Minutes of meeting of 12thJune 2007
in Council Chambers
Minutes of meeting of 12th June 2007 at Council Chambers
Minutes of meeting of 8th May 2007 at Council Chambers
Minutes of meeting of 10th April 2007 at Council Chambers
Minutes of meeting of 13th March 2007 at Council Chambers
Minutes of meeting of 13th February 2007 at Council Chambers
Minutes of meeting of
9th January 2007 at Council Chambers Jan Wilson (Chair), John Golightly (Vice Chair), Emily
Armatage (Treasurer), Irene Pow (Corr Secretary), Norman Lawrie, Effie Renton, Marianne Andrews, Colvin
Denholm, Janet Brent, David Motherwell, David McManus Cllr Tom Trotter, Cllr Sheena Richardson (arr. 8.15pm), Kirsty
Gibbons (Courier), Craig Finlay East Lothian News, Anna Faulkner (minute secretary) 3. Major Items for
AOCB – Website and Handbook 4.
Minutes of Tuesday 8h May 4.1 Item 3.0
Minor grammatical errors were corrected – ‘to’was removed in the second
sentence and ‘meeting’ should read ‘meetings’ in the last sentence. 4.2 Item
18.Outstanding matters: 08/05
Should read Japanese knot weed. Approval of the
minutes was proposed by John and seconded by Marianne. 5. Matters Arising 5.1 Item 5.3
Outstanding cheques: Jan confirmed
that all the cheques for the Handbook have now been cashed. 5.2 Item 5.4 Old
BowlingGreen plaque: Nothing has really progressed re the replacement of the plaque as
yet. Effie said that she has spoken to
Sheena about it and Norman has contacted Ray Halliday – with no reply as
yet. Sheena has suggested a plaque
bearing both names – this to be followed up. Action
SR/NL/ER 5.3 Item 7.7 Calders Lawn: Irene received a call from the Manager of Tesco to
whom we had written regarding the parking of lorries in Calders Lawn. He said he would try to do something to
rectify the problem. Jan said that we
should keep an eye on this situation. 5.4 Item 9.3 Cheque for
Hopscotch: This has still not been
cashed. 5.5 Item 10.5 Library: Some upgrade of the outside
area is evident already (and all agreed that it looked good) and it was agreed
to donate £200 to help towards further regeneration of the library entrance. Action
EA 6. CC Vacancies 6.1 Three applications have been
received (for two available spaces). It
was agreed that Irene write to invite them to our next full meeting in
September. Action IP 7. Councillors Corner 7.1 Public Toilets: Effie said that there are two cubicles in the Neilson Park Road toilets
not operational and this has been the case since Christmas - apparently they
are in need of new water tanks. Also,
the caretakers office was supposed to be fitted with a one-way mirror for
safety reasons – this has not been done as yet. Action TT/SR 7.2 Entrance to Knox Academy: Large
potholes are evident in the road way leading into the Knox. Action TT/SR 7.3 Waterside Bistro: Effie said
that the area outside the Bistro is looking pretty messy with rubbish bags,
cigarette ends etc. Also the garden
attached is looking terrible. Norman
said that the onus is on the owners to look after the exterior of the
restaurant but that the Council can enforce if necessary. Action
SR/TT 7.4 Rugby Club: The Rugby Club are looking for financial
assistance to upgrade the facility, this to include increasing the slabbed area
in the front. They would also like to be
able to fence off the pitch area during the playing season. It was thought that this may not be possible
as it is a public park and it was also thought that it would be something else
to be prey for vandalism. The Club
thought that this may prevent dog fouling on the pitch – although it was
thought doubtful that this would be very effective. It was also mentioned that there was a lot of oil and diesel left
after the Fun Day, as well as bottles, litter and dog food. Jan said that she tells the fair rides that
they must clear up after themselves and they always assure her that they
will. Jan will make a point of telling
them again for next year. Tom asked for
a copy of the letter from the Rugby Club. Action
TT 7.5 Nungate Bridge: David Motherwell pointed out
that this is in need of an overhaul. Action SR/TT 7.6 East Garleton/Athelstaneford: Emily said
that the road between these two places is very untidy – the grass doesn’t seem
to get cut here and is in need of some attention. Action SR/TT 7.7 Access at Goodals Place: Norman said
that there were supposed to have been road markings across the entrance to
Goodals Place to prevent parking and allow access for residents. This has not been done as yet Action SR/TT 7.8 Estate Agents signs: Colvin
pointed out that there was a sign about 20 feet up in Whittinghame Drive for a
property in Tyne Court. Action
SR/TT 7.9 West Road:
John said that the hedges on
the south side of the road need to be cut back as they are causing an
obstruction to pedestrians. Action
TT/SR 7.10 Roundabout at Oaktree Café: Jan
