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East Lothian Council’s flood advice

With the spate of what can at times seem like endless amounts of rain over East Lothian, we thought we’d reproduce this handy advice on flooding from ELC. Hopefully it will not be needed any time soon.

What information is available if there is flooding in the area?

Flood Ahead signSEPA (Scottish Environment Protection Agency) runs FLOODLINE, the recorded telephone and website service that provides information on the latest risk of river and coastal flooding in Scotland.

The FLOODLINE number is 0845 988 1188 and callers to that number can hear Flood Alerts or Warnings in force for their area, telling them when potential flooding is forecast, as well as general advice on how to prepare for, or cope with flooding.

You can also sign up to the Floodline service, so when SEPA issues a Flood Alert or Warning for your area you can receive it directly to your phone via text message or voicemail, giving you time to take action.

For more info about how to prepare for severe weather and coping during it, visit Ready Scotland

Flood prevention

Householders are reminded that it is their responsibility to make sure they have their own floodwater prevention equipment such as sandbags and floodgates. These can be bought from DIY stores.

More information is available on the SEPA website at Be Flood Prepared.

Floodwater

flood alert logo

Take extra care if you have to cross deep or fast flowing water which can hide other dangers or be contaminated and dangerous to health. Don’t allow pets to drink or play in it and wash your hands if you come into contact with the water.

Concern for the community

Try and be a good neighbour. Keep an eye on those around you, particularly older people, and anyone with disabilities or young children.

What is the council’s role during severe weather?

East Lothian Council works with its partners in health, the police, the emergency services, the voluntary sector and the Scottish Government to make sure that as many services as possible are maintained. Its priority is to ensure that those at the most risk and the most need receive attention first. So, during periods of severe weather, it asks people to be patient, take care and keep up to date with what’s happening by using ELC’s pages on its website.

You can also phone ELC’s Contact Centre on 01875 824 305. Bear in mind that the high volume of calls to the Contact Centre during severe weather means you may spend a little time in its call-waiting system.

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Recent video of flooding in Haddington

This post is based on original advice posted on the ELC website here.

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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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One Pencaitland bus timetable to rule them all (for now)

Local man Barry Hutton has been putting in some time to pull together a unified Bus Timetable for all services coming through Pencaitland. Here it is…

Pencaitland Unified Timetables - produced by Barry Hutton, June 2012 - click for PDF version

One of the challenges for anyone using more than one bus is knowing what time a service is due to arrive or depart from a given location and how much of a window this provides to change from one bus to the next. In putting together the following timetable, local man Barry Hutton has tried to pull together all the disparate details from various bus companies that pass through Pencaitland, in order to make it just that little bit easier to work out what’s due where and when.

We have created two versions. You can view and download the timetables in either DOC format or PDF.

Our thanks to Barry for putting in the hours to make this happen.

BUS SURVEY:

Pencaitland has joined forces with Humbie, East & West Saltoun and Bolton, Gifford and Ormiston Community Councils to find out what you want from the bus service. Register your views online now.

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Campaigning for better rural transport: RELBUS regroups

RELBUS, the campaign group for better rural public transport in East Lothian, has appointed former Liberal Democrat councillor Barry Turner as Chair.

Former councillor Barry Turner is the new Chairman of RELBUS

RELBUS has been updated in the light of First Bus’s cuts in services, which forced a review of contracts for many commercial services supported by the council and a general increase in awareness of issues surrounding public transport provision. Former Dunbar councillor Jacquie Bell has also joined the RELBUS committee.

Speaking about his appointment, Barry Turner, who was Environment and Transport Convener prior to the May elections when he lost his seat said: “I am a life-long bus enthusiast and I have spent my professional and political life campaigning for better public transport. I am delighted to be asked to chair RELBUS which has an important role to play in improving accessibility for those living in East Lothian’s more remote communities and promoting alternatives to private car use. I intend to use my experience to enable RELBUS to forge better links with the council, local communities, operators and the Scottish Government and its agencies. Recent events have shown that the way public transport is currently organised is simply not sustainable. We must find new and better ways to meet diverse local travel needs.”

Early priorities for RELBUS will be to follow up ideas coming out of the recent local conference on community and supported transport, to scrutinise and constructively comment on the council’s new Local Transport Strategy and urge setting up a Bus Passenger Forum.

It will also work closely with Community Councils to achieve a better understanding of local travel needs. If anyone wants more information about RELBUS and its purpose, or wants to put forward ideas, they should contact the organisation via the website www.relbus.org.uk.

RELBUS, short for 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 and joining is free. It holds public meetings, meetings with operators and has and ongoing dialogue with local politicians of all parties and the local authority.

