The ELC has approved a new Economic Development plan at yesterday’s Cabinet meeting in Haddington. But what does it mean for rural East Lothian?
East Lothian Council has approved a new 10 year plan to develop the local economy. Click to have a read.Council Leader, Willie Innes, says, “This new Economic Development Strategy has been developed to take into account the current economic climate facing local communities and businesses. The council is placing a greater focus on business growth and we have involved our Community Planning partners in the process to work together for the greater benefit of the county.”
The strategy has set five objectives for East Lothian over the next ten years.
To be a location of choice in Scotland to set up and grow a business
To be Scotland’s leading coastal, leisure and food & drink destination
To build on our proximity to Edinburgh to encourage study, work and spend in East Lothian
To provide high quality employment pathways for East Lothian’s workforce
To become Scotland’s most sustainable local economy
Certainly, on the first point that will require some careful consideration of both effective public transport links and high speed internet across the county. What do you think of the five point plan? Let us know with a comment below…
RELBUS is seeking bus user views on its campaign prioritiesRELBUS, the group that campaigns for better rural buses in East Lothian, has launched a member consultation to help prioritise its campaigning objectives.
The nine point plan covers basic standards that should be expected for bus service information including bus stops; fairer fares; plainer ticketing, improved timetabling, better connecting services, and perhaps most importantly, decent complaints procedures.
If you are a bus user it’s your opportunity to have your views fed back into the way RELBUS is campaigning on your behalf. Becoming a member of RELBUS is free and open to anyone living in or travelling to and from East Lothian.
RELBUS aims to campaign to improve accessibility for all and seeks better promotion of buses as a viable and acceptable form of transport, rather than an option of last resort. RELBUS believes that the Council and bus companies servicing East Lothian can do more and that good consultation procedures could help to map out a far better future for rural bus users across the county. That’s also why RELBUS recently welcomed the creation of a Local Bus forum by East Lothian Councillor Michael Veitch.
Barry Turner, Chair of RELBUS said: “We are looking forward to developing a constructive dialogue with operators, East Lothian Council and Community Councils. For too long bus travel in rural areas has been seen as a last resort, rather than the preferred mode of transport. We’ve identified a good number of supply measures that could help increase demand, even in the current deregulated market. We will continue to work with others to identify novel means of supplementing rural bus services in order to meet a wider range of local needs”.
Taking part in the consultation
To have your say simply go to the RELBUS Consultation Questions and, if you have a view, leave your comment in the text box at the bottom of the page. In all there are nine consultation questions. This is notionally intended for existing members of RELBUS. Fortunately joining is free and takes no time to do. If you rely on buses in East Lothian it’s in your interests to join.
RELBUS (Rural East Lothian Bus Users) is a volunteer-led group set up to campaign for better rural transport in East Lothian. RELBUS is a membership organisation, which is free. It holds public forums, meetings with operators and has an ongoing dialogue with local politicians of all parties and the local authority. For more information about RELBUS contact info@relbus.org.uk
A letter in the Courier laments lack of locals stepping up. Click to read.Nominations recently closed for the twenty community councils within East Lothian. Most will return with no need for elections.
This has been the picture in the Pencaitland Community Council area for many years, with no elections ever having taken place for seats in this ward.
In all there are fifteen seats on Pencaitland’s Community Council with twelve taken up for the next session. Sadly, this means that we are under-represented.
We really want local representation for other parts of this ward including Peastonbank/Glenkinchie, New Winton, Boggs Holdings, Fountainhall and everywhere in-between. Equally, for a rural area we have no-one from the farming community nor anyone in their teens or 20s. Did you know you can be 16 and sit on the Community Council?
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.
The Tyne bursts its banks at PencaitlandAfter a night of high winds and incessant rain it was little surprise that the river Tyne at Pencaitland once again broke its banks with the swell.
In just a few hours the river went from a gentle and shallow meandering stream into a swollen muddy mass of water. This has become a fairly regular occurrence in recent years leaving parts of the river pathway annually inundated and weakening the river bank.
However, it is Haddington, further downstream which is currently under threat from the swelling waters of the Tyne. Further details on the situation can be found by checking the Scottish Environment Protection Agency’s updates page for the Lothians.
Having trouble viewing the video? See it on the Pencaitland channel on Youtube.
There are reports (see below) that we may get floods around East Lothian today. If you spot problems tell others. Here’s how…
If you plan to travel today and spot a flooded section of road please tweet details to @pencaitlandcc or to the Pencaitland Facebook page. This way the information will automatically be passed on to others.
Twitter example message:
@pencaitlandcc Bend of A6093 coming into Wester #Pencaitland flooded both lanes on final bend. #flood #eastlothian
You can use the same text whether sending to Twitter or posting to Facebook or Google+… whichever is your preferred social tool of choice.
the # symbol is often placed in front of keywords on Twitter in order to help people discover relevant updates. If you have room, by adding #eastlothian and #flood to your message it is more likely to be found by those looking for information on floods in the county. Try to be specific, using, for example, #ormiston or #pencaitland hash tags to help geographically pinpoint where the problem is.
LOTHIANS FLOOD ALERT
Here’s the latest from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency:
“A FLOOD ALERT has been issued for Edinburgh and Lothians.