said that there were a lot of crates, posts etc dumped around the site and as
usual this makes the entrance to the town very unattractive. Action TT/SR 7.11 Stevenson Bridge (White Brig): Slats
missing - Tom has passed this on to the relevant department. 7.12 Pathway beside sluice: Tom had also
looked into this after the previous meeting and questions were raised as to the
safety of putting up fencing along the lade – it was thought that this would
perhaps encourage kids to climb over it. 7.13 Knot weed:
Tom has passed a letter regarding this on to Norman. 7.14 Nungate and Abbey Bridge: Tom wasn’t
sure about the lights on the Nungate Bridge and although he wasn’t sure who was
responsible for the broken mirror at the Abbey Bridge, he was looking into it. Action TT 8. Police Questions
8.1 Boyracers: Once again they are using the old Kwik Save car park
for a race ground. PC Hamilton said
that a number of youths have had their cars taken off them, which you would
think would deter them from re-offending. 8.2 Newton Port: A letter from Haddington Remembered Group has been received
regarding the danger posed by speeding
cars in Newton Port [Norman would like a
copy of this – Irene will do]. Jan said that the CC have been bringing this
up at meetings for years (she thought at least 10) and also submitted possible
sites for a pedestrian crossing – all to no avail. PC Hamilton said that they cannot do anything about speeding
cars – they and the traffic wardens can monitor the situation but cannot issue
fines – this can only be undertaken by the traffic division. The same problems were highlighted by Emily
and John along the West Road. Effie
also reiterated about the volume and speed of cars in Meadowpark and
Rosehall. 9. Treasurer’s Report 9.1 Emily
handed out the current balance sheet:- HADDINGTON & DISTRICT COMMUNITY COUNCIL A/C as at 12th
June 2007 Last months balance £369.17 Income Expenditure Interest £0.57 Jan’s
Phone exp March £28.00 Transfer from Festival A/C £1,000 Emily’s
Phone exp £28.00 Secretary’s
fee (Anna) £50.00 Auditors
fee £275.00 Total £1,369.74 £381.00 New balance £1,369.74-
£381.00 = £988.74 HADDINGTON
COMMUNITY COUNCIL FESTIVAL A/C as at 12th June 2007 Last months balance £12,434.85 Income Expenditure Interest £18.57 Transfer to CC A/C £1,000 Income from Handbook
advert £100.00 Key cutting; Info Centre £49.50 Jan
Macro; Info Centre £43.15 Float for Festival office £100.00 Watsons; Items for Fest Office £36.86 Tax £3.71 Total £12,553.42 £1,233.22 New balance should be £12,553.42
- £1,233.22 = £11,320.20 9.2 Yearly Accounts:
Emily said that it should have
been minuted in the May minutes that the audited accounts were to be brought to
this meeting for formal adoption. As members had not brought their copies of
the accounts it was decided to hold this over to the September meeting. Action EA 9.3 Emily
said that all the money from the Festival has now been banked. 10. Correspondence Received: 10.1 Reply
from Paul Zochowski (unable to attend our June 26th meeting) 10.2 Notice
of Cabinet meeting ELC 10.3 Newsletter
on new allocations method for council houses (New policy starts 2nd July) 10.4 Request
for financial support for ‘Festival of Flowers’ at St Mary’s Church in August –
it was agreed that we donate £80 towards
this Action EA 10.5 Copy of
Common Good Funds & Trusts relating to Haddington from Mr Alex McCrorie – Jan, Emily and Irene all have copies of
this. Emily said that she would photocopy
some more and send out to all. Action EA 10.6 Notice
of Assoc. of East Lothian Community Councils AGM tomorrow (13th) at
7.30pm in John Muir House when Councillors David Berry and Stuart Currie
(leader and depute leader) will address the meeting – Emily will attend 10.7 Letter
from Haddington Remembered Group re Traffic in Newton Port 10.8 Three
applications to join the Community Council (Kathryn McDowall, Fiona-Frances
Adam and Nico de Freitas 10.9 Phone
call from Manager of Tesco re lorries parking in Calders Lawn 10.10 Thank
you letter received from Hopscotch 10.11 Jan
received letter from Sainsbury’s with details of an exhibition to be held in
the Maitlandfield Hotel and Trinity Centre with their proposals for the Oak
Tree Café site. It is anticipated that
a planning application will be made to ELC in late summer/autumn this
year. Sent out: 10.12 Letters
of thanks to Ann McCarthy and Charles Ingle for their support over the years 11. Planning
Applications – Norman passed out copies of his report 11.1 Looks Hair Design: A letter has also been received from one of the
partners of the business saying that they felt it was completely unjust that
their application (retrospective) was being declined due to the colour, when a
number of others businesses in the town do not seem to have adhered to the
colours as suggested by the planners.
