Play area at Dunbar's Lauderdale Park to be transformed

Colourful drawings showing a planned revamp of Lauderdale Park were revealed by East Lothian Council earlier this summer.

Now, those proposals have been given the green light and it is hoped that the park could be transformed by early next year.

A spokeswoman for the local authority also confirmed that the existing equipment would be “reused or recycled depending on condition on removal”.

The approval was welcomed by Councillor Norman Hampshire, council leader and a Dunbar and East Linton ward member.

Lauderdale Park is a popular spot for families throughout the year (Image: Copyright Richard Sutcliffe and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence)

He said: “I’m delighted we have now got approval to proceed on that play area.

“It is a really popular play area and people come from long distances to come to that park.

“It is a real asset to the town and I will be delighted to see things take place on the park being refurbished.”

Mr Hampshire anticipated that work would start in late autumn, once the area was not so busy, and should be complete by next spring.

The development shows a range of sensory and accessible equipment.

The team behind the design have also taken inspiration from local landmarks, including Dunbar Castle, the John Muir Way and Belhaven Bridge – also known as the Bridge to Nowhere.

Plans to revamp the play area in Lauderdale Park have been given the go-ahead (Image: East Lothian Council planning portal)

A 12-metre rope bridge has been created to replicate Belhaven Bridge - which straddles the Biel Water - while an accessible path that winds through the play area is to mimic the John Muir Way, which stretches from Muir’s home town of Dunbar to Helensburgh.

Meanwhile, other equipment that will be installed includes a wheelchair carousel, wave stepper, jumper square and rocket roller.

Dunbar Community Council was also among the supporters of the plans.

Pippa Swan, chairwoman of the group, previously described the design as looking “absolutely brilliant”.

She said: “It seems a huge amount of thought has gone into the design.

“We are particularly thrilled the design team has taken such a lot of thought on how to integrate play to make it as accessible to as many children of all abilities as possible.

“That is just fantastic.”

East Lothian Council’s planning department received one letter regarding the proposals.

The letter, which neither supported nor objected to the application, noted that the proposals could result in “an increase in noise levels and loss of privacy” while also highlighting that there were “issues with noise and anti-social behaviour” at the park in the past.