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Pencaitland responds to new ELC development plan

As part of East Lothian’s Local Development Plan Community Councils and individuals across the county were asked to take part in the process, offering their views and key concerns. These will hopefully be taken up by ELC and replace the current East Lothian Local Plan 2008.

We published an article on this process back in January this year.

The culmination of this exercise was a submission from your Community Council, which can be read below…

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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

Pencaitland Community Council
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Groundhog Day at Pencaitland Crossroads – Two cars collide

Unfortunately we have to report another car crash at the exact same spot to the recent incident at the crossroads on the eastern edge of Pencaitland reported just before Christmas.

Two cars collided at the crossroads entering into easter Pencaitland - click for 2nd image

Sometime shortly before 7pm today (Jan 9th 2012) it appears that a car travelling in on the Tranent road couldn’t brake soon enough approaching the crossroads and met a second car coming into Pencaitland on the Haddington Road.

Fortunately no-one is thought to be hurt, though it’s believed that one of the cars is now inoperable…

UPDATE (8.20pm)

We have further information on the incident from a local resident living at the crossroads who heard the crash and went to offer assistance.

“I was working on the computer upstairs when I heard the familiar loud crash outside at the crossroads of the A6093 and the B6355. The weather was fine and mild with little traffic going through the village at that time. I ran down to assess the situation and offer assistance. Luckily, both ladies were unhurt.

Car A (a small red car) had been driven down the hill from Tranent and was apparently unable to stop at the line. Car B was being driven out of Pencaitland towards Haddington, and Car A ran straight into her. Both vehicles were damaged, though one, damaged on front & wing, was capable of being driven slowly and noisily down into the B6355 towards the nearby graveyard. The other had pulled in on the Haddington road and eventually was capable of being removed.

The small red car was so badly damaged it has had to be taken away by transporter.”

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Weathering the storm – high winds race through Pencaitland

Today’s winds came as quite a surprise to a number of villagers. Reports earlier today said that there could be gusts as high as 95mph across parts of the central belt, with structural damage expected. There were unconfirmed reports of gusts of over 100mph in Edinburgh.

Storm Damage - click for a few more pictures

Fortunately, unlike the last blast, this storm, whilst even more intense than the one before Christmas, blew out much more quickly.

A quick glance around Pencaitland after the worst had passed showed some roofs missing tiles and the Spar shop’s sign which shattered in the highest winds, also losing some of the guttering from the structure over the petrol pumps. That aside, so far the bulk of the wind damage appears to be tree-related.

In this video you can see the damage to the Spar shop’s sign as the canopy over the petrol pumps rocks back and forth.

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Cycling in East Lothian

You may be interested to know that the Visit East Lothian website, featured in our Useful Links page, includes a section on cycling around the county. It includes handy cycle maps in PDF format you can download.

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Silent Auction raises £3,368.83

Efforts to raise the much needed target figure of £70,000 to make the local church wind and water-tight received a boost with the news that the jam-packed Silent Auction, recently held at Pencaitland Bowling Club, raised the impressive sum of £3,368.83.

Click here to find out more about how you can help raise the funds to make the village's church wind and watertight.

That figure may well rise further as some contributions were still coming in after the event.

It seems this sets the fund-raising effort well on their way towards hitting the target amount that will ensure the church can be adequately protected from the elements.

Don’t forget the further events still to come. these include the Christmas Fayre on the 26th of November in the Carriage House and a Quiz Night on the 3rd December in the Winton Arms. More details can be found here.

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Transport for people with mobility challenges

Some community members may have already received a leaflet through the door promoting the Handicabs Lothian service. It’s a Scottish charity based in the Lothians which operates a transport service for people with a range of disabilities and health needs who are unable, or have great difficulty, in using transport.

The services operate seven days a week. The main services provided are Dial-A-Ride, Dial-A-Bus and Ambulance.

Whilst the service is not free, it does provide a potentially affordable alternative for people of limited mobility. Membership costs £5 and booking in advance is advised. The vehicles are specially adapted to carry combinations of wheelchair users and other passengers safely and comfortably.

East Lothian Council is one of the charity’s sponsors. To find out more visit http://www.handicabs.org.uk/

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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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Edinburgh, Lothians and Borders Archaeology Conference

The 10th Annual Edinburgh, Lothians and Borders Archaeology Conference will be held at Queen Margaret University on Saturday 19th November.  

Topics include an update on the archaeology from the Edinburgh Tram project; an update on the Cousland Local History Project; and recent findings about Roman Inveresk.  Find out more and book your place here.

You can also view the conference programme, which details all the topics to be covered here [PDF].

Pencaitland Community Council
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Revised Library Opening Hours

As part of the Council’s commitment to improving services a review of libraries in the County has taken place.   This has resulted in changes to the opening hours of most libraries.   Haddington Library continues to operate the same opening hours, but changes have been made at Ormiston and Tranent.

Further information about the opening of the new library at the John Gray Centre in Haddington can be found at www.johngraycentre.org

The new opening hours will operate from Monday 1  August.  More details on changes to opening hours can be found here

Ormiston

Monday 2pm to 5pm
Tuesday

CLOSED ALL DAY

Wednesday 2pm to 8pm
Thursday 10am to 1pm 2pm to 5pm
Friday 2pm to 5pm
Saturday 10am to 1pm

Tranent

Monday 10am to 1pm 2pm to 5pm
Tuesday 10am to 1pm 2pm to 7.30pm
Wednesday 10am to 1pm 2pm to 8pm
Thursday 10am to 1pm 2pm to 7.30pm
Friday 10am to 1pm 2pm to 5pm
Saturday 10am to 1pm

Haddington

Monday 10am to 1pm 2pm to 7.30pm
Tuesday 10am to 1pm 2pm to 7.30pm
Wednesday

CLOSED ALL DAY

Thursday 10am to 1pm 2pm to 7.30pm
Friday

10am to 5pm

Saturday 10am to 1pm