Minutes of Meeting of
East Lammermuir Community Council
held on Tuesday 2 October, 2012 in
Stenton Village Hall at 7.30pm.
Present: Cllrs D Charlton/J Hanvidge/C Bruce (Chair)/P Armstrong/M Ramsay/
B Wyllie
Apologies: Cllr P Swain
In attendance: Cllr M Veitch/Cllr N Hampshire (part of the time)/ PC K Hughes/ELC Chief Executive Angela Leitch (part of the time)/ P Jaffray
2:00 Approval of Minutes of Meeting held on 21 August, 2012: The minutes were approved subject to the following amendment:
Viridor Liaison: Cllr Charlton reported that four and half megawatts energy being fed in to Lafarge from methane gas.
3:00 Any other business to be added to agenda: None
4:00 Police Business: PC Hughes advised there had been few calls of note since the last meeting however PC Gavin Ross (Wildlife officer) has since the last meeting carried out a number of joint agency checks in the Torness area in relation to the large scale catching of undersize sea bass. No offences were detected although a number of fisherman were spoken to and advice given.
Attention has been given to the Innerwick churchyard areas due to recent complaints. No persons’ have been seen and no further complaints received.
Attention has been given to the Innerwick churchyard areas due to recent complaints. No persons’ have been seen and no further complaints received.
On the 23 an incident occurred which involved a stolen motorbike. Eventually the incident came to a conclusion in the Monynut area. Enquiry is ongoing into this in relation to a number of road traffic offences and potentially stolen motorbikes.
This month Community and Police Partnership agreed priorities are as follows:
Road Traffic General – Target those using mobile phones while driving in East Linton.
Continue speed checks on approach roads in to all towns. Education and enforcement regarding bike lights
Environmental Issues – Underage drinking and associated Anti Social Behaviour in John Muir Country Park, Lochend Woods, East Beach, Deer Park, Innerwick Cemetery and East Linton Park
Road Traffic other: Continued monitoring of zebra crossings at Westport and High Street, Dunbar in response to complaints
All are welcome to the CAPP meeting, which is an open format and held within Dunbar Police Station on Wednesday 24 October 2012.
ELCC advised speeding in Stenton was still of concern and it would help if residents could take a note of registration numbers, time dates etc as this would assist in targeting persistent culprits. Would it be possible to have rumble strips put in place?
Speeding in Innerwick was also of concern and to date Innerwick had not had the speed reactors put in place. Cllr M Veitch would speak with ELC officer Colin Baird to ascertain the timetable for the rotation of the speed rectors.
Introduction of guest:
Chief Executive Angela Leitch joined the meeting at this point. ELCC Chair, Chris Bruce explained the set up of ELCC and the diverse nature of the county, range of employment and age of residents living in this area. Introductions of those present were made and AL went on to explain she was currently arranging to meet with the volunteers who give their time freely to the community and how ELC can work more effectively with Community Councils. She was aware of the need to improve the quality of consultation and to identify some of the key strategies which impact on the community. The new administration had put a great deal of time and effort into identifying new priorities as part of the East Lothian Plan. A prevention agenda was being looked at to help more vulnerable people and stressed that the growth and success of East Lothian relies heavily on sustaining vibrant communities.
ELC need to do more to help local business grow/expand and for youth unemployment to be more effectively targeted to help secure a productive county.
There are huge changes in Public Sector reform and challenges in bring together various public sector priorities due to the Public Sector finances not growing. ELC are working on a flat cash budget, with a restricted income and they must work with communities to ensure a positive outcome.
Members of the meeting outlined a number of concerns to AL. The small villages which make up ELCC and other small villages in the county are very much on their own. For example in Stenton, mobile phone coverage is very limited, which means those on duty as First Responders, must remain within their homes in order to be able to be contacted. Mobile phone coverage in both Innerwick and Spott was intermittent and whilst there was upgrading to telephone exchanges in Haddington and Dunbar, which brought a more efficient broadband signal, those using a mobile phone in outlying villages did not receive a good reception. Concern regarding the lack of upgrade to the Cockburnspath exchange which serves Oldhamstocks was also raised.
