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 ( 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 .

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 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 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 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. A positive line of enquiry is on going to trace the other male.

Between 1pm and 7pm on Monday 8 th April 2013 the occupant of an address in Waverley Street, Mayfield discovered the theft of a handbag and a quantity of cash from her home. Enquiries are on going to trace the culprits.

Overnight between Monday 8 th and Tuesday 9 th April an outside storage container at Hughes Crescent, Mayfield had several items stolen from it, a hammer drill, battery drill, jig saw, an angle grinder and a childs BMX bike the total value of which is estimated at £300. Enquiries are on going to trace the culprits.

During the night of Tuesday 9 th April a vehicle parked in Westhouses Drive, Mayfield had was damaged, a substance causing the paint to peel was thrown onto the vehicle by persons not seen. The identity of the culprit is not known at this time.

On Thursday 11th April police were called to an address at Steele Avenue, Mayfield as a 32 year old local male, had assaulted his 55 year old female partner in a sustained attack, the male was arrested, charged and held to appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Friday 12 th April.

Between 10.30pm on Tuesday 16 th April and 6am on Wednesday 17 th April two garden ornaments were stolen from a garden at Hughes Crescent, Mayfield, one being a white Scottie dog and the other being a black Labrador, both have been valued at about £10. Police are following a positive line of enquiry.

Between 5pm on Wednesday 17 th April and 7am on Thursday 18 th April the premises at Lightways, Mayfield Industrial Estate, Mayfield was broken into, approximately £400 worth of damage was caused to four vehicles in the yard and a jack hammer was stolen from inside one of the vehicles to the value of £200. Enquiries are on going to trace the suspects.

In the early hours of Friday 19 th April reports were received that a male has entered a property at Ruskin Place, Mayfield, around the same time occupiers in a property at Finlay Place, Mayfield were disturbed and it was discovered that a handbag and contents had been stolen. A 34 year old male local male was charged with the above crimes along with a theft by housebreaking at Laburnum Place and 2 attempt break-ins at caravans and 4 charges of theft from caravans at Scotts Caravans, Mayfield.

Overnight on Thursday 25 th April 4 garden huts were broken into in Lothian Drive, Easthouses, several items were stolen including a tent which was found pitched nearby and police are following a positive line of enquiry to trace the culprits.

On Sunday 28 th April a 24 year old male was arrested for assaulting his 18 year old female partner within their home address at Steele Avenue, Mayfield, the male was also charged for possession of drugs and was held to appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Monday 29 th April.

On Sunday 28 th April a 23 year old male was arrested having assaulted his 18 year old female ex- partner, the male was charged with a racially aggravated breach of the peace and assault, the male was held to appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Monday 29 th April.

ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOUR

On Tuesday 30 th April it was reported to police that 3 windows to the rear of Hawthorn Childrens and Families Centre at Bogwood Road had been smashed, enquiries are on going to trace the culprits.

Around 6pm on Monday 29 th April it was reported to police that two garages at Stone Place, Mayfield has been set alight, information is being sought to trace the culprits.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

There have been recent occasions where needles have been found within the community.

On 11/04, a needle was found by 2 children at Parkhead Place, Easthouses. On this occasion the parents of the child called Police to have the needle removed. The parents, however, were unhappy with the Police response, believing that it should have been treated as an emergency call.

As the needle may have been lying for some time, this was not considered an urgent call. In this situation, it is the Councils responsibility to uplift and dispose of the needle.

Also on 11/04, 2 empty syringes were found within a garden hedge in Andrew Dodds Avenue. The occupier was happy to dispose of the syringes himself.

On 20/04, a needle was found at Cherry Lane, Mayfield, on this occasion there were police resources available and they attended to remove the offending items.

Officers have visited the local pharmacies and surgeries to make them aware and to try and ensure that needles etc are disposed of correctly. The schools have also been contacted and asked to reinforce the message to children not to touch needles if found.

Community Officers: Ian Kirkpatrick and Lindsey Hughson Community Inspector: Michelle Ritchie Community Sergeant: Hamish MacLean Email: LSBCPTMidlothianEast @Scotland.pnn.police.uk Twitter@Midlothpolice Tel. 0131-663 7703