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Floodwaters fill bend into Wester Pencaitland (Video)

Some locals will already be familiar with a bend on the way into Wester Pencaitland that tends to flood badly with heavy rain. This morning was no different, at one point covering three quarters of the road’s width.

The problem stems from the large field to the immediate north. It forms a large catchment for any downpour which then inevitably works it way down to this poorly drained bend at one point on the road.

If you’ve experienced problems with this stretch of road we’d like to know about it. Comment below or email website@pencaitland.org.

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RELBUS proposes bus users charter for East Lothian

RELBUS, short for Rural East Lothian Bus Users, is seeking the views of bus users in developing an East Lothian Bus Passenger Charter. Got ideas on what you’d like to see in it?

RELBUS proposes bus passenger charter - click to give your views

The Bus Passenger Charter would be a list of commitments that each bus operator would attempt to meet. RELBUS are suggesting the commitments would cover at minimum fare structure, timetables and route information, plus related publicity material including information at bus stops and on buses.

But RELBUS suggest it could go beyond the basics to include commitments to accessibility and possibly a set of standards of service such as, for example, punctuality over and above any statutory obligations. Changes to timetables might also involve prior passenger consultation.

As RELBUS’s Philip Immirzi explains, “We aren’t starting from a completely blank sheet, as I found this over at the Bus Users UK website, but what do others think should be in the East Lothian Bus Passenger Charter?”

If you would like to offer your own thoughts, please visit the RELBUS website and leave your comments.

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Pencaitland’s Spar gets a makeover

The Spar Westend Service Station has just finished its 6th makeover in 25 years.

Best known to many villagers as the local paper and milk stop, the Spar is actually an Aladdin’s cave of goods. It plays an important role in the village for those who can’t, or don’t want to, commute to supermarkets to get their essential groceries.

arim Ali in Pencaitland's recently refurbished Spar
Karim Ali in Pencaitland's recently refurbished Spar

But over and above milk, papers and bread, the shop, run by father and son team Imtiaz and Karim Ali, also provides an off-licence, fuel, dry cleaning, lottery tickets, DVD rental, newspaper delivery (to Wester Pencaitland) and will even take grocery orders over the phone for home delivery or pickup.

As Karim explains, “Originally we were just going to bring in the new refrigerated units but we’ve now done a lot more to the place”.

The Spar is open 7am to 9pm Monday to Saturday and 7am to 8pm Sundays. Click here for more pictures of the upgraded interior.

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minutes

Community Council Minutes – April 2012

To view Pencaitland Community Council minutes for April 2012 just click the link below and you can open it using Adobe Reader.

Alternatively right-click the link and ‘save as’ to your PC desktop.

image copyright photo extremist at Flickr http://www.flickr.com/people/thevlue/Pencaitland Community Council Minutes – April 2012

Recent Meeting Minutes


March 2012
February 2012

Earlier minutes can be found here.

Don’t have Adobe Reader on your PC? Click here or below to download a copy.
Click to download Adobe Reader

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Community Council Minutes – March 2012

To view Pencaitland Community Council minutes for March 2012 just click the link below and you can open it using Adobe Reader.

Alternatively right-click the link and ‘save as’ to your PC desktop.

image copyright photo extremist at Flickr http://www.flickr.com/people/thevlue/

Pencaitland Community Council Minutes – March 2012

Recent Meeting Minutes

February 2012
January 2012

Earlier minutes can be found here.

Don’t have Adobe Reader on your PC? Click here or below to download a copy.
Click to download Adobe Reader

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Charity Fashion Show for Sick Kids Foundation

Stephanie Malcolm, from equine and country specialists Horse & Outdoor in Macmerry, is holding a fashion show to raise fund’s for Edinburgh’s Sick Kids.

Stephanie Malcolm, from equine and country specialists Horse & Outdoor in Macmerry, is holding a fashion show to raise fund’s for Edinburgh’s Sick Kids.

Taking place on the 29th June at 7pm, it’s being held at Horse & Outdoor located near Pencaitland at 21A Macmerry Industrial Estate. As well as the fashion show there will also be drinks, nibbles and a raffle.

As Stephanie explains, “We do fashion shows twice a year for various charities. We have always done horse charities but felt that the sick kids would benefit from our support. They are celebrating 20 years so felt it a great opportunity to get involved. We do a lot of non-horsey clothing for women, men and kids, so felt that it was a good way to get new faces in to see what we do and support a great cause as the same time!”

For further details you can contact Stephanie on 01875 824 298 or email Stephanie.Malcolm@horseandoutdoor.co.uk. Tickets for the event cost £5 of which £4 will go to the Sick Kids Friends Foundation. For anyone unsure of the exact location, there’s a handy map on the Horse & Outdoor website.

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