Plans revealed for revamp of play area at Dunbar's Lauderdale Park

Colourful drawings showing how the town’s Lauderdale Park could look have been lodged with East Lothian Council.

The development shows a range of sensory and accessible equipment.

And the team behind the design have used well-known local landmarks, including Dunbar Castle, John Muir Way and Belhaven Bridge – also known as the Bridge to Nowhere – as inspiration.

Pippa Swan, chairwoman of Dunbar Community Council, thought that the new design looked “absolutely brilliant”.

Plans to revamp Lauderdale Park in Dunbar have now been revealed

She said: “There seems to have been a huge amount of work, a huge amount of thinking, gone into the park layout.

“We are hoping, the additional support needs (ASN) group, they have been invited to feed back and so far we have not heard anything adverse at all.

“Jennifer Lothian (from East Lothian Council) and the design team has really brought us something rather wonderful.”

Documents included with the application, which has been submitted by the local authority, show how the park could look.

Plans to revamp Lauderdale Park in Dunbar have now been revealed

One of the documents notes: “Behind the fun, laughter and sometimes tears, play is all about the ‘development’.

“The careful selection of equipment, activities and experiences, the layout and the surfacing design contribute to the ‘develop’ factor.

“The design has been carefully put together to promote physical play, develop motor skills, co-ordination, and balance.

“Intellectual learning is equally vital, with cognitive development, communication, language expansion and understanding of how to turn the gem of an idea into a successful conclusion.

“Our design supports all these development factors.”

Plans to revamp Lauderdale Park in Dunbar have now been revealed

The accessible path that winds through the proposed redesign is to mimic the John Muir Way, which stretches from Muir’s home town of Dunbar to Helensburgh.

Meanwhile, a 12-metre rope bridge has been created to replicate Belhaven Bridge, straddling the Biel Water.

In terms of Dunbar Castle, the document adds: “We have mimicked this in the design with a mountain scene, a boat leading away from the castle and the wave stepper for riding the waves.”

Earlier this year, members of the public were asked for what they would like to see in the park.

A spokesman for East Lothian Council said: “People, particularly children and young people, were asked what they would like to see in the renewed play area (as the existing play equipment needs to be replaced).

“The team received over 320 replies to the consultation.

“The specification brief for the renewal of the play area was developed with the community input from the consultation, to ensure that the most popular play items chosen by the public are included in the design.

“The aim is to provide a challenging, exciting, and inclusive play space for toddlers to teens (age range 0-15), with a range of abilities, to play and hang out.

“The cost for the renewal of this play area is approximately £300,000.

“The play area renewal is being funded with Scottish Government Play Parks Renewal funding allocation.”