Tag: East Lothian council

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Reporting road problems to East Lothian Council

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.
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)
  • 01875 612818 out of office hours


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ELC’s Civic Pride Fund offers up to £20,000 for local groups

East Lothian Council regularly calls for applications to each new round of its Civic Pride Fund. Applications are now being sought for new funding requests.

Applications from local community groups are sought to ELC's Civic Pride Fund by 30 Nov 2012
Applications from local community groups are sought to ELC’s Civic Pride Fund by 30 Nov 2012.
East Lothian Council established the Civic Pride Fund in order to support projects that will improve the image of a town, village or local community, give it a sense of place and make it somewhere that local residents and visitors can be proud of.

Projects need to demonstrate community support and involvement and deliver two or more of the following criteria:

  • Make a material difference to the appearance of the town, village or local community
  • Enhance the natural setting and biodiversity of the open space in and around your local area
  • Celebrate something special or unique about the town, village or local community
  • Give the town, village or local community area a sense of place or identity

Locally Pencaitland Parish Church was a recent beneficiary, receiving £2,100 towards repairs to the church’s buildings. The grant from the Council’s Civic Pride Fund was used to repair the bowed leaded windows and cracked window panes to help keep the Grade A listed church weather tight. As Minister David Torrance said at the time of the award, “Through the centuries, the Church has stood as a symbol of faith and hope, serving families, groups and individuals in the local community, so maintaining the building is very important. We are pleased that this has been recognised by the Civic Pride Fund”.

Other awards around East Lothian have gone towards park improvements, plantings, renovation of local monuments, Village Hall improvements, new public seating, public sculpture and floodlights to name a few.

How to Apply

To apply to the fund applicants need to be properly constituted community groups, local heritage groups and voluntary organisations. The £50,000 Civic Pride Fund’s closing date for this funding round is 30 November 2012 with grants of up to a maximum of £20,000 potentially being awarded. Any requests for £5,000 or more require matched funding from a source other than the ELC. A copy of the application form can be found here.

Applications should be sent to:

Landscape & Countryside Manager
East Lothian Council
John Muir House
Brewery Park
Haddington
EH41 4HA

Want advice?

Do you have a community group project or idea in Pencaitland, New Winton or Glenkinchie which would benefit from financial support from the Civic Pride Fund? If you would like to discuss this with a member of your Community Council you can email website@pencaitland.org with your contact details and we will get in touch to help you develop your idea.


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News Notices

Newest ELC Councillor Shamin Akhtar releases surgery dates

Following the 2012 elections of Councillors to East Lothian Council, the Fa’side ward gained a new face in Shamin Akhtar (LAB).

Shamin’s constituency surgeries were recently published. If you have any issues you’d like to raise you can see Shamin at the following times and places…

 Wednesday 27 June  5pm – 6pm  Trevelyan Hall, Pencaitland
 Wednesday 4 July  5pm – 6pm  Ormiston Community Centre
 Saturday 7 July  10am – 11am  Loch Centre, Tranent
 Wednesday 11 July  5pm – 6pm  Macmerry Village Hall
 Wednesday 25 July  5pm – 6pm  Trevelyan Hall, Pencaitland
 Saturday 28 July  10am – 11am  Loch Centre, Tranent
Shamin Akhtar

Shamin has lived in Pencaitland since 2007, moving to the village from Musselburgh with her partner Ryan and their two young children in Limekilns. After graduating from the University of Abertay, Dundee in Biotechnology she was elected President of her Students’ Association, going on to be elected the President of the National Union of Students Scotland. Shamin has subsequently spent much of her career in the voluntary and community sector, including more than a decade working for SCVO, the national umbrella body for Scottish charities. She has also volunteered with a wide range of charities and community groups over the last 20 years including Chair of a national housing organisation. Closer to home, Shamin has supported Pencaitland playgroup and volunteered with the school’s PTA.

Shamin Akhtar Contact info

John Muir House
Haddington
EH41 3HA
Tel: 01620 827019/07718669395
Fax: 01620 827180
Email: sakhtar@eastlothian.gov.uk

Councillors Jim Gillies, Donald Grant & Kenny Macleod

Details for Fa’side’s three recently re-elected councillors, their contact information and times of constituency surgeries, can be found on East Lothian Council’s website:

Jim Gillies (LAB)
Donald Grant (LAB)
Kenny Macleod (SNP)

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Pencaitland traffic nears 4,000 vehicles daily

Residents of Pencaitland may have noticed the recent appearance of a pair of black wires running across the main road in the village near to the entrance to the Carriage House.

ELC carried out a new Traffic Survey in Pencaitland in March.

This was part of a recent road traffic survey being carried out by East Lothian Council over the course of a week in March.

Here are some of the interesting stats to come out of the survey which ran from the 2nd to the 8th.

The average speed of vehicles was 31.1mph which is generally good news. However, this is an average so some would have been travelling faster, whilst others would be slower.

Of course, the location is fairly close to the lights at the bridge which may be an influencing factor in terms of speed measured at this point.

The percentage of heavy goods vehicle traffic remains fairly constant at 11 percent out of a total 5 day average count of all vehicles of 3,900. This counts traffic travelling in both directions and isn’t hugely different from the measured numbers in 2009.

