glenkinchie – Pencaitland Community

Pencaitland’s 2014 Litter Pick starts 2pm on 11th May

As with previous years the action kicks off from 2pm in Pencaitland’s Trevelyan Hall. Groups or families turning up will be given litter pickers and bags before heading off to various parts of, not only Pencaitland, but hopefully some of the other areas covered by the Community Council. We’re particularly keen to have groups or families who want to cover Glenkinchie or New Winton this year.

Pencaitland’s regular community Litter Pick is set to take place on Sunday the 11th May from 2pm.

As with previous years the action kicks off from 2pm in Pencaitland’s Trevelyan Hall. Groups or families turning up will be given litter pickers and bags before heading off to various parts of, not only Pencaitland, but hopefully some of the other areas covered by the Community Council. We’re particularly keen to have groups or families who want to cover Glenkinchie or New Winton this year.

This year's free prize draw, open to all under-16s taking part in the Litter Pick, is a Samsung ST72 16MP camera with 8GB card included. — This year’s free prize draw, open to all under-16s taking part in the Litter Pick, is a Samsung ST72 16MP camera with 8GB card included.

Then, once your area has been covered, pop on back to Trevelyan Hall with your haul of flotsam and jetsam where there will be refreshments and the opportunity for anyone under 16 to participate in our free Prize Draw for a fabulous compact Digital Camera. This year it’s a Samsung ST72 digital camera and it comes with an 8GB memory card so you’re ready to go.

For 2014’s Litter Pick we are working with Clean Up Scotland, part of the charity Keep Scotland Beautiful. We’ll also be handing out tabards to make everyone stand out as they seek out the oddest item of rubbish.

Last year we had a great selection of litter oddities including a truck mud guard, four car hubs, signs, clothes, shoes and many many cans, bottles and crisp packets. Let’s see if we can find even more unusual stuff this time round.

At the 2013 event more than 50 people came along and helped make the Litter Pick a great success. This year we want to beat 2013’s numbers, so make a date in your diary and come help make your community a place we can all be proud of…

Bring your Camera

If you have a camera please grab some photos during your Litter Pick and email them to us at website@pencaitland.org where we will then feature them on the website.

Some snaps from last year’s event

Call for local groups to seek help from Pencaitland Community Council

Each year Pencaitland Community Council seeks to give financial aid towards the work of local groups. If you run, or know those running, a local community group read on to find out how to apply.

Each year Pencaitland Community Council seeks to give financial help towards the work of local groups. If you run, or know those running, a local community organisation read on to find out how to apply.

Pencaitland Scouts were just one of eight local community groups to benefit from Community Council support in 2013.

Each year Pencaitland’s Community Council seeks to make available funds to help support the efforts of local groups working for and with members, young and old, of the local community around Pencaitland, New Winton and Glenkinchie. Typically these are only small sums of money as the Community Council itself receives very limited funding support from East Lothian Council.

Last year the Community Council was able to award between £100 and £200 to eight different groups active in the area. Examples of past support include funds to New Winton and Boggs Holdings for maintenance of local community halls, cash towards books for Pencaitland Parish Church, money to assist the local Rainbows Pack and many other beneficiaries over the years.

If you work with a local group in the community, to be considered for funding support we ask for the following:

What does your group do in the community?
How much do you require?
What will the funds you are seeking be used for?

Whilst we cannot guarantee that the Community Council will be able to meet funding requests, we will do our best to allocate what we do have as fairly as possible.

How to Apply

The Community Council will consider all requests it receives before the 15th of February. Please email your funding request to chair@pencaitland.org or, if you would like to discuss it first you can contact any of the Community Council members or call the Chair Ralph Averbuch on 01875 340 641.

Pencaitland Litter Pick 2013 Countdown: Day 2 — What cost litter?

Did you know that local authorities spend £100 million every year cleaning up after us? Every bit of litter not put in a bin is a cost to everyone.

Did you know that local authorities spend £100 million every year cleaning up after us? Every bit of litter not put in a bin is a cost to everyone.

