Pencaitland Community Council exists to represent the views of local residents about local issues that matter to them. This involves close liaison with other groups in the community and helps to develop a more coherent and dynamic village environment.
After over seven years with no scouts presence in Pencaitland the new investiture of a Cub Pack for the village was celebrated by kids and parents alike in Trevelyan Hall.
South East Scotland Scouts has been working closely with local parent volunteers over recent months to help see this day become a reality. For further information about Pencaitland Scouts or to add your son or daughter to the waiting list visit this page. The new Cubs receive their neckers and membership badges. Click above for more photos.
See all the photos in a Flickr Slideshow here.
Pencaitland’s new Scout Pack is part of the South East Region of Scottish Scouting which only came into existence in 2008. The emphasis in the Region is to give local Districts more scope to plan and deliver programme support for young people and adults involved in the Scouting movement.
A few years ago Pencaitland Community Council received a batch of snow shovels from the Council. If the snow does come down in buckets you can borrow one.
I’m NOT dreaming of an overly white Xmas this winter! But if it is…In the event that the white stuff comes down like the winters of 2009/2010, you can now borrow a shovel by calling community councillor Lynn Donohoe on 341 715, ideally during the day. You do not need to leave a deposit — just your name and a means of contact.
But we do ask that any borrowed equipment is returned once any snow has finally melted, so it can then be stored for community use in future winters.
Just in case anyone fails to recall what the snow was like in recent years, here’s a small reminder (right) of not just how long the cold spell lasted but the volume of snow that fell.
Be prepared this winter
It doesn’t take much to be ready if the weather does turn out to be as harsh as it has been in recent memory. You can get plenty of advice online by visiting the Ready Scotland website. It offers specific advice for being prepared for a winter at home.
We are delighted to report that recent efforts to fill the vacancy for a new person to take on the role of Community Council Secretary were successful. The community’s new Secretary is Susan Spilsbury.
Susan Spilsbury joins Pencaitland Community Council as its Secretary.Recently the post of Community Council Secretary became vacant when long-time Community Councillor, and Secretary for the last twelve months, Nicky Neighbour stepped down from her role after many years of great service.
Fortunately for the Community Council Susan saw the recently advertised position in Pencaet News, the local church’s newsletter, and got in touch to offer her services.
Amongst other things Susan is currently a volunteer for Pencaitland Day Centre and as Committee Secretary for the older people. In her 16 years living in Pencaitland, Susan has also been involved in the Mothers & Toddler Group (Secretary), Playgroup (Treasurer then Playleader), Rainbows (Leader), Operation Christmas Child (Local Organiser)and Pencaitland Church (Sunday Club Leader).
Susan can be contacted on the email secretary@pencaitland.org. Further information on all members of Pencaitland Community Council can be found on the Members page.
Want to get involved?
We are searching for new blood to join the team. We need more voices on issues which directly affect you and your local environment. If you care about local matters then take the next step – come along to your local community council and see if you’d like to become a co-opted member.
Interested? Next Steps
Want to know more? Contact the current Community Council Chair, Ralph Averbuch, on 01875 340 641 or 07920 094 923 to discuss how you can get involved. Or you can email chair@pencaitland.org.
This is your chance to represent your local community and directly affect the way it develops in the future. Come along and be part of the team.
East Lothian has a chequered history when it comes to public transport policy. In an effort to foster joined up thinking the new transport Convenor Michael Veitch initiated the East Lothian Bus Forum.
The new 113 single deckers being operated by East Lothian Buses connects Pencaitland and Ormiston to Edinburgh.The first meeting took place on the 27th of November. The intention is that meetings will be held regularly, bringing together bus users, operators and other interested parties.
The first meeting was very well attended with representatives from across the county, all the key operators and a number of ELC Councillors. A synopsis of the topics covered and who attended can be seen here.
Intrinsic to the launch of this new group was RELBUS, short for Rural East Lothian Bus Users. This is a campaigning body intent on helping to promote better bus services across the county. We would encourage bus users to join. Membership is free.
Pencaitland Community reps attended a Winton House workshop looking at how the county should look in the future. The top message was fast rural broadband.
A powerful theme throughout the gathering and echoed by all was that fast, effective and reliable broadband in rural parts of the county is absolutely critical to maintaining a competitive future for the county.
Below we have reproduced the press release that came out of this meeting.
Divided into a number of round-table groups, each highlighted the critical role that fast broadband infrastructure will play in a successful future for rural East Lothian.PRESS RELEASE: Communities, landowners and businesses based in the East Lothian countryside are being encouraged to contribute their views to the new Local Development Plan. To encourage debate and contributions, a ‘Rural Voice’ workshop was jointly organised last week by East Lothian
Council and Chalmers & Co, the Haddington based surveyors and architects.
