News
East Lothian groups honoured at Beautiful Scotland awards
Four East Lothian groups helping communities become more climate and nature friendly were recognised at the Beautiful Scotland celebration and awards event in September.
Organised by environmental charity Keep Scotland Beautiful, the annual Beautiful Scotland awards took place at Duthie Park, Aberdeen celebrating community groups and volunteers are celebrated for their efforts to improve their areas and make them a nicer place for people to live, work and visit.
Local winners
Blooming Haddington won the Medium Town Award, the David Welch Memorial Award for Something Special (for Amisfield Walled Garden), the Haddington 700 Award (for St Mary’s Pleasance) and also received a Gold certificate. North Berwick in Bloom received a Certificate of Recognition for being nominated to represent Scotland in the RHS Britain in Bloom finals. Finally, Aberlady in Bloom and Dunbar in Bloom also received Certificates of Recognition.
Thirty-eight groups from all over Scotland were presented with awards and Certificates of Recognition for their efforts to improve, enhance and protect biodiversity and the places they care for and work and live in.
Juliette Camburn, Senior Officer, Community Initiatives at Keep Scotland Beautiful, said: “I’d like to wish huge congratulations to our fantastic East Lothian groups who were honoured at this year’s Beautiful Scotland awards.
“It was wonderful to be in Aberdeen once again to celebrate the brilliant efforts of groups from across Scotland who do so much to improve our local communities.
“We’re facing climate and nature crises in Scotland, and everyone must play their part to halt biodiversity loss and to protect and enhance nature. The efforts of our groups, and all involved in their communities, is truly inspiring, ensuring their local areas are not only protected but improved for future generations.
“Every group thoroughly deserves their awards and recognition, and their collective effort is immensely appreciated.”
Judging visits took place between 29 July and 11 August, with Keep Scotland Beautiful’s volunteer judges evaluating groups’ efforts across three pillars: horticultural achievement, environmental responsibility and community participation.
This year there were a total of 27 awards available alongside four categories of medal certificate for all judged entrants meeting the required criteria. All 34 judged entrants received a certificate, with 13 winning Gold, seven winning a Silver Gilt and the 14 non-judged groups and our four Scottish UK finalists receiving Certificates of Recognition.
Macmillan Coffee Morning update
The Children Services Team at JMH would like to thank all those who came along and made their recent Macmillan Coffee Morning event such a great success. Workers from across Children's Wellbeing and Action for Children contributed items they had baked, and brought in donations for the raffle.
A grand total of £540 was raised, which will go towards helping to support people and their families through cancer.
A massive thank you to all the staff helpers on the day making this a very enjoyable and fun event.
Lights, camera, action! Feature film starts shooting in East Lothian
Parts of Haddington and surrounding villages will be returning to the 1970s as scenes for a new feature film are shot in the area.
Borges and Me is described as a classic road movie set in the 1970s and based on the true events featured in Jay Parini’s ‘novelised memoir’ of his time as a graduate student in St Andrews during the period. In frantic flight from the Vietnam War, Parini leaves the United States for Scotland. There, through unlikely circumstances, he meets famed Argentinian author Jorge Luis Borges. The pair embark on a trip to the Scottish Highlands, and on the way the charmingly garrulous Borges takes Parini on a grand tour of western literature and ideas while promising to teach him about love and poetry.
The cast includes Fionn Whitehead, who previously appeared in Dunkirk and Black Mirror, Alan Cummings and Peter Mullan, Frasier and Desperate Housewives' Harriet Sansom Harris and Chilean-Italian actor Luis Gnecco.
Gifford, Garvald and Haddington
The production team began filming internal and external scenes at the Tweeddale Arms Hotel in Gifford at the start of October with another property on the High Street featuring (see picture below). Towards the end of the month they will be filming at the Garvald Inn, then moving to Haddington High Street which will double as Market Street in St Andrews.
