A TRIO of well-known national retailers are set to open at DunBear Park, on the eastern edge of Dunbar, despite concerns that the town centre was being “sacrificed”.

At a meeting of East Lothian Council’s planning committee on Tuesday, the green light was given for Lidl and B&M retail stores, as well as a Starbucks coffee shop with an outdoor seating area and drive thru facilities.

The new outlets will, say developers, deliver a multi-million-pound investment in the town and create about 100 new jobs for Dunbar.

At the meeting, councillors were told that approving the plans could impact some town centre shops by up to 27 per cent.

Speaking against the plans, Graeme Laing from the Co-op said that the chain had been “surprised and disappointed” when planning officers recommended the plans were given the go-ahead.

He told elected members: “Town centres across Scotland are having a really tough time as we emerge out of the pandemic and need our support. They are at the heart of our communities.

“In September last year, the Co-op invested £1.5m in its Countess Crescent store.

“This commitment to Dunbar town centre will be undermined by the proposed out-of-town development and approval of the application would send a pretty clear statement to other town centre businesses, discouraging them from investing in the town centre.”

Representatives from Hallhill Developments Ltd and Lidl Great Britain Ltd told the committee that, if approved, the stores could be operating on the site next year.

They argued that a community consultation had revealed a “clear desire” from the community for more retail options and that it would reduce the number of people travelling from Dunbar to other towns.

They said: “By preventing expenditure leakage from the town and the surrounding area to other parts of East Lothian and Edinburgh, it will also keep money in the community.”

However, the committee also heard from Jo Waddell who took over The Dolphin Inn in the town centre three years ago, turning it into a hostel for tourists.

She questioned whether the right introduction to visitors arriving in the east of Scotland was “a retail park off the A1”.

She said: “The town centre is being sacrificed for this development.”

Jacquie Bell, who raised objections from both Dunbar Community Council and West Barns Community Council to the application, said that original consultations on DunBear Park had brought forward suggestions of a conservation site such as the Kelpies, near Falkirk.

DunBear Park is named after a five-metre-high statue of a bear which was created in honour of Dunbar native John Muir, the founder of America’s national parks system.

Mrs Bell told the committee: “A retail park is the antithesis of what Muir believed in.”

However, Councillor Norman Hampshire, ward member and council leader, told the committee that while not everyone welcomed discount stores to the area, it was what the majority of people now wanted.

He said that people were travelling to retail outlets in Haddington and North Berwick to use the stores, adding: “It is the prices people want to pay and that is why these shops are desirable.”

Councillors agreed to add a condition to the planning approval which would make the retailers place a sign at the park encouraging people to visit Dunbar town centre during their visit.

The committee voted by eight votes to one to approve the Lidl and B&M plans, while the Starbucks proposal was approved by seven votes to two.

The mixed-use development, neighbouring the A1, aims to include office, industrial, retail and community uses, adopting the latest low-carbon technology.

Following the meeting, Ken Ross, of Hallhill Developments Ltd, said: “It was fantastic to see the planning committee approve these planning applications.

“At a time when many retailers are scaling back due to the fallout from the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis, it is great to be able to deliver these national outlets for the community of Dunbar.

“These will serve to address the increased demand and provide greater competition, key themes that came from the community consultation exercise we undertook.

“Developments such as this complement Dunbar town centre and, through preventing retail leakage to elsewhere in East Lothian and Edinburgh, will keep more money in the town.

“The multi-million pound investment will deliver around 100 much-needed new jobs for the local community, which is a clear vote of confidence in this location, and will also serve to deliver the necessary infrastructure to allow us to bring forward further investment into Dunbar.”