The Council and Chalmers & Co have a shared interest in ‘shaping the countryside’ in East Lothian to ensure that its communities thrive as a place to work and play.
The forum brought together a wide-ranging rural voice of around 40 landowners, farmers, countryside businesses, community groups and government organisations at Winton House. Facilitated by Nick Wright and Richard Heggie of Urban Animation, they explored what that thriving countryside might look like in 10 to 15 years time, and how changes to planning rules could help that vision become real.
Pencaitland community was recently contacted by an Arthur Greenan of East Linton, raising the issue of public access to rural land, enshrined in the Right to Roam legislation enacted in 2003.
Mr Greenan became aware of public access issues in East Lothian when organising a local event to take horses from his East Linton home down to the coast to Whitekirk. This became a battle to find an unencumbered route, discovering numerous impediments that made it all but impossible to use paths that were meant to be open to public access but were either locked or blocked.
Arthur Greenan argues that Right to Roam legislation, which came into force in 2003, is being ignored in parts of East Lothian. Photo copyright Trevor Coultart @ FlickrAs Arthur Greenan sees it, “John Muir won freedom of access to the countryside for millions of Americans but in his native county of East Lothian thousands of citizens are being denied their rightful access to the countryside.”
Scotland gained what many now refer to as “Right to Roam” legislation with the passing by the Scottish Parliament of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003. This gives statutory access rights to most land and inland water in Scotland. The rights under the Act must be exercised responsibly by respecting people’s safety, privacy and livelihoods; and with regard to Scotland’s environment.
However, if Arthur Greenan’s experiences are representative across other parts of the county, it would seem that the theory enshrined in this legislation does not match up with its practical application in East Lothian.
It’s now ten years since the legislation came into force and it’s a little known fact that this law is currently under review, with an opportunity for interested members of the public to have their say. Unfortunately, to date, this does not appear to have been publicised by East Lothian Council.
Mr Greenan, aware that the deadline for comments to the Scottish Government on current Right to Roam legislation is looming (submissions need to be made by the 11th of January 2013), has asked a number of Community Councils to bring this issue to the attention of local residents.
Have your say
The Land Reform Review Group was set up by the Scottish Government in July 2012 to look at a range of land issues, including the effectiveness of Right To Roam. If you have a view you can submit it via email to landreformreview@scotland.gsi.gov.uk or write to the following address no later than the 11th of January.
Dave Thomson
Land Reform Review Secretariat
B1 Spur
Saughton House
Broomhouse Drive
Edinburgh
EH11 3XD
Q. Have you experienced problems with access to or through the countryside in and around Pencaitland? If you have please share your experiences with a comment below.
Yesterday evening the Community Council met in Trevelyan Hall and received a report of recent crimes of opportunity from local policeman Scott Robertson.
Homeowners can take simple measures to prevent making a crime of opportunity possible.Pencaitland is fortunate in having generally enjoyed extremely low crime rates. However, PC Robertson reported that there had been a recent spate of crimes of opportunity taking place, made possible in most instances by home owners not taking some simple precautions.
With recent incidents in mind, PC Robertson is advising people to ensure that they not only lock their front doors but ensure they also lock any rear doors into their homes. This should also extend to garages, sheds and parked cars.
Your Local Community Police Team
The current community police officers covering the Fa’side ward are based out of Tranent police station. Click the image or here for more information on community policing.
The last few days of freezing temperatures have taken their toll on the main roads through Pencaitland with tarmac breaking to form fresh potholes.
A section of pavement in the centre of Pencaitland broken up by heavy vehicles parking wheels over edge. A child tripped over the rubble caused by this damage.On both sides of the Tyne Bridge there are rapidly growing potholes which could damage a vehicle or, as happens in wet weather, splash pedestrians, particularly whilst they walk on the narrow section of pavement.
The good news is that in this digital age it really couldn’t be easier to report problems to the Council, both directly or via other means. Here’s one method…
Fixmystreet.com is a fantastic concept from the mySociety team, which in turn is a charitable initiative from the UK Citizens Online Democracy. All you need to do in order to report a local issue is enter your postcode, supply (optional) contact details, upload a picture (it’s better if you have one). Then just hit the send button.
You then receive a confirmation email with a link from FixMyStreet. Click the link to confirm and you’re done. Your local council, in this case East Lothian, will been alerted courtesy of Fixmystreet.com.
Contact the Council
Alternatively, you can go directly to East Lothian Council with reports of road problems by filling in an online form. You can choose to register or submit problems anonymously.
It then asks for the street and town plus details of the fault. There doesn’t seem to be a way to send in a picture with the submission unfortunately. Once submitted you are given a reference number for follow up and you receive an email confirming the submission has been received.