Education in smaller villages, as currently being experienced by Innerwick Parent Association, was of real concern. Village schools are at the core of all villages and for nursery places to be restricted was to the detriment of sustaining villages and village life.
The care and support of older people was also of concern. Currently ELC Care Providers are not aways able to supply care in the community for residents in outlying villages and local people are stepping in to breach this gap. AL was particularly interested to learn how residents in Oldhamstocks/Innerwick have united to provide this service to those who are faced with this difficult situation.
Angela Leitch and Cllr Norman Hampshire left the meeting at this point.
5:00 Treasurer’s Report:
The balance stands as of the end of August, 2012 – £1,136.05.
6:00 Matters Arising (Previous)
Windfarm Applications: The refusal for siting wind turbines at Fernylea has been overturned and it is expected work will commence in the near future.
A1 Junctions: The presentation by Transport Scotland was well received and a number of concerns/ideas discussed. Dialogue will continue regarding A1 junction improvements, which are the responsibility of Transport Scotland.
Morag Haddow of Sustaining Dunbar has met with ELC Nick Morgan re the improved access for cyclist/walkers from Innerwick to Dunbar. ELC considered the proposal to promote two link footpath/cycleways near the A1 from the north end of Thurston Manor to the Pinkertons and from Pinkertons to Brandsmill. The meeting fully supported this proposal.
Belhaven Hospital: Disappointment was expressed at the closure of the Minor Injuries Service, which had not been heavily utilised, due to the fact very few residents knew of its existence. At the recent Belhaven Forum it was raised by Cllr Hanvidge that it would be useful if a leaflet could be produced advising on the NHS out of hours facilities available to East Lothian residents and the procedure they should follow to ensure they get the proper service available to them.
Lafarge: Will be celebrating their 50th anniversary in 2013 and to mark this occasion is looking at investing in projects for the community. The shared used of the North West Quarry is still of concern but Lafarge do prefer the RSPB option. Date of next meeting 7 November, 2012. Full minutes of the meeting held on 22 August, 2012 were circulated to ELCC.
Torness: No response re the community projects has been received. BW advised her husband was attending a meeting Torness on 4 October and would raise this matter. This he duly did and Torness would follow up and advise ELCC as soon as possible.
Community Councillors’ Elections: The appointment of new ELCC would take place on Thursday 4 October at which Cllr N Hampshire would chair the meeting. DC was very disappointed no one had come forward to represent Innerwick and with the retirement of Cllr Peter Swain a new person was required to take on the responsibility of ELCC website and newsletter. With DC retirement a new person was required to take on the responsibility of planning issues.
CB took this opportunity to thank all ELCC for their hard work, support and commitment and to those standing down he wished them every success for the future.
7:00 Councillors’ Reports: Action:
Innerwick: The hedgerow at the end of Kirk Brae requires cutting back and the designated pathway, which is no longer the responsibility of ELC, also required attention. MV would look into both matters and advice costs on the pathway maintenance. MV
The Post Office have apologised for not providing a service in the village for the last two weeks and it was also noted at tonight’s meeting a noted was pinned to Stenton village hall door apologising for the lack of postal services. It was unsure when the Post Office would be resuming their service.
Spott: MV advised the damaged Spott boundary wall, part of which is on land owned by ELC, has been reported and will be examined.
Oldhamstocks: Kerbing would be put in place as specified during October. Many pot holes have been repaired, however more pot holes in and around Oldhamstocks were of concern. Cllr Hanvidge requested that ELC advise the community or at least the Community Council when the work was due to take place so that residents could be prepared. MV
8:00 Correspondence: None
9:00 Date of Next Meeting: Tuesday 27 November 2012 at 7.30 p.m. at
Innerwick Village Hall – Janice Hanvidge to book hall
The meeting closed at this point and Councillors’ then went on to discuss Crystal Rig funding applications.