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Events News

Meeting planned to launch 10 to 14yo Scouts troop for Pencaitland

Since October 2012 Pencaitland has seen the return of both Cub and Beaver Scouts. Now plans are being made to launch Scouts for older kids.

Pencaitland 1st Scouts aims to bring a Scout troop for 10 to 14 year olds to Pencaitland... but it needs adult helpers to make it a reality.
Pencaitland 1st Scouts aims to bring a Scout troop for 10 to 14 year olds to Pencaitland… but it needs adult helpers to make it a reality.
Scouting is a great way for both boys and girls to learn a wide range of practical and inter-personal skills as they grow into young adults. Now with troupes for both six to eight year olds and eight to ten, the next phase is the launch of a full Scout troop for kids ranging from ten and a half up to 14 years of age.

The Scout Troop forms the senior section of Scout Groups. Since 2003 it has been open to ten and a half to 14 year olds. This Troop is the longest running section within the UK organisation, although it was originally termed the Scout Patrol when the movement started back in 1907.

Local organiser Ken McNight is keen to talk to any parents or other adult helpers willing or able to spare their time, however limited, to help bring this next stage of the Scouting movement back to the village.

Meeting Planned

A meeting is planned for the 11th of December in the Winton Arms at 8pm in order to recruit a team of people keen to make this happen. It’s only through volunteers that have helped out to date that we already enjoy both Cubs and Beavers Scouts. Now it’s your chance to get all three local Scout sections based back in Pencaitland.

Please come along on the 11th and help make this next step a reality. Don’t assume that someone else will step up and make it happen. Sadly that’s what contributed to the previous demise of Scouts in Pencaitland over ten years ago. Everyone who wants to help is very welcome and very much needed, and the more that help the easier it is and the less each person will need to do individually.

If you can’t make it to the meeting on the 11th please contact Ken directly on his email at kenneth@commsworld.com.


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News Photos

Remembrance Day in Pencaitland

Following a service of Remembrance in Pencaitland Parish Church a procession, led by the local Scouts, headed to the village’s War Memorial.

If you don’t see the photos below you can view them here.


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News

Pencaitland Cub Scouts go with a bang!

Ian Archer was kind enough to bring along some of his lab-coated colleagues from Ingenza to last night’s Halloween Cubs night in Trevelyan Hall, treating the kids to practical hands-on experiments and a small fireworks display.

There were also prizes for the best pumpkin designs.

If you don’t see the photos below you can view them here.


Categories
News

Q. What goes with a bang every year?

A. Pencaitland’s Annual Fireworks display.

Come and enjoy the 2013 Fireworks Display in Pencaitland this year and help raise much needed funds for local educational needs.
Come and enjoy the 2013 Fireworks Display in Pencaitland this year and help raise much needed funds for local educational needs.
Pencaitland’s regular festival of fireworks is slated to take place on Saturday the 2nd of November, starting at 7pm. Gates will open at 6.15pm.

As per last year’s event the Fireworks display returns to Lempockwells Field just south of Lamberton Court and to the west of Lempockwells Road. You can view the Fireworks Location and main entrance here.

Tickets for adults cost £5, £3 for a child or a family ticket costs £13 (this includes two adults and up to four kids). Under 5s get free entry.

You can purchase tickets from the School Office or by calling 01875 340 260. Tickets are also available from the Spar Shop, the Granny Shop, or at the gate on the evening. However, if you plan to come and support the event please try to buy before the big night to ease congestion.

Remember that all funds raised go towards many much needed and very necessary resources at Pencaitland Primary School.


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News

Concerns raised over new tarmac laid in Lamberton Court & Bruce Grove

Last week contractors came to lay fresh tarmac at problem hotspots around Pencaitland. But some locals were concerned.

Locals have been making greater use of services such as FixMyStreet to alert the Council to problems.
Locals have been making greater use of services such as FixMyStreet to alert the Council to problems.
That concern centered around the belief that the new looking tarmac did not appear to have been compressed with a roller, leaving what looks a little like a black cake mix that hasn’t been given the rolling pin treatment to smooth it out.

The Community Council subsequently contacted East Lothian Council with these concerns, receiving a quick and detailed explanation from Stuart Baxter, Senior Area Officer West, highlighting why the newly covered roads look so different from traditional tarmac. We have reproduced the explanation below:

The process carried out in Lamberton Court and Bruce Grove this week is a Carriageway Microasphalt, this process is widely used by local authority road maintenance departments throughout the United Kingdom and is an excellent, preventative maintenance process that will seal a surface against the ingress of water and prevent further disintegration of the existing surface.