The team behind the production has been working closely with council departments, particularly roads services, and Film Edinburgh on their arrangements. Film Edinburgh is the council’s film office, based in Edinburgh Council but working with East Lothian Council for over 20 years.
East Lothian on screen
In total, East Lothian has appeared in nearly 600 films and TV shows over the past 25 years. Eagle-eyed viewers will have spotted Tyninghame as a backdrop for Agatha Christie’s Murder is Easy which aired on BBC One last Christmas. Recently, a new production of Frankenstein was filmed at Gosford and Seacliff Beach, as did The Buccaneers and Outlander.
Outlander has also filmed at The Mart in East Linton, Preston Mill, Newhailes House, Tyninghame Woods, Belhaven Bay, Ravensheugh Beach – in fact most of the coastline between North Berwick and Dunbar! And of course Haddington and Yellowcraig beach appears in a Hallmark romantic drama called A Scottish Love Scheme while Yellowcraig beach and Cockenzie were locations that will appear in a feature film called The Fall of Sir Douglas Wetherford, filmed last winter with assistance from council teams.
Find out more about East Lothian on Screen from the Visit East Lothian website.
Reporting accidents and incidents at work - it's easy
Our work activities can sometimes put us and others at risk of harm through injury or ill health. Harm can be physical and/or mental. Reporting incidents that happen at work which cause harm or have the potential to cause harm, is essential for preventing future harm.
All work accidents and incidents of work-related ill health should be reported, no matter how minor. Incidents of verbal abuse and physical assault should be reported too.
Reporting means managers are made aware and can take some action to stop such incidents from happening again, which could lead to more serious consequences next time. Near misses – where people have narrowly avoided injury after something went wrong – should be reported too, as they can be investigated, and solutions found to reduce the likelihood of injury or ill health happening in the future.
Imagine if you found discarded needles on a work visit to a property, and you narrowly missed a needlestick injury. Reporting it rather than ignoring it means that others are alerted to the problem and precautions put in place, so you and your colleagues are prepared and protected if any future visits necessary. Precautions could include training, safety shoes, addition of the property to the Client Risk Register, or future communication by phone call where possible.
Reporting incidents can also show where there is a wider problem if similar incidents are happening frequently, whether it is a local problem or also happening in other departments.
How to Report
You should report an incident immediately to your line manager.
The incident should also be reported via Sphera incident reporting portal, either by:
- Selecting ‘Health & Safety – Report Incident’ icon in your drop-down list of Favourites (East Lothian Council folder) on your internet browser.
Or
- Selecting the ‘Report an incident’ button at the top of the Health and Safety webpage.
Any employee with East Lothian Council computer access can do this.
There are several types of report forms – select the one you want to use after reading the descriptions next to the link. The forms are designed to be straightforward to complete. Help is available from the health and safety team if you need it.
Important things to remember:
- Take a note of the Incident Number – you (or your manager) might need it later to add further details to your report.
- Press ‘Save details’ button at the bottom to ensure your report is logged.
Once recorded, the incident report will be allocated to the person in your work area who is responsible for investigating the incident and in charge of follow up action, such risk assessment reviews and updating control measures designed to protect you, your colleagues and others affected by the work.
Check with your line manager what the arrangements are if you don’t have access to a computer.
We need your help! If you don’t report, there is no record of the incident happening, and it’s less likely something will be done about it.
Further help on reporting incidents can be obtained from:
- doing the short LearnPro course ‘ELC: Incident Reporting’ within LearnPro Essentials - for all employees
the Corporate Health and Safety Team. Email: Healthandsafety@eastlothian.gov.uk
Planning Committee approves skate park at Hallhill, Dunbar
East Lothian Planning Committee met on Tuesday 1 October and approved an application for a skate park and pump track at Hallhill, Dunbar.
The application for a pump track, skate park, basketball court, café and changing room building on land south of Hallhill Sports Centre, Kellie Road, Dunbar, had been called off the Scheme of Delegation by Councillors McIntosh and Jardine due to the significant amount of interest and comment within the local community.
