A NEW skate park, pump track and cafe in Dunbar have been approved, despite claims that the town’s most famous son would be left "birling in his grave" by the plans.

East Lothian Council backed the proposals for open land at Hallhill, Dunbar, after hearing from supporters, including young people, about the need for new facilities.

The plans, which were brought forward by Dunbar Community Development and Heritage Trust (DCDHT), which owns the land, also include a basketball pitch and changing rooms.

They received 55 objections, as well as 20 letters of support, and went before the council’s planning committee on Tuesday.

Objectors raised concerns about the impact on local wildlife and the surrounding woods, as well as the safety of children, describing the site as a “secluded area where young people congregate to drink, take drugs and make fires etc”.

One objector told the committee that John Muir, the famed naturalist who is known as the founder of America’s national parks and has a trail through the county named after him, would be “birling in his grave” at the plans for the open space.

And a representative of West Barns Community Council said that a recent local plan consultation with the public found overwhelming support for keeping the land as open space, saying it was one of the “last places for deer to safely graze”.

However, supporters said that the new facilities would provide young people with something to do, as well as offering multi-generational activities to families, and had the “ability to inspire and improve the lives of the whole community by providing much-needed community space”.

READ MORE: Plans for new skate park and pump track in Dunbar revealed

Ward councillor Donna Collins, who has worked as children’s entertainer Gladys Chucklebutty for decades, said that the skate park would help deal with claims of anti-social behaviour in the area.

She said: “I have been a kids' entertainer for 30 years and there is a lot of support from the kids I have spoken to in Dunbar for this facility.

“It is a well-known fact that, when you have a physical presence in an area, you knock anti-social behaviour on the head.”

The committee unanimously backed the plans for the new skate park and additional facilities at Hallhill.