This process is often used on the UK wide trunk road network and can extend the life of a road by up to ten years or even longer depending on the location and is an excellent cost effective means of prolonging the life of a road.

The process involves 2 stages, the first stage is the application of the Microasphalt, during the second stage ironwork is raised to the new surface level , the second part of this process is still to be carried out at these locations.

All works carried out by sub-contractors on behalf of East Lothian Council are supervised by an engineer and any defects detected during the construction or subsequent 12 months after construction are notified to the contractor for remedial works at their cost.

Mr Baxter also gave preliminary dates for when tarmac work is expected on both Woodhall Road and the main road through Pencaitland, from the crossroads at the eastern village entrance to the junction with Lempockwells Road.

The proposed resurfacing works on Woodhall Road and A6093 in Pencaitland are included in this year’s 2013-2014 programme of resurfacing works, Woodhall Road is currently programmed to be complete by the end of November 2013, however work to the A6093 is dependent on the successful completion of a proposed new gas supply to Glenkinchie which is currently due for completion late January 2014.

All programmed dates are however subject to change due to other works and changes to priorities.


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News

Pencaitland 1st & 2nd Brownies may fold by Xmas without help

Both of Pencaitland’s Brownie packs are under the threat of closure due to a lack of adult volunteers to keep them going.

Could you spare a few hours of your time to ensure that Brownies survives in Pencaitland?
Could you spare a few hours of your time to ensure that Brownies survives in Pencaitland?
Last year, after a ten year hiatus, the Scouts returned to Pencaitland thanks to the efforts of local volunteers keen to revive a long tradition of Cub and Beaver packs in the community. The response to its return has been excellent with a number of mums, dads and other adult volunteers coming forward to make the Scouts revival a real success story.

But now a similar threat hangs over both the 1st and 2nd Pencaitland Brownies. By Christmas, if adult volunteers don’t come forward to assist in the running of the Brownie packs they will shut up shop, leaving the village and surrounding area without a place for girls to go, to learn a range of invaluabe social and life skills outside of a school and home environment.

Can you make a difference?

Do you think you could spare some time to help save the local Brownies? If you do then call 01875 341 289. You can also learn more about the Girl Guiding movement, including its aims and objectives here.


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News

Community Council submits response to ELC Transport proposals for road safety

In 2012 the Transport team from East Lothian Council submitted suggestions for road safety improvements. Your Community Council recently responded and we’re sharing this with you.

A map showing the PCC Roads sub-committee's recommendations to ELC's Transport team
A map showing the PCC Roads sub-committee’s recommendations to ELC’s Transport team
Pencaitland Community Council, which formed a Roads sub-committee to deal with this topic, drafted a response paper addressing the original ELC suggestions, which can be seen here.

The subsequent report from the Roads sub-committee of Pencaitland Community Council, called “COMMUNITY CONSULTATION TRAFFIC CALMING MEASURES REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS”, can now be read online [PDF] and you can view a Google Map which illustrates where the sub-committee believes ELC can implement improvements and make both pedestrians and road users safer.

Below we are reproducing the covering letter which recently went to ELC along with the Roads sub-committee report.

“This is the community’s response to the plans originally presented to Pencaitland Community Council back in July 2012. Since receiving these plans we have reported on it and shared it widely via traditional methods, such as posters and suggestions boxes in the local post office and shops, as well as through the local school and online/social media.

Now, after quite a lot of consultation we’re reverting to your department with our thoughts in the attached PDF, taking into consideration the views from across the spectrum of the community.

Our primary concern is that we ensure you have time to consider our views prior to the skimming of the A6093 through Pencaitland later this year, in order that any measures we are seeking from Transport can be factored in as part of that scheduled work.

On the whole, within Pencaitland proper we are seeking road traffic measures which involve far less additional work than I think was envisaged when ELC Transport was proposing physically narrowing the road and widening the pavements. However, apart from the addition of painted cycle paths we are seeking two double D islands and a further pedestrian crossing (Zebra) at Pencaitland Park. The latter would not only slow traffic entering/exiting Pencaitland but also provide a safe crossing for children using the pick up/drop off point for school buses.