The skate park, basketball court, changing rooms and café will be delivered through the Dunbar Community Development and Heritage Trust, who will also manage the day-to-day operation of the facilities through an agreement with another community organisation. The land and the facilities will continue to be owned by the council but managed by DCDHT through a Service Level Agreement. The café and toilet facilities are expected to be open between 10am and 10pm every day. An agreement has been made to fence off Dunbar Primary School car park and use it in the evenings and weekends when the school is closed. The council will create a new park entrance from the access road to the school at Hallhill Sports Centre.
A total of 76 representations had been received, of which 55 objected to the application, 20 supported the application and one made comment. Reasons for objection included that the location is an area of green space used by local wildlife and it is in a secluded area where young people congregate and the proposals would exacerbate anti-social behaviour. Reasons for support included that there is little for children to do in Dunbar and thus the addition of a pump track and skate park near the school and sports centre would be hugely popular and would provide outdoor facilities for new families who move into the area.
Council officers had recommended that consent be granted and, following a debate, committee members voted unanimously to approve this recommendation.
Members also voted eight votes to three (with one abstention) to remove a condition attached to planning consent for Dandara East Scotland Ltd, who are building 125 homes, business units, allotments and a play area on land on the south side of Tantallon Road, North Berwick. The condition stated that a footpath should be constructed between the northernmost part of the site to the Tesco supermarket. Dandara applied to have the condition removed as they had built the path up to their site boundary but the land beyond that belonged to Tesco so they were unable to comply with the condition.
An application to build a three storey house to the east of St Andrew’s House, St Andrew Street, North Berwick, was unanimously refused. The application had been called off the Scheme of Delegation by Councillor Allan, who felt that the development appeared to be a sympathetic and efficient use of a gap area in North Berwick town centre. Ten letters of objection were received, stating various reasons including loss of privacy to neighbouring properties and gardens, loss of daylight to neighbouring properties and that the design was not in keeping with the Conservation Area.
Permission was unanimously granted for alterations to Romanes Pharmacy in Dunbar High Street, to fit a pharmacy dispensing machine. Planners had originally recommended refusal of the application but, following discussions with the applicant, an amended version of the proposal, featuring a smaller dispenser unit, was recommended for approval. The original application was called off the Scheme of Delegation List by Councillor Collins, who believed it would be of benefit to the town.
An application for change of use of agricultural land for the formation of a battery energy storage system on land to the north of Dunbar Grid Substation, was unanimously approved, in agreement with planners’ recommendation.
Applicant FRV TH Powertek had previously submitted a Proposal of Application Notice and, as part of this, had carried out public consultation events. The application site lies 2.5km south west of Dunbar, 850 metres from Pitcox hamlet. The facility will store and supply energy for export to the grid as and when required, typically at points of peak demand. One letter of objection was received, concerned about the potential loss of prime agricultural land, fire, pollution and potential visual impact.
An application for the installation of solar panels at Staggs bar, North High Street, Musselburgh, was unanimously approved. The application had been called off the Scheme of Delegation by Councillors McIntosh and Forrest due to local interest in the local community.
Staggs bar is a two-storey, end-terrace Category C listed building to the north of the Brunton Hall.
Applicant Nigel Finlay applied for permission to instal 27 solar panels, measuring 1.7 by 1.1 metres each, on the principal (south) roof plane of the building. Separate Listed Building Consent was also sought for the installation. One written objection was received from the Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland. Planners had recommended refusal as the panels would detract from the character and appearance of the listed building. Following a debate, committee members voted to grant permission for the panels.
The relevant application numbers are; Dunbar (skate park) 24/00126/P, North Berwick (removal of condition) 24/00117/PM and 15/00670/PPM, North Berwick (erection of one house) 24/00527/P, Dunbar (pharmacy dispenser) 24/00605/P, Dunbar (battery storage) 23/01519/PM, Musselburgh 24/00267/P and 24/00264/LBC.
