Mayfield & Easthouses Community Council
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MAYFIELD & EASTHOUSES COMMUNITY COUNCIL MINUTES Wednesday 1st May 2013 McSence Business Park Attendance: Michael Hogg (Vice Chairman), Sandra Halliday (Treasurer), Nicki McManus (Secretary), George Smith, Jose Kerr, Carol Kerr, Dan Burt, Judy Thomson, Douglas Thomson, Kevin Quinn (Midlothian Advertiser) Peter De Vink (Councillor), Walter Mackie, Lorna Clarkson, Peter Traynor Apologies : Robert Hogg (Chairman), Theresa Hogg, George Jackson, Margaret Jackson, Lisa Beattie (Councillor), Minutes of Previous Meeting The following amendments should be made to the minute of 3rd April 2013: Removal of the word “Councillor” from Colin Beattie’s title. Any reference to Lothian & Borders police should be replaced with Police Scotland. With these amendments the minute was approved by George Smith and seconded by Dan Burt. Matters Arising There is nothing which arose from the last Minute that will not be covered during the Meeting. As the Chairman was unable to attend the meeting, the Vice-Chair, Michael Hogg stepped in as Chairman for the duration of the meeting. Local Planning & Development New Community High School It was noted that the public consultation meetings regarding the new Community High School have now concluded with the last meeting being held at Lawfield Primary School, Mayfield on the 25 th April 2013. Members of the Community Council who attended this meeting were disappointed at the turn out from the residents of the Mayfield & Easthouses area. Speculation around the poor turn out included: • Given the location of the new Community High School, the Mayfield & Easthouses is the area most likely to benefit from these facilities • The meeting was the final meeting in a series of consultation meetings and the issues had already been raised at previous meetings. • Residents were disheartened following previous consultation exercises with Midlothian Council eg closure of Langlaw & Bryans Primary Schools. What was identified at the meeting was that Midlothian Council were now considering a 4 th Scenario which is building a new high school/community hub and the closing all current community buildings but working in partnership with the local people to allow the delivery of services ie exploring the creation of Community Trusts. Peter Traynor at this point introduced himself as the Chair for the Mayfield Library User Group and urged the Community Council to support the retention of Mayfield Library. He went on to explain that the new school would have no effect on secondary education in the area but the removal of the local library would have a negative impact on the communities accessibility to life long learning. He explained that following discussions with Midlothian Council there is no intention in the next 5- 10 years to replace the existing Primary Schools which are joined by the current library and the User Group would like to explore the idea of retaining the Library as a Community Trust, with the support/backing of the Community Council. Sandra Halliday, who is also on the board for the Mayfield & Easthouses Development Trust (MAEDT) advised Mr Taynor that it can be very difficult to get the backing from the Community and/or obtaining grant funding. However if MAEDT were to consider putting a bid in for any of the buildings then it would more likely be the Leisure Centre as opposed to the Library premises. Councillor De Vink advised that as yet no decisions had been made, however the public consultation period to date has been extremely useful. He advised that the Council must inform the Scottish Government of their final decision by the 26 th June 2013 and that the public should use the remainder of the consultation period to ensure that the Communities get what they want. Michael Hogg stated that as a Community Council we would not wish to see the closure of any fit for purpose buildings in the area which included the local library. Consultation/Correspondence Scotmid Graffiti Following a letter to the Chief Executive of Scotmid from the Community Council the unsightly Graffiti has now been removed from the side of the building. Free Social Media Training The Midlothian Voluntary Action group (MVA) in Dalkeith are running the following free Social Media classing: Introduction to Facebook Gorebridge Library 6 th May 5.45 – 8.15pm Loanhead Library 7 th May 5.45 – 8.15pm Introduction to Twitter Gorebridge Library 13 th May 5.45 – 8.15pm Loanhead Library 14 th May 5.45 – 8.15pm If anyone would like to book a place, then they must call the MVA on 0131 663 9471. Police Report No-one from Police Scotland was able to attend tonight’s meeting, however the police report from April was circulated for information. Under Additional Information there is reference to recent occasions where needles have been found within the community. Mr Mackay at this point introduced himself as one of the parents whose child had found a needle. He explained that