For the rest of the village we would like to see a consistency of approach in terms of positioning speed signs and rumble strips at all entrances to the village, with the exception of Huntlaw Road which is too minor. Some of this work has already been carried out but it is apparent that elements have yet to be completed, such as rumble strips and the painting of relocated 30mph white on red signage directly onto the tarmac.

Of great concern was the recent accident that put 11 year old Harry into a coma on the B6363 through Boggs Holdings shortly before school broke up for the summer. We had already extended the scope of your department’s original plan to include the Boggs, and would ask you to give serious consideration to how we improve the safety of both pedestrians and cyclists, young and old, on these stretches of road. The B6363 leads to and from many residential properties which currently lack a defined pavement or even a painted cycle lane.

Lastly, there is the big ticket issue of a roundabout over the current crossroads. Many people welcome your department’s original suggestion of a roundabout at the eastern entrance into Pencaitland. However, a significant proportion of people have expressed concern about the necessary relocation of the War Memorial that this plan would require. We would like to propose a slightly altered version of the roundabout plan which would obviate the need to relocate the War Memorial from it’s general location today.

Once you have had time to digest the views and proposals in the attached document and the associated visual on the map, we would appreciate the opportunity of having a follow up discussion with you to consider next steps and what your department can do to meet the desires of locals for safer roads and pavements for those living in and around Pencaitland.

All the best

Ralph
Chair, Pencaitland Community Council”

Categories
News

STV News reports on accident victim Harry’s return to school

Shortly before the summer break local boy Harry was knocked down and seriously hurt walking home when a white van crashed into him from behind, putting him in a coma.

Last night’s STV News followed up on the accident, reporting on his recovery and return to school whilst looking at issues of pedestrian and cyclist safety in and around the area.

Harry's recovery and issues of pedestrian safety were highlighted by STV News - the story starts 15m 55s into the report which can be watched online by clicking the image.
Harry’s recovery and issues of pedestrian safety were highlighted by STV News – the story starts 15m 55s into the report which can be watched online by clicking the image.

Categories
News

Sun Shines on Pencaitland’s Sports Day

Pencaitland Primary held its regular Sports Day on Tuesday the 25th of June in the grounds of the school. Once again the weather delivered with clouds breaking to give the kids a very pleasant afternoon.

Sally Averbuch of P2 floats over the hurdle. Click the photo for more pictures from Sports Day.
Sally Averbuch of P2 floats over the hurdle. Click the photo for more pictures from Sports Day.
Forth House won overall once all the race winners from each of the four houses were tallied up. There was also a good turnout from Pencaitland’s parents who took part in the mum’s and dad’s races to wrap up a great afternoon.

Starting just after lunchtime the events included house teams competing in – welly throwing, basketball hoops, obstacle course, football, netball, egg & spoon, running and sack race.

Towards the end it was down to the kids from P7 to ask Head Teacher Mary McCall to encourage mums and dads (they didn’t require much prompting) to show their mettle in a mad dad dash, possibly more for pride rather than victory.

Congratulations, to all the kids of all four houses at Pencaitland Primary for participating, and equally, if not actually more so, for all the heart attack victims amongst the parents post their wrap up races…

If you would like an original high resolution copy of any photograph from Sports Day please email website@pencaitland.org.


Categories
News

Courier covers van crash victim Harry’s recovery from coma

The East Lothian Courier reported on accident victim Harry’s recent recovery from a medically induced coma after being knocked down by the driver of a white van, whilst heading home from school along the edge of the B6363 through Boggs Holdings.

The Courier reported on the accident and Harry's recovery across the cover of it's current issue and on page 2. If you missed it, click above to read the story by Mairi Gordon.
The Courier reported on the accident and Harry’s recovery across the cover of it’s current issue and on page 2. If you missed it, click above to read the story by Mairi Gordon.
You can read the front cover story here and page two follow up here.

This recent accident is all the more poignant given that the Community Council has been looking at issues of road safety in and around Pencaitland. This followed ELC’s Transport team providing the community with outline plans last year suggesting a number of possible road safety changes.

You can see those original plans and what was proposed by ELC by clicking here.

We still need your views

Tell us your views on the preliminary response to ELC’s plans via email to website@pencaitland.org or by simply leaving a comment on this page. You can also leave a comment in a dedicated box that can be found in the local Pencaitland Post Office.