Surveys explore future of two North Berwick landmarks

Surveys considering the future of two North Berwick landmarks have been launched.

The Chamber on the first floor of 1 High Street and St Andrew’s Kirk Ports church and graveyard are both held in Common Good for the town.

The Chamber

1 High Street is a category B-listed building on the corner of Quality Street and known locally as the Town House. It was built around 1724 and has a distinctive bell-shaped clocktower. The chamber is on the first floor and, although it’s currently empty, it was previously a gaol, custom’s house and the former Royal Burgh’s offices.

Now it could be given a new lease of life if a proposal to rent it as office space and reinvest the income into the town’s Common Good fund is approved. The consultation, which is a legal requirement for common good assets, is available online until 6 May 2026.

St Andrew’s Kirk Ports

Separately, local charity NB Heritage has launched a survey on the future of St Andrew’s Kirk Ports, a scheduled monument of national importance.

Sitting in an attractive graveyard, the building is in a dilapidated state and its condition is deteriorating. Although we maintain the grounds, we do not have funds to invest in works beyond essential safety measures.

NB Heritage is leading a campaign to secure a future for the kirk and graveyard. The volunteer-run charity has been working with our officers to find an effective way of conserving the kirk and making it available as a community asset. They will present the results of their survey to us to inform next steps.

You can find the survey online here until 23 April.

Children host official opening of Whitecraig Primary School

Whitecraig Primary School’s children held a special assembly for invited guests to officially open their new building.

Members of our teams who had designed and delivered the project (pictured left with Scottish Futures Trust) joined school staff, elected members and representatives from the community to celebrate, with children performing a special poem written for the occasion. The school’s newly-chosen House Captains and Vice Captains took part in a ceremonial ribbon cutting at the front entrance.

Since moving in January, children and staff have been enjoying getting to know the new school spaces.

Whitecraig Primary School Head Teacher Viv Short said: “The new Whitecraig Primary School building stands as a significant investment in our children and our community. It provides a high‑quality learning environment where our values of honesty, kindness and respect are lived every day. Our pupils are immensely proud of their school, and this new building reflects their aspirations, supports their growth, and strengthens the heart of Whitecraig for years to come.”

New play area opens in Prestonpans

Members of our Amenity Services team joined local youngsters for the opening of the renewed Pennypit Park Play Area in Prestonpans.

The team members who helped carry out the renewal project visited the upgraded facility on 12 March.

Pupils from the town’s Preston Tower Primary School and St. Gabriel’s Primary School and staff from The Pennypit Trust were also in attendance.

The new play equipment is aimed at a range of ages and abilities and includes a combination swing with a range of seat types, a multi-play unit, a climbing frame mainly aimed at older children, a ‘balance trail’, a wheelchair-accessible roundabout, and an inclusive seesaw.

An area of rubber wetpour surfacing has been added to enable access for all abilities and a new bench and seating has been installed.

Funded by Scottish Government Play Parks Renewal Funding, the improvements saw the replacement of all the equipment as it had reached the end of its lifespan.

The renewal work followed an extensive public consultation to gather views on the future of the play area, particularly from children and young people. A total of 134 responses were received during the consultation and that feedback informed the design.

Find out more about our play areas and the different types of play equipment.

Feedback shapes new Employee Survey themes

This year’s employee survey will focus on six key themes identified following consultation with colleagues.

Workload and capacity, wellbeing and culture, communications and leadership, career development, ways of working and environment and tools (see graphic pictured below) were highlighted during a review of the employee survey carried out by Organisational Development (OD) and will inform questions for 2026’s version.

Directly from responses

Team manager Rebecca Grangeret explains: “The themes have come directly from the responses we had to our consultation. We were really pleased with amount of feedback that we received. People were interested and supportive of what we were trying to achieve and took time to share their views, which we really appreciated. A lot of people provided us with questions to ask and we have used their wording in the questions.”

The review’s survey was hosted online with a separate version for school staff while the OD team visited all teams who were in John Muir House, Penston House, Musselburgh Library and the Bleachingfield Centre to capture views from people working in as many areas, including frontline services, as possible. Respondents offered ideas and shared their perspectives to help shape a refreshed survey that measures employee’s experiences and what they think is important.

Person-centred

“One of our East Lothian Way core values is that our organisation is person-centred,” explains Rebecca. “The new survey will help us to understand what is working well and what needs to be improved and help us to improve employees’ experiences at work. It will give us data and evidence that we can act upon.”

The way that survey results are interpreted and actioned is also key, says Rebecca. Anonymised data is shared with service managers and they are expected to identify actions they can take forward within their area to address feedback and drive forward improvements. The Council Leadership Team will also be monitoring actions being completed. 