Changes to PVG: essential information
The way PVG checks are being carried out is changing from April 2025 onwards. The Provisions of the Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020 are gradually being rolled out by Disclosure Scotland and it is vital that East Lothian Council is prepared and ready for these changes.
The Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020 aims to:
- focus on protecting the public, while balancing the need for people to move on from offending
- simplify the process for disclosing criminal history information.
The Scottish Government consulted with stakeholders in developing the Act. It had three rounds of scrutiny at the Scottish Parliament and became law in July 2020. Disclosure Scotland will make the changes required by the Act from 1 April 2025.
The Act will lead to:
- changes to disclosure checks
- changes to Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) scheme membership
- new powers for Disclosure Scotland
- new powers for councils and integration boards
Changes to disclosure checks
For disclosure checks:
- 'Level 1' and 'Level 2' checks will replace the current basic, standard, enhanced and PVG disclosure levels
- individuals will be able to ask for an independent review of some disclosure content
- individuals will be able to explain the context for certain spent or childhood convictions before they're disclosed
Changes to PVG scheme memberships
From 1 April 2025, PVG membership will become mandatory for all regulated roles with children and protected adults
From 1 April 2026, lifetime PVG scheme membership will end. This will be replaced this with a time limited membership that will last five years before it needs to be renewed
New powers for Disclosure Scotland
Disclosure Scotland can bar people from working with children and protected adults after an investigation. The Act gives the body new powers to impose conditions on people while it investigates. The conditions end when we reach a decision to bar them or not.
New powers for councils and integration boards
The Act gives local councils and integration boards new powers to make referrals to Disclosure Scotland. This is to better safeguard people who have set up their own care and support arrangements, such as self-directed support or employing people directly.
Updated guidance has been created for all East Lothian Council managers and is available from the Intranet ( ). Please refer to it and contact the council's Disclosure Team if you have any questions.
New website for EMPPC
East and Midlothian Public Protection Committee is about to launch a new website developed for it by the communications team in Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration.
The new site is easy to navigate with accessibility and translation tools. It brings together general and specific information and guidance on all areas of the public protection landscape as well as the contacts that give you one-to-one guidance where required and links to local and national procedures.
The site goes live on Monday 7 October and will be linked through the council's website too. Find it at www.emppc.co.uk
New assessment to consider Children's Rights
New Children’s Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessments have been introduced to make sure the council is meeting its responsibilities towards children’s rights. This applies to all services.
To support, embed and extend children’s rights in Scotland, the Scottish Government introduced the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act, which received Royal assent in January 2024.
The Act sets out an expectation of a Scotland where children’s human rights are embedded in all aspects of society, empowered to give their views and be included in conversations on matters that affect them.
Policy, law and decision-making must take account of these rights. In doing so, it makes it unlawful for a public authority “to act, or fail to act, in connection with a relevant function in a way which is incompatible with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) requirements.”
In bringing in the Act, listed public bodies are required to recognise, respect and promote children’s rights in what they do. To work towards facilitating these rights within East Lothian, and to ‘not act incompatibly’ with the Act, East Lothian Council has committed to completing Children’s Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessments (CRWIA).
A CRWIA is a tool which enables us to understand how what we do, be it a proposed policy, decision or action, might affect a child’s human rights. It helps to test that what we do, or propose to do, is not incompatible with those rights.
It should be applied to all new policy and practice and includes a screening tool to check for relevance which is applicable to all services.
Visit the dedicated pages on our intranet for more on UNCRC and Children’s Rights. Search U in the A-Z of services.
For more information on Children’s Rights Wellbeing Assessments please contact Policy Officer Linda Alexander.
Specialist personal trainer wins Young Entrepreneur Award
A personal trainer from Tranent has scooped the East Lothian Investments Ltd Young Entrepreneur Award. 24-year-old Sam Stevenson of SS Coaching won the £1500 prize, which he says has moved his new business on six months faster than planned.
