Plans were revealed last month to transform the three-storey Gardeners Arms in the centre of Haddington. The historic venue, on the town’s Kilpair Street, dates back hundreds of years, with The Fraternity of Gardeners of East Lothian once based in the town. They purchased a property which contained an inn on the corner of Market Street. However, last orders may have been called at the pub, which has not been open for about three years. Flats would be created on each floor of the building under DSI Properties Ltd’s plans. Haddington’s community council did not object to the proposals but felt that the plans could be altered to keep the ground floor available for business use.
PINTS may have been pulled for the last time in a Haddington town centre pub. The Gardeners Arms closed nearly three years ago and, with no one coming forward to breathe new life into the pub, it could be transformed into housing. East Lothian Council is weighing up a planning application which would see homes created on each of the building’s three storeys. Agents representing DSI Properties Ltd, which is behind the plans for the building, said that attempts had previously been made to see The Gardeners Arms reopen. They said: “The loss of commercial premises within the main business area of the town is something the authority tries to control; however, even before the current crisis, it is fair to say that the licence trade and in particular small non-food premises have been struggling to survive.
Stuart Pe-Win, chairman of Haddington Central Tenants and Residents Association, has highlighted the state of Brown Street. He told the Courier: “For some time, a part of Brown Street has been left to decay and is now in a semi-derelict state, despite being at the heart of Haddington. “At one end, garbage regularly overflows and it’s a popular site for fly tipping; the mock Tudor house is empty and virtually a ruin; and the old shoemaker’s has been left a vacant lot strewn with rubbish and overgrowth.” The mock Tudor property at 10/11 Brown Street, once a TV and repair shop, has been vacant for 10 years and is now falling into an extreme state of disrepair.