Draft
EAST LAMMERMUIR COMMUNITY COUNCIL
Minutes of Meeting of
East Lammermuir Community Council
held in Oldhamstocks Village Hall on
Tuesday 30 May, 2017
Present: Cllrs: Janice Hanvidge/Cris Thacker/Chris Bruce (Chair)/Anne
Lyall/Janette Macdonald
In attendance: Pauline Jaffray
1:00 Apologies: Barbara Wyllie/Donna Collins/Elisabeth Wilson
2:00 Approval of Minutes of Meeting held on 25 April, 2017: The minutes were approved as a true record by Cllr Macdonald and seconded by Cllr Bruce.
3:00 Any other business to be added to Agenda:
ELCC Broadband/telephone reception
Development Trust
4:00 Police Business: No report submitted. The next CAPP meeting is due to take place on Monday 5 June, 2017 at 7.30pm in Dunbar Police Station. Cllr Macdonald is unable to attend but will contact PC Gavin Ross with any items raised from tonight’s meeting.
5:00 Treasurer’s Report: The balance as of 30 May, 2017 stands at £963.91. Hall lets are still to be received.
6:00 Matter Arising (Previous) Action:
A1 Haddington – Cockburnspath area: Cllr BW has written to Police Scotland HQ in Fettes outlining our concerns and requesting a Freedom of Information report. As of 30 May, 2017 no response has been received.
Unbeknown to ELCC, Cockburnspath and Cove Community Council have also written to Scottish Transport Minister, Humza Yousaf, advising of the dangerous road conditions with regards to the Cockburnspath – Dunbar section of the A1 Expressway.
Development Trust: Cllr Bruce briefly recapped the history of the wind farm development.
When the first wind farm was constructed in 2005, ELCC received £12k for community benefit. As the project grew, ELCC signed a legal agreement with Fred Olsen for the management and disbursement of funds. The amount of community benefit funding is based on the installed capacity of £5k per generated megawatt. Fred Olsen operates the Crystal Rig Wind Farms of which CRI and CRII are operating and CRIII came on line in February/March 2017. CRIII funding is proportionally split with Garvald and Morham. East Lammermuir receives 85% and Garvald and Morham – 15%.
Aikengall Wind farm is owned and managed by Community Windpower Ltd who is based in Cheshire. They have three wind farms:
Aikengall I – ELCC received no funding
Aikengall II – Commenced in October 2016. No agreement has been reached
with regards to funding.
Aikengall III – Is currently being built.
If all agreements are reached and confirmed, ELCC could receive £200k per year for community benefit. Hence the ongoing consultation with regards to the best way to manage these funds.
Cllr Wilson had re-approached Gareth Morgan of Kubernesis Consultancy, a charity organisation with experience in setting up Development Trusts for a more detailed quote. This has been received, but with nothing to compare it against, ELCC agreed to obtain further comparisons. CB will contact the Development Trust Association for Scotland and Jason Ormiston for further advice. Cllr Hanvidge has spoken with Cockburnspath and Cove CC, who are still operating their funding along the lines of ELCC. PJ will contact QMU and a consultant she knows for advice and all information to be submitted and discussed at an extraordinary meeting. CB&PJ
Questions were asked by those present, whether a CDT was the best way forward. Had we considered forming a SCIO (Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation)? A lengthy debate followed and it was agreed we should hold a special meeting in Stenton on Wednesday 2 August at 7pm or Friday 4 August at 2pm. CT will contact all ELCC to find the most suitable date. CT
ELCC Liaison Meetings:
Cllr Lyall had attended the Area Partnership meeting on 30 May, 2017 which provided an update on projects and new funding proposals.
Belhaven Hospital Forum: The meeting organised for 6 June, 2017 was cancelled and no new date confirmed as of 30 May, 2017.
Broadband: Cllr Bruce has received further enquiries regarding the lack of and/or very poor service currently being provided. As our four villages are very different, it will be unlikely to find a common solution. CB commented it was feasible, that at some time in the future, funding may come from Crystal Rig. However, a great deal of work/research was required before hand. At present no one was available to undertake this project.
Lothian Broadband recently contacted Stenton and a link to a survey has been circulated to the local community to gauge interest in the Lothian Broadband fixed wireless system. The company have recently connected a business at Belton.
7:00 Councillors’ Reports:
Planning Applications: Details of planning applications are no longer being distributed to community councillors and it was now, the responsibility of CC to view all planning applications on ELC website. The only application of note at present was for the installation of a Bear sculpture near McDonalds – which was not receiving favourable comments. However, the date for representations to be made has now passed.
Spott: A resident of Spott had been shunted out of the Belhaven/Eweford junction on to the verge of the A1 Expressway. This is a very dangerous junction, with poor visibility. AL to contact ELC.
Innerwick: Speeding in the village is of concern, particularly from the A1 side up towards Kirk Brae and Manse View. Cllr Veitch was looking into the possibility of getting a solar powered light up speed sign, but Cllr Collins is unsure what the outcome is. JMcD would advise PR Gavin Ross.
Parking at Manse View – Cllr Collins attended a site meeting at Manse View in November with regards to parking. The suggestion of removing the grassy area to allow parking on it was discussed. At present cars are being parked all around, resulting in the area being blocked and no cars can get round or turned especially at night when everyone is home. Emergency vehicles have had problems of access. Cllr Collins has emailed several times for progress reports but to no avail. The last communication was in Feb 2017 when ELC were discussing the funding. Cllr Collins would chase up again.
Stenton: Jan Hillier, Stenton resident has commented on the poor state of the Spott and Thistlycross roundabouts (litter and weeds). Being on the main trunk road to Scotland’s capital city, she and a number of other residents feel they are not providing a good impression for tourists. Jan had raised this issue 10 years ago. Cllr MacD will forward to Michael Veitch’s replacement at ELC – Sue Kempson.
Newsletter: Cllr McD would commence on the summer Newsletter and all news items to be forwarded to JMcD within the next two weeks please. Cllrs Bruce & Hanvidge are to submit a brief biography for the next newsletter?
East Lothian Councillors’: ELCC were disappointed none of the newly appointed East Lothian Councillors’ had attended tonight’s meeting. It was agreed Cllr Bruce would email a note of all the issues we are experiencing in the East Lammermuir Ward. CB
8:00 Correspondence: East Lothian Day Centres have joined together and may be seeking an independent chair person.
9:00 Date of Next Meeting: 22 August, 2017 in Spott Village Hall