The award was open to 16–25-year-olds and was set up to encourage and celebrate young entrepreneurship in East Lothian’s young people.
SS Coaching started trading on 1 January 2023 and Sam was encouraged to apply for the award by Business Gateway Adviser Irene Ramsay. SS Coaching provides personal training and strength & conditioning coaching to those looking to improve their sports performance from individuals to members of local sports teams right up to professional athletes. Sam, along with his business partner Jake Beveridge who runs East Lothian Barbell, have joined forces in a new venture based at their premises at East Fortune, to offer bespoke programming and individualised one-to-one performance coaching. They have used the funding to buy equipment for the gym facility, helping them leap forward with their business six months earlier than in their business plan.
Sam said: “The prize massively helped with the start-up of the gym. We were awaiting planning permission on our new unit when I applied for the competition, therefore the timing was perfect, as we knew the start-up costs of opening our own gym for the first time were going to be significant. Due to the little capital that we had to start up our business and given the fact that we had a deposit to pay on the unit, alongside the high price that comes with buying gym equipment, winning the prize made all of this far more achievable, and took the stress off the coming months. This has now allowed us to begin planning forward, looking at potential pathways to grow the business ahead of our business plan timeline.”
East Lothian Investments Ltd (ELI) is an arm’s length company of East Lothian Council. The fund is managed by employees of the council but governed by a Board of Directors. The board comprises two East Lothian Councillors and three private sector business people who provide their time free of charge to the company and who take the decisions to award or decline loan applications.
Loans can be applied for up to £25,000 and are interest free with an arrangement fee of up to 7.5%. ELI is open to businesses at all stages and all sectors, including start up.
Rodney Shearer, Chair of East Lothian Investments Ltd, said: “We are delighted to offer this prize to encourage entrepreneurship in young people. Sam very much deserves this accolade and I’m sure he and Jake will do a fantastic job to promote wealth and wellbeing across the community.”
Councillor John McMillan, East Lothian Council spokesperson for Environment, Economic Development and Tourism, said: “Sam is a very worthy winner of this award and I’m delighted that it has allowed him and Jake to drive their business forward by six months and to start planning for the future. They have demonstrated a commitment to providing very high quality fitness and health promotion to everyone from children to professional athletes and have obviously used the very latest research and training to provide the very best service they can, and it’s accessible too. I was also impressed by Sam’s systematic approach to business, using the excellent business support services, including our own Business Gateway in East Lothian. I wish Sam, Jake and SS Coaching the absolute best for a very bright future.”
As well as personal training for sports, SS Coaching also features unique equipment for less able or injured clients. They have also been working with groups of children (between 11 and 15) through their summer camp, which promotes health, fitness, confidence and safe strength training. Sam and Jake are passionate about equal opportunities and are eager to work with more young people and low income households in the future. They are also looking at developing an app for online coaching.
Anyone interested in finding out more can contact Sam or Jake via email or Instagram: @ss_coaching_ and @east_lothian_barbell
Works progressing at former Cockenzie power station site
Planning consent for groundworks on the site of Cockenzie power station was granted in June this year and works are now progressing to prepare the site for future development.
From Monday 14 October, the first trucks begun transferring bund material from the Cockenzie Coal Store Site to the former power station site to upfill that area to allow eventual future redevelopment.
Work up to this point has focused on creating the infrastructure needed for this movement of material, including:
- erecting security fencing
- laying out the temporary haul road and setting up diversionary footpaths
- strengthening of the Edinburgh Road to allow trucks to cross
First trucks on the move
Those works have now been completed and the first trucks will be travelling from the coal store to the power station site, via the reinforced Edinburgh Road crossing. The truck crossing will be manned and light controlled to ensure pedestrian, cyclist and vehicle safety. An Ecological Clerk of Works is attached to the project to oversee vegetation removal and compliance with ecological conditions.