Confidential to complete

Equalities information collected such as gender is kept completely separate to the survey data and provided only to HR to understand are there any particular groups who are more impacted by a topic than others. This information is not shared with managers further strengthening confidentiality.

“We want everyone to feel that the employee survey is useful and worth completing,” says Rebecca. “Focusing on relevant topics developed by our staff, ensuring that all answers are anonymous and providing a clear link between feedback and action will mean that the survey is valuable for everyone.”

The employee survey will be shared in May. Look out for further details in your inbox, on the intranet and in Inform.

Local History Centre celebrates its 50th anniversary

A highly valued resource for researchers and those interested in peeping into the past - our Library Service’s Local History Centre is celebrating its 50th Anniversary throughout 2026. 

The Centre officially opened its doors in a small space above Haddington Library at Newton Port in 1976. In 2012, it moved to larger premises at the John Gray Centre on Lodge Street. 

As well as benefiting local historians it has had national attention too, starring as a filming location for BBC documentaries Lucy Worsley Investigates: The Witch Hunts, Union with David Olusoga and Empire with David Olusoga. 

To celebrate this milestone anniversary a series of community-focused, educational and local history-themed events, under the brand LH50, has been planned at the John Gray Centre, the Haddington Corn Exchange and at our other branch libraries. 

The Local Heritage Centre is a valued resource for people from near and far who want to uncover their family ties to East Lothian. LH50 will illustrate the tapestry of historical people and places of East Lothian and celebrate the centre’s history too.

"LH50 events have been designed to boost awareness of our services for older residents of the county as well as to the growing population of new and younger residents. I hope that visitors gain further insight into the history of their local area and are prompted to look into their family history, if they haven't already, by using the resources and assistance available at the Local History Centre," said Dr Hanita Ritchie, Local History Officer.

LH50 events have been designed to boost awareness of the services provided by the Local History Centre to residents old and new and of all ages. 

Celebrations will start with a Family History Fair on Monday 20 April, 3.30pm to 6.30pm. The fair will offer drop-in sessions to members of the public who need help with their family tree or are curious about the history of where they live. Consultation will be provided by Dr Hanita Ritchie along with representatives from the Association of Scottish Genealogists and Researchers, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, as well as local heritage groups. 

Throughout the rest of the year, a variety of enlightening talks will be provided by external experts. This includes a special interview and audience with Scotland’s pre-eminent historian Professor Sir Tom Devine, which will take place on Monday 11 May at Haddington Corn Exchange. Tickets are on sale via the Brunton Box Office. 

Other events include a bespoke Scottish Women’s Institute craft workshop, as well as an exhibition in autumn entitled Cinematic East Lothian, specially curated by East Lothian Museum Service and the Local History Centre. There will be talks by guest speakers from Napier University, Scottish Women’s Institute EL Federation, National Library of Scotland Maps Library, National Museum of Scotland, National Mining Museum at Newtongrange, Railway Museum Bo’ness, and from local heritage groups such as the Waggonway Group and the Scottish Battlefield Trust. 

Events will be advertised via posters, local press and social media, as well as on the John Gray Centre website throughout 2026. For more information and opening hours of the Local History Centre, visit our website. 

For any enquiries about the events or to make a booking, email the John Gray Centre.

Leadership development for every stage of your journey

A new Leadership Development Framework is being developed to grow confident, capable leaders at every stage of the organisation.

The framework will bring together development pathways, core learning, mentoring, peer support and more to create a clear, consistent and accessible offer for all colleagues.

At the heart of this approach is a supportive leadership community where people can learn from one another, share experience and grow together.

Get involved: become a mentor, mentee or join a peer support network

Become a mentor

Share your experience, offer guidance, and support colleagues as they build their leadership confidence and capability.

Be mentored

Receive personalised support from someone who’s been there before. Whether you’re stepping into leadership for the first time, striving for promotion or looking to strengthen specific skills, mentoring can help you grow with purpose.

Join a peer support network

Connect with colleagues at similar stages in their leadership journey. Peer groups offer a safe, informal space to reflect, problem‑solve and build confidence together.

Be first to sign up for the Aspiring Future Leaders development pathway

Applications will soon open for the first cohort of the Aspiring Future Leaders pathway. To find out more about the application process, email leadershipdev@eastlothian.gov.uk

Who can take part?

You don’t need to be in a formal leadership role. If you’re curious, motivated, or simply want to connect with others, Leadership Development would love to hear from you.

How to express interest

If you're interested to know more, just email leadershipdev@eastlothian.gov.uk and let the team know which option(s) you’re interested in. They will follow up with next steps and match you into the right space.

Meet Nicole!

Find out more about our new Leadership Development Officer Nicole and her ambitions for our new leadership programme.