Baguette Express and Cancer Research were two such premises. Some discussion ensued around this subject
and Sheena suggested that we request that the planning officers visit all the
businesses in the town to suggest that they follow the guidelines as laid
down. Jan also suggested that a notice
could be sent to all the businesses informing them that planning permission had
to be sought for shop fronts. Norman
said he would prefer to write directly to the owner of Looks but would try
to get the full picture before taking any further action. The results of his research would be brought
to the next Festival meeting. Action NL 12. Local Priorities 12.1 Jan
reported that the Local Priorities and Capital Improvement Grants had been cut
drastically. She wondered if there was
any way that the £100,000 being held by the council could be allocated directly
to community councils. Sheena said it
was her understanding that when budgets were presented the CC’s were going to
see an increase in their allocations – although this has not been the
case. She said that they are working on
it and to bear with them! 13. Festival
Update 13.1 Jan
said that this years’ Festival went very well although there was a
disappointing turn out for the play.
One problem though was the length of time everyone had to spend manning
the Festival office. Jan said that if
the Festival was going to run for a full two weeks next year that more help
would be needed. Norman asked if we
were committed to running for two weeks? – this to be discussed further at the
next Festival meeting. 14. Tourism 14.1
Doocot: Effie said that we should
be recording our 600th visitor this week, which was great news. She thanked all those who had helped,
especially Davie Motherwell, who has put in a lot of hours. She is still having major problems finding
enough volunteers to man the centre.
John suggested that we would not be able to sustain this unless more
people step forward to help. A meeting
is being held in the Maitlandfield for volunteers on Friday at 7pm where the
provision of games etc and rotas will be discussed. 14.2 Effie also
had a meeting with Nico de Freitas who suggested holding fortnightly meetings
with himself and the Tourism committee.
14.3 Leaflets: Effie said that John McMillan would like
some of our leaflets – Jan said that she still didn’t have them. Irene to write a letter to Alan Meadows
saying that we need them by 3rd July. Also, the Pipeband are going to Aubigny and would like to take
some of the leaflets to promote the town. Action IP 14.4 River Tyne: The promised clean up has still not been
done by ELC. David Elder of the ELAA
have said that they are going to have a clean up session on the river in July. 15. AOCB 15.1
Website: Simon Boak has been to see
Jan and he seems quite keen to totally revamp the website. 15.2 Handbook: Jan asked if everyone could finish their
allocated pages and get any changes back to her before end June. Marianne and Irene will be getting adverts
for it. 16. Date of next Meeting: Tuesday 11th September 2007
in Council Chambers, Town House at 7.00pm. 17. Date of next Festival Meeting: Tuesday 22nd
May 2007 in Town House at 7.00pm 18. Outstanding
Matters Arising from previous minutes 2006 14/03 Athelstaneford (Lighting
outside hall) Burley’s Wa’s – 12/06 it was reported that the insurance
company has insisted that the area around the George Hotel be boarded up in
light of a recent incident relating to a fire extinguisher being let off Newton
Port surgery car park 12/04 Old Bowling Green – name plaque 09/06 Town
House Clock tower lighting – Jan has
contacted Halliday’s on numerous occasions and the lighting has still to be
sorted. 13/2 Jan has had no reply to
her email and Irene had no reply to a letter she sent to them last Autumn. It was decided that Irene should write
again. 08/05 and 12/06 Still no reply Action IP Potholes at Florabank – Ann believed this to be sorted but Norman
pointed out that further potholes are present just round in Templedean Action AMcC Fencing at Oak Tree Café 13/06 Hopetoun Drive – speed bumps: a request has been made to have a speed
check carried out here 12/09 Broken kerb at Coop 10/10 Uneven slabs at Graeme McGraths 14/11 Mill Wynd/Millfield - fencing Mill
Wynd/West Mills – pathway Dunbar
Road – pavement a mess 12/12 Lights out: skateboard ramps 2007 09/01 Long Stay parking-disabled parking bays 13/02 Footbridge at Riverside
Drive Lighting
– Sidegate and Mackays St
Ann’s Place – large puddle Town
Taxis -parking Herdmanflat
– broken slabs/tree roots 13/03 Nungate Bridge – light filters Abbey
Bridge – broken mirror Ball Alley – lights 10/04 Estate Agents signs Abbotsview/Riverside
Drive – wall/broken slabs Athelstaneford
– toilets: 12/06 Tom Trotter was aware
of the situation and will chase it up Action
TT Newton
Port/Market St junction – broken sign in pavement Guttering
– High Street Courier
Office – exposed pipe in pavement Peter
Potters – broken drain 08/05 White brig – slats missing-Tom has passed
this on to relevant department (12/06) Pathway
at sluice Japanese
knot weed Herdmanflat 12/06 Public toilets-one-way mirror Potholes
– Knox Waterside
Bistro-litter lying about Rugby
Club-upgrading & fencing off pitch Nungate
Bridge-needing overhaul East
Garleton/Athelstaneford-roadside verges require cutting Goodals
Place-road markings Estate
Agents Signs-require removing West
Road-hedges require cutting Oak
Tree Café-untidy-needing cleared
1. Sederunt
In attendance
2. Apologies: Graeme MacGregor, Cllr L Broun-Lindsay