It is estimated the bund material transfer stage of the works will be completed by mid-Spring 2025. Remaining bund works will continue to the end of 2025. These works are 90 per cent funded by the UK Government.
New Link Road
Works to a new link road will also be underway soon and that is due to be completed by end summer 2025. The new road will link the Alder Road junction on the B6371 approach to Cockenzie with the existing B1348 road. Much of the route will follow an existing service road to the former coal plant and be complemented by a lane, largely set back from the main roadway, to encourage safe walking and cycling.
Hub South East is the council’s Development Partner on this project and they have appointed Balfour Beatty, who are carrying out the works on site.
More details and regular updates on the project are available on the council website.
Work continues at pace at the site of a new replacement Whitecraig Primary School
External timber panel walls on the ground floor have been installed along with window frames. Scaffolding around the perimeter is progressing up to roof level, and work on the stairwells is underway. Activity to erect external panels on the first floor will shortly start moving towards the roof, with works to create a flat roof in a separate part of the building to begin.
A replacement primary school is needed in Whitecraig in response to a growing school population from ongoing and planned housebuilding in the area. The project will see the current 1959 building replaced to increase capacity by a new building suited to modern learning. Built on land adjacent to the current school, the new building combines eight classrooms with an integrated early learning facility behind a facade of charcoal grey brick and copper cladding panels and accents, including on some window surrounds. It was designed by the council’s in-house Architect and is being build by Morrison Construction. The school, which is expected to open during academic session 25/26, has received funding from phase one of the Scottish Government’s Learning Estate Investment Programme administered by Scottish Future’s Trust.
Once complete, the existing building will be safely demolished and the cleared spaces will be landscaped.
View through multi-purpose hall. Steel frame and exterior timber panels installed up to first floor
View through dining hall - Double height arrival space. Timber panels progressed to first floor
View through ASN Room. CW panels installed
First floor timber cassettes being installed
What's On
What's on in museums
NEW EXHIBITION
Ukraine/Scotland – Land Art & Photography Exhibition
John Gray Centre, 15 Lodge Street, Haddington, EH41 3DX
Friday 11 October 2024 to 25 January 2025. Opening times at www.johngraycentre.org
“LAND is the focus of this exhibition and what it means to people when it is the land of their birth, their own country” Group exhibition curated by Cathy Bell
Family Activities: Get stuck into some Autumnal-themed crafts at John Gray Centre Museum, with a new selection of seasonal and Halloween craft activities
Random Acts of Kindness at John Muir’s Birthplace, Dunbar EH42 1JJ
Felting, Spinning and Stitching workshops for beginners
Various venues, Dunbar |
A series of beginners workshops inspired by the oak tree and it's role in supporting the greatest diversity of wildlife of any of our natural species. Learn a range of textile skills and help to create a display at the John Muir Birthplace. |
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Fuzzy Felting
Wishing Tree Café, Lauderdale Park, Dunbar
Sunday 6 October
10am to 1pm
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In this workshop, learn to make felt using oak dyed wool. Create an embellished piece of flat felt around a resist to make 'pockets' to be used in our final display. |
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Spinning a yarn
John Muir's Birthplace
Wednesday 16 October
Spinning workshop: 10am to 12.30pm
Family drop-in: 1.30 to 4pm
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Morning workshop - learn how to spin using wool dyed with oak leaves and bark. Make friendship bracelets and spin on twiggy spindles to make longer lengths of yarn for the final workshop. |
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A stitch in time
John Muir's Birthplace
Thursday 17 October
Workshop: 10am to 12.30pm
Family drop-in: 1.30 to 4pm
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Stitch felted 'secret pockets' for the display, using hand-spun yarn to embellish and make cords for hanging. Learn Viking knitting on a lucet to make caterpillars and snails or let your imagination run wild. Use oak twigs to make tiny weaving frames. Drop-in participants can pot and take home an acorn to grow into a mighty oak. |
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Booking not essential but really helpful. Please contact Jo on 07484 210758 for details and bookings.
