The west boundary area of St. Mary’s Parish Church, Haddington is part of a Grade 1 Listed Building and Ancient Monument which covers both church and churchyard. Working in partnership with East Lothian Council, which is responsible for routine maintenance of the churchyard, HADAS has been concerned over the last three years in a major restoration project for the west end of the churchyard fronting onto Sidegate. The project is an example of one of HADAS’s central objectives of restoring features of public, amenity and environmental concern.

Apart from the historic church and churchyard, this part of Haddington contains St. Mary’s Pleasance garden, the Poldrate Centre and various hostelries, and is heavily used by the community of Haddington and East Lothian as well as by large numbers of tourists. Grants of over £75,000 have been used to set in new boundary railings cast in the original nineteenth century architectural design and to repair gates and boundary walls. Overgrown trees and a derelict greenhouse and shed have been removed and the area landscaped to a new design by East Lothian Council. A centenary memorial bench, denoted by Rotary Club Haddington, and a memorial plaque add to the greatly improved appearance of this southern entrance to the Royal Burgh.