when the syringe was reported to the Police, their response was that the safe removal of the syringe was not an urgent Police matter and that Midlothian Council should be informed of the discovery. Mr Mackay expressed his disgust at the handling of this situation, and felt that a used needle can be as dangerous as a loaded gun. He had hoped that a representative from Police Scotland would be attending tonight, to clarify the correct procedure/response required in these situations. Given that there were several instances in the local area, the Community Council enquired if perhaps this was a bigger issue than first appeared. The Community Council therefore requested that a representative from Police Scotland attends the next meeting to discuss this issue in more detail . Action: Police Scotland. Michael Hogg raised the issue again of the recovery vehicle in Bogwood Road which is parking on the grass verge and causing an obstruction to the public footpath. It was agreed that the Community Council would again seek clarification from the Police on what steps are being taken to stop this from occurring. Action: Police Scotland Treasurers Report The Treasurer confirmed that there was no change to last months report. There is currently £1,573.31 in the bank account. It was noted however that 2 cheques were pending. £1,250 for payment for the website development and associated training and £60 for the auditing of the year end accounts. Once these cheques were cleared there would be £263.31 in the bank account. It was acknowledged that the annual Midlothian Allocation cheque for 2013 was still to be received. This is usually received in August/September. Councillors Report Councillor Peter De Vink Councillor De Vink stated that along with the consultation on the new Community High School, he has been working with local landowners/farmers/building contractors etc of small/medium businesses to improve their accessibility to procurement opportunities. Jose Kerr stated that he had heard that a gas boiler had been stolen from a vacant Council house in the Pathhead area, however Midlothian Council had failed to report this to the police. As a tax payer he asked Councillor De Vink to investigate this incident with Midlothian Council. Action: Councillor De Vink Community Council Website/Social Networking Site The Secretary issued the Community Council with a summary sheet of what information the Website currently contains, including a link to the actual website and asked that the Community Council to take the opportunity to view the website prior to the demonstration at the June meeting. The link to the website is www.pfsmedia.net/mayfield Any suggestions on what should be included/ considered on the website, prior to the demonstration should be forwarded to the Secretary in the first instance. The Secretary also issued a list of potential Hosting sites, with the recommendation that Papa Host should be the chosen provider. At this point Judy Thomson advised that she works in the IT industry and volunteered to look at the potential Hosting Sites to ensure that we are getting value for money. It was agreed that the Community Council would wait until Mrs Thomson investigated this further. The findings are also to be reported to the Secretary in the first instance. Action: Judy Thomson Any Other Business It was noted that the Community Council sign in Easthouses Park displays the wrong venue for the Community Councils monthly meeting. The Community Council are to ensure that this is rectified as soon as possible. Action: The Community Council Michael Hogg reminded everyone that the local Galaday will be held on Saturday 1 st June 2013 and should anyone wish to volunteer at the event then they should contact either Robert Hogg or himself in the first instance. This is a true representation of the meeting. Date of Next Meeting The next meeting of the Mayfield & Easthouses Community Council will take place on Wednesday 5 June 2013, 7.00pm at McSence Business Park, Mayfield Community Report Mayfield & Easthouses DATE: 1 st May 2013 CRIME STATS During the month of March in the beat area of ME04, Mayfield there were 29 recorded crimes reported of which 25 have been solved, a rate of 86.2% solvency. In the beat area of ME03, Easthouses, 6 crimes were reported and 2 crimes solved, which is a 33.3% solvency rate. (At the time of writing Aprils crime statistics were not available) NOTEWORTHY REPORTED CRIMES During the early hours of 1 st April a 22 year old local male was arrested for causing a disturbance in Oak Place, he was held in custody to appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court, he was later charged with a vandalism committed at this same time but not reported until later. About 7pm on Saturday 6 th April, the police were in attendance at Mayfield Place, Mayfield when they observed two males causing damage to their police vehicle, after a short foot chase one male was caught by police, he was interviewed and later charged with the offence.