This is a North Light Arts project supported by East Lothian Climate Hub and East Lothian Council Museums Service
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Working Lives at Dunbar Town House Museum & Gallery, Dunbar EH42 1ER
October to March, Saturdays 2-4pm
Display open courtesy of Dunbar & District History Society. Free admission but donations welcome.
Dunbar’s Town House or Tolbooth is more than 400 years old and touched the lives of many people. Through the Town Council, Police Station, Library, Registrars, Tourist Information, Housing Office, MP & MSP Office, Museum and many more!
Do you know someone who worked here? Have you been to a wedding here? We would love to hear your stories and see your photos.
Step back in time as we help you discover the hidden past of this iconic building.
What's on at The Brunton
The Brunton invite you to join them in Haddington and Musselburgh venues for an autumn programme packed with entertainment.
At Haddington Corn Exchange you can enjoy the best of Eagles with Talon, on Saturday 19 October at 7.30pm. The group are more than a tribute band and have a huge following in their own right. To The Limit 2024 Tour brings Eagles' timeless back catalogue including Hotel California, Take it Easy, One of These Nights, Take Life in The Fast Lane, and more!
Find out more here
For Springsteen fans, Dougie Robertson’s Springsteen Sessions guarantee a great night out with an extended set that includes Born In The USA, The River, Darlington County, Born To Run, Rosalita, Dancing In The Dark and many more. A must for fans of The Boss, on Friday 25 October at 7.30pm.
More information here
There’s also spooky family musical theatre fun, with The Addams Family. This comical feast that embraces the wackiness in every family, is performed by a fabulous community cast of young performers, supported by The Brunton’s professional production team, in association with David Ross. The Addams Family runs from Thursday 31 October to Saturday 2 November.
Find out more here
Northesk Parish Church hosts The Brunton’s classical music programme. With its lovely acoustic qualities it is the perfect venue for these concerts.
Wednesday 9 October at 7.30pm sees the first of a new series of Soloists of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, with Katherine Bryan and her Virtuoso Flute.
Find out more here
There’s a treat for opera fans on Thursday 24 October with A Night At The Opera. Joined by the Classical Musicians Scotland Orchestra, four professional singers perform arias, duets and quartets by Verdi, Puccini, Mozart and even a little Gilbert and Sullivan.
Book tickets here
Musselburgh’s Loretto Theatre is the temporary home to The Brunton’s film programme. There’s a fantastic selection of recent releases and a ballet screening to enjoy. Midweek movie highlights include: Firebrand, Lee and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, with a Royal Ballet screening of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland providing an opportunity to enjoy the best of the West End in Musselburgh.
Full information about films can be found here
It is never too early to book in your panto fix! This year The Brunton are collaborating with acclaimed theatre makers, Wonder Fools to produce A Christmas Carol – a panto twist on the classic tale. Set in East Lothian, this exciting new pantomime with original songs is inspired by Charles Dickens’ classic Christmas story. An entertaining, warm-hearted, good night out for all ages, on stage at both Corn Exchange, Haddington and Loretto Theatre in Musselburgh.
More information here
The team at The Brunton would like to hear from you!
There’s still time to complete The Brunton’s survey. They would love to know what kind of events you would like to attend and where. It doesn’t matter if you haven’t been to one of their events before – they would like to hear from you.
The short survey runs until mid October with the option to be entered into draw to win two tickets to a show at one of The Brunton’s venues.
Follow this link for the survey
Countryside Ranger events
Autumn Goose Watch - October 2024
16 October 2024 | 5pm to 7pm | Sea Green, Aberlady | £8
Join the Countryside Ranger as thousands of pink-footed geese return to the coast to roost.
BOOKING ESSENTIAL Age 16+
Meet at Sea Green, Aberlady (area of mown grass, with wooden benches, next to the Bay. GR NT465801, W3W backpacks.riders.scope)
Refunds will only be issued up to a week before the date of the event.