Just turn up at 2pm to Trevelyan Hall, get your raffle ticket, bag & a picker & you're ready to roll... Click the photo above for full details. — Just turn up at 2pm to Trevelyan Hall, get your raffle ticket, bag & a picker & you’re ready to roll… Click the photo above for full details.

You might not think it when you see it but there are financial consequences to litter. Tourism is worth over £4bn a year to Scotland with over 90% of tourists citing scenery as the main reason for their visit – every tourist who won’t come back because of litter and mess basically costs us all money. We get our own share of tourists in this part of the world taking part in the whisky trail to Glenkinchie.

Householders and land owners spend huge sums clearing mess from their own properties. And local authorities spend £100m of your money on street cleansing every year.

But small actions can make a big difference, and save us millions. Concern about this goes right to the top of Government. Richard Lochhead, Cabinet Secretary for the Environment and Rural Affairs, says, “action must be taken now against Scotland’s litter problem. It is a poor advertisement for our country, which should instead be recognised for its clean air and unspoilt landscapes.” Together we can make a difference.

Come to your Litter Pick

As with past years the Litter Pick action kicks off from 2pm in Pencaitland’s Trevelyan Hall. Groups or families turning up will be given litter pickers and bags before heading off to various parts of, not only Pencaitland, but hopefully some of the other areas covered by the Community Council.

Why a Litter Pick?

Scotland has a litter problem. Take a look the next time you walk outside and you’ll be hard pushed to miss it. Cigarette butts, takeaway wrappers, crisp bags, cans and cartons, newspapers, ATM slips, chewing gum. You name it, and it’s on our streets and motorways, in our parks and our lochs, up our mountains, on our beaches and on your doorstep!

Our local Council does a pretty good job keeping on top of the bulk of our rubbish but the fact is that if we want to live in an attractive village it’s down to all of us to keep it that way. We can’t always rely on someone else to come along and clean up the mess for us. If each of us picks up just one item of rubbish blowing around our streets each day, it will help keep on top of a perennial problem.

Pencaitland Litter Pick 2013 Countdown: Day 3 — Dog Fouling

We are fortunate in Pencaitland in generally having responsible pet owners who clear up after their dogs, meaning that dog fouling is an occasional issue.

We are fortunate in Pencaitland in generally having responsible pet owners who clear up after their dogs.

Clean Up Scotland & the Dogs Trust work together to promote Poop Scoop Week later this year.

However, sometimes doggy deposits do make it onto our local pavements and paths. Owners can get free poop scoop bags from the local Post Office and then pop it into one of the public bins.

It’s a dog’s life

There are between 6.5 and 7.4 million dogs in the UK, producing a hard-to-believe 1,000 tonnes of poo per day. It has been estimated that, in a ten year life span, the average dog produces a half tonne of waste!

In recent research into public attitudes to littering carried out by Keep Scotland Beautiful, 69 percent of people rated dog fouling as the item on our streets, parks and beaches that bothered them most, with 13 percent of the people blaming dog owners for the problem.

The Dog Fouling (Scotland) Act 2003 came into force in 2003 which empowers police officers and authorised local authority officers to issue fixed penalty notices. A Fixed Penalty Fine for not picking up after a dog starts at £40, rising to £60. If the fine is not paid, owners can be convicted and end up paying up to £500. Probably not worth it for the cost of a free poop scoop bag from the Post Office!

The Dogs Trust and Keep Scotland Beautiful jointly promote National Poop Scoop Week throughout Scotland each summer.

As ever, East Lothian Council has its own small team of Dog Wardens with plenty of information to be found here.

Come to your Litter Pick

Why a Litter Pick?

Pencaitland’s 2013 Litter Pick set for 21st April from 2pm

Pencaitland’s regular community Litter Pick is set to take place Sunday the 21st of April from 2pm. Come along, enjoy refreshments & win a digital camera.

Pencaitland’s regular community Litter Pick is set to take place on Sunday the 21st of April from 2pm.

Pencaitland's Litter Pick-up 2012 — Click the photo to see snaps from last year’s event.