If it’s an emergency or particularly urgent you can call:
01875 824305 during office hours (Monday-Thursday 8am-5pm or Friday 8am-4pm)
Pencaitland resident and Councillor Shamin Akhtar says that the closure of Haddington Sheriff Court could impact on some of our most vulnerable children and families.
Councillor Shamin Akhtar, Cabinet Member with responsibility for Children’s Wellbeing and Education, has voiced concerns about the proposed closure of Haddington Sheriff Court. Below we have reproduced her views.
Shamin Akhtar fears that any closure of Haddington Sherrif Court could have far reaching implications for residents of East LothianShamin Akhtar writes:
I think there is real value in having a local court, sensitive to local issues and local history, where a Sheriff and lawyers acting for clients are aware of local circumstances, local conditions, local families and local concerns. This is particularly important for child welfare cases, including the granting of Child Protection Orders and also adoption and permanency cases.
I am very concerned that the closure of Haddington Sheriff Court will lead to delays in adoption and permanency cases being heard because we understand that Edinburgh Sheriff Court already has problems in meeting the timescales required in the cases that it deals with for Edinburgh. ‘The local knowledge of the officials at Haddington Sheriff Court contributes to decisions about crucial child protection issues being made promptly and effectively. I feel that the removal of these cases to Edinburgh will result in delays and additional anguish for the children and families involved.
In practical terms, it will be much more expensive for clients and staff attending court in terms of additional travel expenses, parking fees and, most critically, the loss of work time. A two-to-three hour attendance at court in Haddington could now take up the best part of a working day, if you factor in travelling and waiting time. This will have an impact on family budgets. It will also mean that social workers and other council staff will be away at court in Edinburgh when they would normally be working with other clients. It will have a knock-on effect for lots of people, especially when you consider that the Council is a really heavy user of Haddington Sheriff Court’s services – staff are in court almost every day.
The proposal to relocate the court service to Edinburgh comes at a time when East Lothian is set to have the biggest population increase of any local authority in Scotland over the next 25 years – including a 41% increase in the number of young people aged between 0 and 15 years. Our client group is growing and we need our Sheriff Court in Haddington more than ever. I really hope that this proposal is overturned because I know that moving the court to Edinburgh will have a detrimental effect on vulnerable children and young people and will worsen the service that they that they receive.
I would encourage people to voice their concerns by supporting the Courier’s campaign. Visit www.savehsc.co.uk, emailing courtstructures@scotcourts.gov.uk or sign the local petitions and postcards before the 21st.
After the recent public consultation held in Trevelyan Hall, ELC’s Transport department has returned a recommendation to Cabinet that the plan proceed with one change – no additional car parking spaces will be added to the school.
Following a recent public consultation ELC’s Transport department is recommending the footpath plan proceed minus the additional (in pink) car parking spaces at the school.The proposals included the addition of car parking spaces in the school grounds. A number of Glebe residents, who live around the school’s entrance, were supportive of the parallel footpath but stated they felt they had to object to those current proposals as they did not wish to see further car parking spaces added to the school as part of pedestrian safety improvements.
The original intent was that these further spaces would provide additional car parking in the heart of the village which, courtesy of a new disabled access footpath between the Church, Carriage House and school, would mean that cars could utilise these facilities on evenings and weekends where required. The view was that this would alleviate parking issues on both the main road outside the church and remove the need for cars to potentially park in the Glebe.
Now, with Transport recommending the footpath proceed without the additional parking facilities for the community, it is hoped that Glebe residents’ concerns will be addressed.
The public consultation consisted of an event held in the Trevelyan Hall plus both a paper and online survey. After removing any duplicate responses the results of that process were as follows:
From the public consultation comment book:
44 For the parallel footpath
24 Against the parallel footpath
12 Not stating a position
The online element was more emphatic:
61 For the parallel footpath
There was also a door to door survey:
31 for the parallel footpath Plan
In addition the Community Council received one email for the footpath plan to be completed and one against.
In summary, this meant that there were 137 in total for the parallel footpath, 25 against and 12 where a view on the footpath being completed wasn’t expressed.
Next Steps
The parallel footpath proposals are already widely supported by a number of community groups, many of whom contributed to these proposals after plans to move the lights and widen the main road pavement were rejected by the ELC.
Now that ELC’s Transport department has submitted its recommendation to cabinet, it will be debated on the 11th of December. If the recommendations of ELC’s Transport department are accepted by Cabinet it will then go before a future Planning Committee meeting for a final decision.
Interested parties received a letter today informing them of the Planning Committee’s decision to go ahead with the revised plan for a parallel footpath through the middle of the village, thus avoiding the narrow pavement. However, it remains unclear as to when this work will actually be completed and the alternate path usable by members of the community.