Nevertheless it’s hard to believe the reality of a daily figure just shy of 4,000 vehicles per day travelling through Pencaitland in both directions.

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First bus slashes services again – route to be axed

If some bus users were under the impression there wasn’t a lot left to cut from the remaining routes operated by First… you’d be wrong! It seems the bus company plans a further round of route cuts in a few months which will lead to further misery for people lacking private transport in rural East Lothian.

First kills bus route covering Pencaitland and Ormiston - click for the Edinburgh Evening News story

Members of the local community have been contacted by the Edinburgh Evening News tonight, seeking their views on an announcement from First that it intends to kill the existing bus route covering Pencaitland and Ormiston.

This development could not happen at a worse time for the current ELC administration as many community members have previously expressed frustration at the lack of action from the controlling SNP/Lib Dem alliance over poor public transport policy and implementation.

Look out for the full story in tomorrow’s paper or read it here.

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News Notices

Parallel footpath plans published on ELC website

Anyone interested in the recent preliminary work in and around the grounds of Pencaitland Parish Church can now view detailed planning application information on the East Lothian Council website.

These plans stem from safety concerns originating in 2008 over the narrowness of the main road footpath and are the culmination of many years of discussion and debate amongst interested parties, including the Church, the Community Council, East Lothian Council, the school, Pencaitland’s Fatal Footpath Campaign and other interested parties.

There are two applications:

  • Formation of hardstanding areas and part demolition of wall – link
  • Resurfacing of existing footpaths, formation of new footpaths, car parking area, erection of fencing, gates, wall, installation of lighting and a change of use from domestic ground to public ground and public ground to domestic ground – link

The first application relates to the creation of an opening to a wall to the eastern perimeter of the church grounds, but it is the second application where the bulk of the changes which affect the community are explained. There are a number of supporting documents — 25 in all.

Click above to view a PDF of the planned changes

A good overview of what is planned can be gained from viewing the PDF file plan of the whole section of works, running from the school car park to the east, to the stone roadbridge to the west.

Making a public comment on the plans

We would encourage everyone with a view on these plans, whether for or against, to leave a comment on the ELC website. It is only through airing your support or concerns that they can be addressed, so it is in everyone’s interest to do so.

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Reporting road or pavement problems to the Council

After a winter of high winds though little snow, you might be wondering how best to go about reporting problems with roads and pavements in and around the village.

The good news is that in this digital age it really couldn’t be any easier to report problems to the Council. Here’s one method…

Fixmystreet.com is a fantastic initiative 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 if you have one, then just hit send. It really couldn’t be much simpler or user friendly.

You then receive a confirmation email with a link from the website, click the link to confirm and you’re done. Your local council has now been alerted courtesy of Fixmystreet.com.

Below you can see an example of a submitted problem on the Fixmystreet.com website.

Using the Fixmystreet.com website couldn't be simpler for reporting road or pavement issues.
Using the Fixmystreet.com website couldn't be simpler for reporting road or pavement issues.

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East Lothian Local Development Plan (ELLDPone)

East Lothian Council is preparing a new Local Development Plan. This will be a new land-use strategy that will eventually replace the existing East Lothian Local Plan 2008.

At this stage they are keen to hear the views of everyone with an interest in East Lothian.  They want to know what aspirations you have for the way the area might develop over the next ten years or so, and what planning issues you think may need to be addressed in the new plan.

A series of events has been arranged to gather your views. These will be run independently by Planning Aid for Scotland (PAS), an impartial, charitable organisation that helps people have their say in the planning system. The views gathered will help the Council prepare a Main Issues Report, which will then be published for consultation later in 2012.

Community meetings for the general public will be held in each of East Lothian’s six main towns, plus one event specifically to discuss the future role of Blindwells new settlement.  There will also be a series of additional workshop meetings targeted at specific audiences.

You can see details of the locations and times of the consultation events here. Places at these events are free but must be booked by emailing training@planningaidscotland.org.uk or calling Deanne at Planning Aid for Scotland on 0131 220 9730.

You can find a discussion paper here, which provides further background information and sets out the type of planning issues that the Local Development Plan might seek to address.

If you wish to submit any comments to be taken into account in the preparation of the Main Issues Report, please send them by Monday 12th March 2012 to the Policy and Projects team at localplan@eastlothian.gov.uk or at:

Policy and Projects
Environment Department
East Lothian Council
John Muir House
Haddington
EH41 3HA

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Useful information on funding available to local organisations

Each month East Lothian Council publishes Signpost to Funding, a useful guide to various grants available to local groups and organisations.  

Click here to see the most recent guide.

We will post the guide each month to help you and your organisation identify funds you may apply for to help get your projects off the ground.

 

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Small scale wind turbines in East Lothian

East Lothian Council has approved a consultation for a Supplementary Landscape Capacity Study for Smaller Wind Turbines.

Small Scale Wind Turbine Consultation in East Lothian

The study focuses on capacity within the East Lothian landscape for accommodating smaller scale wind turbines. 

The consultation period runs until 5pm on Monday 24 October 2011 and the document is available here.  Copies can also be found at Planning Reception, John Muir House in Haddington and all local and mobile libraries.

Comments on the document can be directed to Peter Collins, Executive Director of Environment by post or by email at policy&projects@eastlothian.gov.uk

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