As with past years the action kicks off from 2pm in Pencaitland’s Trevelyan Hall. Groups or families turning up will be given litter pickers and bags before heading off to various parts of, not only Pencaitland, but hopefully some of the other areas covered by the Community Council. We’re particularly keen to have groups or families who want to cover Glenkinchie or New Winton this year.

Then, once your area has been covered, pop on back to Trevelyan Hall with your haul of flotsam and jetsam where there will be refreshments and the opportunity for anyone under 16 to participate in our free Prize Draw for a fabulous compact Digital Camera. This year it’s a Nikon L25 and it comes with a memory card and case too.

For 2013’s Litter Pick we are working with Clean Up Scotland, part of the charity Keep Scotland Beautiful. With the nearest Greggs’ support, Clean Up Scotland will be providing goodies for all those taking part. We’ll also be handing out bright yellow tabards to make everyone stand out as they seek out the strangest item of rubbish.

This year's free prize draw, open to all under-16s taking part in the Litter Pick, is a Nikon L25 with memory card and case. — This year’s free prize draw, open to all under-16s taking part in the Litter Pick, is a Nikon L25 with memory card and case.

Last year we had a great selection including a rugby ball, a car bonnet and the Spar’s old shop sign blown away in a storm. Let’s see if we can find even more unusual stuff this time round.

At the 2012 event more than 50 people came along and helped make the Litter Pick a great success. This year we want to beat 2012’s numbers, so make a date in your diary and come make your community a place you can be proud of…

Bring your Camera

If you have a camera please grab some photos during your Litter Pick and email them to us at website@pencaitland.org where we will then feature them on the website.

Pencaitland Community falls short of full Council – Seeks new Reps

Pencaitland Community Council needs representatives for Peastonbank/Glenkinchie, New Winton, Boggs Holdings, Fountainhall and more. Could that be you?

A recent letter in the East Lothian Courier laments the lack of locals stepping up to look out for their local area. Click to read. — 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.

Pencaitland Community seeks council secretary

Pencaitland Community Council is seeking a person to take on the role of Community Council Secretary. The post includes a regular financial allowance.

Nicky Neighbour steps down after many years, as both a Community Councillor and in the last year as Secretary, on the 4th of October.

Pencaitland Community Council, which covers Boggs Holdings, New Winton and Peastonbank/Glenkinchie, is seeking a person to take on the role of Community Council Secretary. The post includes a modest financial allowance.

Pencaitland Community Council represents the local community, seeking to liaise with other local bodies and East Lothian Council. This includes ten Community Council meetings a year which usually take place on the last Wednesday evening of the month.

The role involves minuting the Community Council’s ten meetings and managing and re-distributing correspondence. This is increasingly delivered via email. You can see a recent example of the Community Council’s minutes here.

In the last year the Community Council has made much greater use of the web and social media to update the local population of news and events. As well as this website, the Community Council can be found on both Facebook and Twitter. Whilst not part of the post, training will be given to any Secretary interested in this area.

If you would like to know more about what’s involved please contact the current Secretary Nicky Neighbour. Nicky steps down on the 4th of October but would be delighted to tell those interested in the post about what’s involved. She can be contacted on 01875 340 115 or by emailing secretary@pencaitland.org.

Thanks

And finally, we’d like to say a big thank you to Nicky for her many years of involvement both as a community council member and, in the last year, as our Secretary. She will be sorely missed.

Pencaitland Community Council

Check out the new Pencaitland Parents page

There’s a new Facebook page especially for mums, dads and extended friends and family living in or near Pencaitland and other nearby communities of Boggs Holdings, New Winton and Peastonbank/Glenkinchie.

Pencaitland Parents on Facebook - click to check it out

Called Pencaitland Parents it’s hoped that over time it will become a useful message board for parents with kids of all ages to share information on both school and non-school events and activities in and around the village and other communities in the immediate area.

Of course, not everyone likes (excuse the pun) using Facebook. For those not so keen on it, we recommend following Pencaitland Parent Council on Twitter.

Pencaitland Community Council