BOTH praise and criticism was directed at Fringe by the Sea when the festival's general manager addressed a meeting of North Berwick Community Council.

At the meeting, Jackie Shuttleworth gave a presentation which highlighted the financial benefits of the 10-day event in August and how it had been positive for the town. 

READ MORE: Fringe by the Sea 2024 boosted economy by nearly £10 million

One member offered their congratulations on the festival's success, but another said that parking had been "diabolical". 

Julie Cetingoz, a new member of the community council and a volunteer at Fringe by the Sea, said: "I want to congratulate you and your team on an astoundingly successful festival. 

"I know there are people in the locality who have been affected by noise and/or [bad] parking, and the way you respectfully and sensitively had to manage all those people was an eye-opener and really was just incredible management.

"The festival was a real boost to the community of North Berwick, so congratulations." 

However, George Johnstone, who has previously criticised the impact of the festival on parking in the town, had a less positive view.

READ MORE: Fringe by the Sea: Concerns raised about parking and traffic

He said: "For some people in North Berwick, especially for people living close to the festival, parking was diabolical, especially for people who had work at eight o'clock in the morning, come home and can't get parked. 

"I keep saying this but nothing gets done about it. The signs need to be more clear because the high school's car park was mostly empty during the festival and I kept seeing folk parking on Law Road.

"I also noted that there was lack of seating in the open hub [area of the festival]."

However, fellow member Jacqueline Cottrell was full of praise for the festival, saying: "It was so great: all the volunteers and attendees were really friendly; it is such a great festival to have in North Berwick because you just know so many people. 

"I have not yet volunteered because I was not in the country for all of it, but I will try next year." 

Christiane Maher, group treasurer, added: "One thing I noticed about signage was that when you came into the town on Dirleton Avenue, the signs were directing traffic into the town centre rather than up Station Road. 

"This did cause confusion and a bit of traffic in the town centre."

The festival, which took place over 10 days at the beginning of last month, brought international stars such as Ash, Idlewild and Clive Myrie to North Berwick.

An economic impact report  found that the net additional economic impact of visitor spend as a result of the festival, which took place between August 2 and 11, was £9,923,100.

At the end of the meeting, Jackie, said: "Thank you for your time and please let me know if there are any other points or questions you wish to raise. 

"I am happy to chat or meet with anyone who wants to speak about Fringe by the Sea."