Very heavy persistent rainfall has been forecast from mid afternoon Monday until early Tuesday morning. This is expected to lead to a risk of flooding throughout the area from rivers, small watercourses and surface water. Impacts are possible both within this period and throughout Tuesday, from where conditions are expected to improve. SEPA duty officers will continue to monitor the developing situation and will issue updates as further information becomes available.”
You may be one of the many unfortunate people to have encountered these strange red whelts on your skin in recent weeks. If you have then chances are you’re suffering from Berry Bug bites.
Berry Bugs, as they are best known in the Lothians, also go by the name of Harvest Mites. These tiny mites are almost invisible at this stage and live in grass and other plants. During their parasitic stage they can get onto cats, dogs and, most itchy of all, people too.
Fortunately they tend to be most active in late summer at harvest time, hence their other common name of Harvest Mites. Whilst they are found throughout Britain, they seem to be especially common in the East of Scotland.
So if you have a bunch of angry red lumps on you just now then there’s a good chance you’ve got them too. Treatments vary from person to person but a hot shower before bed is reputed to work for some or at least reduce the worst symptoms. Some also suggest DEET or similar treatments which can be picked up at chemists.
And just in case there’s any doubt, these little critters have been bugging us for some time. In an extract from the Carlyle Letters from 29th July 1857, Jane Welsh Carlyle writes, “The short journey to Tranent was complicated by 35 minutes waiting at Longniddry station where one is always bitten all over by that accursed new insect the harvest-bug.” (Source)
Further details on these annoying little creatures can be found on the links below.
Do you run a business in East Lothian? Each month the East Lothian Coffee Morning runs a session focusing on how to effectively use web technologies to promote your business. This month it’s Facebook under the microscope.
The East Lothian Coffee Morning is a free and informal networking group that was originally set up to help local companies understand how they can get more business by using the Internet. It’s a mix of networking with other business people, presentations, workshops and case studies.
This month, whether you love it or hate it, Facebook is still here despite a plunging stock market price. Depending on your viewpoint it can be a great addition to your business’s marketing mix or a drain on your time and resources. So come along and find out how to make the best use of Facebook pages for a small business.
Being held in Ducks at Kilspindie in Aberlady on the 21st of September, informal networking takes place between 8 and 9am, with the presentation starting from 9am until 10am. Everyone is welcome to attend and there’s no charge for coming along… just pay for your own refreshments.
Have you thought about joining us on Pencaitland Community Council? Here’s your opportunity to help the community you live in and shape the future direction of your village.
East Lothian’s twenty Community Councils are run on a voluntary basis by local people just like you. They act as a vital link between East Lothian Council and the local area, giving residents an opportunity to speak out on local issues of concern. Pencaitland holds ten meetings a year.
Pencaitland’s Community Council extends to cover the villages of New Winton, Boggs Holdings & Glenkinchie/Peastonbank, plus everything in-between. We really need some new blood, not just from Pencaitland but all the those parts that fall within this community council and form part of our ward.
In all there are fifteen seats on the community council. Elections are only held where there are more nominations than available seats on the community council. There have been no elections to Pencaitland’s community council in recent years though all seats have, until recently, been taken up.
If you are interested in becoming a member of your local Community Council the only requirement is that you are aged 16 or over.
Interested? Want to know more? Then contact the current Community Chair, Ralph, on 01875 340 641.
Nomination forms must be returned to the Returning Officer no later than 4pm on Thursday 13 September 2012.
THANKS to the good people over at OurLocality.org Pencaitland’s very own community website is back in action and better than before.
A bunch of East Lothian websites, mostly Primary & Secondary schools plus parents’ and community sites such as our own, disappeared recently after a malware attack on edubuzz.org sometime on the 24th of August. It could be a few weeks before edubuzz.org returns, along with the many hosted sites it serves. This is an unfortunate bit of bad luck for the excellent platform which delivers a fantastic solution to quick and easy websites for all of East Lothian’s schools and much more.
Now on OurLocality.org, we’ve recovered all of the information pages and news stories whilst making a few minor changes under the bonnet to try to improve your experience of the site. But if you have any suggestions then fire them off to website@pencaitland.org. We’re all ears.
You’ll also notice we’ve finally got around to updating the masthead with a new image. If you haven’t worked it out, it’s Pencaitland’s Parish Church spire. If you have pictures you think might make a nice replacement (we want to update it a little more often in future) then send them to the same email address.
Your Community Council recently received information from East Lothian Council over the new Trusted Trader scheme.
Similar to other kite-mark type services, the idea is that businesses displaying the new logo can give consumers a level of reassurance about the service they will receive.
The service was initially promoted to businesses back on March this year, with the aim of helping east Lothian based companies to market themselves and be distinguished from rogue traders.
The East Lothian Trusted Trader scheme is run by East Lothian Council and Trading Standards. Member companies are listed on a Trusted Trader website which allows customers to leave reviews – good and bad – of the company and their experiences. This means members of the public searching for a trader can find recommendations of businesses that are reliable and trustworthy with experience in their field.
Businesses signing-up to the scheme all agree to trade fairly and sign-up to a Code of Practice. The Code covers complaint resolution processes, transparent procedures for quoting for and carrying out work, and staff training. In return, companies can use Trusted Trader logos and materials in their own marketing, benefit from all year-round promotion at events, through the directory and on the Trusted Trader website.
You may be one of the many unfortunate people to have encountered these strange red whelts on your skin in recent weeks. If you have then chances are you’re suffering from Berry Bug bites.
