost businesses during the festive season.
Five cabins will be open in the town centre until 2pm on Christmas Eve in a bid to encourage people to shop local.
The scheme, which has come about through East Lothian Council’s town centre recovery group and Haddington Business Community Partnership (HBCP), has been welcomed by traders and visitors to the town.
Paul Kinnoch, of the Tyneside Tavern, has been heavily involved in the project, which is encouraging small businesses and arts and crafts makers to make use of the cabins.
He said: “So far, the feedback from the traders that have been operating from there has been superb.
“Comments have been excellent and trade wise it has been doing very well.
“The comments from the general public have been fantastic as well and saying how nice it is to see something going on this year.
“It is nice to see they are all lit up and creating a good atmosphere around the town.
“Obviously, part of the idea of having them was to assist with bringing people into the town centre and shop in the town centre and shop local.
“It is not there to fight against the High Street traders; it is there to bring people in and keep them in the town centre.”
Three of the festive wooden cabins are on Court Street, near the Corn Exchange, with one on nearby Lodge Street and the other beside the John Gray Centre on the High Street.
Cabins are selling everything from jewellery and soap to beer and pies.
Notices are also in place thanking people for their custom but also encouraging people to use the shops in the town centre.
Mr Kinnoch said: “Obviously, there were various conversations about lots of things going on in the town centre and how we would help bounce back in the town centre.
“One of the discussions I had with the committee of the partnership was something like a manageable market.
“It would be small markets and just through various discussions and general chitchat cabins came into the conversation, similar to what Edinburgh would have.
“Then, there was town centre and villages funding available from East Lothian Council and if you fitted the criteria you could apply for your town.
“As long as you were a community group or organisation – obviously, HBCP were one of the town centre groups and it fitted the criteria for market stalls.
“We applied to East Lothian Council for funding for a town centre and villages grant and we also applied to the Scotland Loves Local scheme.”
However, the cabins, which measure eight-foot by six-foot, are not simply an early Christmas present for the town centre.
Mr Kinnoch highlighted the wooden structures were now owned by HBCP and could be used throughout the year by various organisations.
He said: “They will be made available to any group or organisation in the Haddington and Lammermuir district at any time if they would like to hire one or more to then make use of.
“They are not just there for the HBCP – they are there for the community.
“In the new year, we will be looking to reach out to people and letting them know about the availability.”
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