A BUILDING in North Berwick’s Lodge Grounds has been given a new lease of life by a local community group. . . and some vandalism by youths during the project did not stop it being completed on time.

The Lodge Café, next to the park’s standing stones garden, was vandalised at the end of July, just days before the town was due a visit by judges for the Beautiful Scotland awards.

Used as a café in the past, the lodge is currently a meeting place for Stepping Out, a local mental health charity.

The charity’s project manager, Nicky Fox, had approached North Berwick in Bloom and the Bass Rock Community Group to ask if they could help improve the rundown building.

Both North Berwick in Bloom and East Lothian Council provided some of the paint needed to carry out the work.

Members of the Bass Rock Community Group painted the building ahead of the Beautiful Scotland judging and also in time for the Fringe by the Sea festival, which used the building as a base.

Bass Rock Community Group members Richard and Alison Rogers had intended to continue painting the building on the evening of July 31.

Richard said they wanted “to help the group get ahead of schedule to get it all painted before Fringe by the Sea started”.

But when the pair saw some young people next to the building, some of whom Richard believes had been drinking alcohol, they decided to go home and return the following morning.

The next day, when Richard, Alison and other members of Bass Rock Community Group went to the Lodge Grounds to continue painting, they discovered graffiti on one of the panels they had previously painted with an undercoat.

Richard said: “We were disappointed by what they had chosen to do.

“The good news was that it was washable.

“The other good thing was that any rubbish they had created had been cleared away.”

The graffiti was washed off and the group also power washed the surrounding pavement and pathway, which had had paint thrown on it by previous vandals.

Despite the setback, all the work was completed the following day, just two days before judges visited the town as part of the Keep Scotland Beautiful competition and ahead of the start of Fringe by the Sea.

Nicky added: “We are very grateful to the group for the work they carried out.

“The vandalism was unfortunate but they have all done a lovely job of it. It’s the nicest it’s looked for ages!”

Stepping Out resumed its meetings at the building this week, following the end of Fringe by the Sea on Sunday.