Waterbirds Walk - December 2024
9 December 2024 | 1.30pm to 3.30pm | Sea Green, Aberlady | £8
Join the Countryside Ranger for a 2-hour stoll to discover many different kinds of birds and learn about the great journeys they are undertaking. The walk will be along a hard-surfaced path and around 2-kilometres in length. Dress for the weather and bring binoculars, if you have them. We will wait for anyone coming by bus. Buses (124/X5) arrive from Edinburgh direction at 1303, 1308 and 1333; and from North Berwick at 1317 and 1320.
BOOKING ESSENTIAL Age 16+
Meet at Sea Green, Aberlady (area of mown grass, with wooden benches, next to the Bay. GR NT465801, W3W backpacks.riders.scope)
Refunds will only be issued up to a week before the date of the event.
Mud In Your Eye
The Autumn edition of Mud in your Eye can be found here
Our People
Meet Hayley Barnett, our Head of Corporate Support
We recently welcomed Hayley Barnett, our new Head of Corporate Support, to the council.
Hayley, who was born and brought up locally, has spent most of her career working in local government. After graduating from Edinburgh University, she joined The City of Edinburgh Council before moving into roles with Midlothian Council, COSLA and the Scottish Government (on secondment) before returning to The City of Edinburgh Council as Corporate Governance Manager. In 2022, she became Associate Director of Governance and Board Services with National Services Scotland (NSS).
As Hayley settles into her new role, we took the opportunity to find out a bit more about her – as well as her hopes for the future.
Have you enjoyed your first few weeks?
“Yes, it’s been great to start meeting people and getting to know my new colleagues. I’d like to thank everyone who has welcomed me – it really has been such a positive experience! I’m very much looking forward to getting to know more colleagues, as well as elected members, in the weeks and months ahead.”
Can you tell us a bit about your career background?
“Other than the past two years, I’ve always worked in local government. Firstly, I worked within operational Trading Standards and Anti-social behaviour teams before moving into Corporate Policy. I then spent nine years at COSLA covering a range of portfolios - Community Safety, Police and Fire Reform, Sports, Arts and Culture, and Children and Young People (Care) and within the Employers’ Team. I undertook a one-year secondment working with councils and community safety partnerships within the Scottish Government. In the last five years, my roles at The City of Edinburgh Council (CEC) and NHS NSS have had a governance focus.
“One highlight at CEC was the first time I clerked the City of Edinburgh Council which made me the first female clerk since records began 900 years ago! That’s something, of course, that should have happened hundreds of years ago.”
What appealed to you about this role and working for East Lothian Council?
“I was keen to return to local government and felt I could bring all my experience to this post. I was born and raised in Tranent and, although I lost the ‘debate’ with my husband about where we live, East Lothian will always be my home. All my family live in East Lothian and my dad keeps joking that he and the dog are going to join us in the chamber for Council meetings, as he is delighted I’m working for East Lothian Council!”
As Head of Corporate Support, what are your areas of responsibility?
“The services in Corporate Support are People and Council Support (including HR), IT, Governance (including Legal), Communications and Policy. A key part of the job is working with elected members, while I also hold a statutory role as Monitoring Officer – which involves ensuring the council complies with legal requirements and statutory codes of practice which are relevant to how we carry out our duties and deliver services. I’m also Deputy Returning Officer for elections.”
What do you see as the main challenges and opportunities in this role and what are your hopes for the future?
“There is no avoiding the budgetary challenges that we all face – that’s going to continue and something we will all have to deal with. But there is a real opportunity to do things differently and the teams within Corporate Support are fundamental to supporting services right across East Lothian Council to adapt, deliver differently and enable our communities to thrive.
“I hope to bring my knowledge and experience in working with the Trade Unions into this role and look forward to working closely with them.”
What do you enjoy doing outside of work?
“I live in Peebles with my husband and two boys – Gregor, nine, and Cameron, who is six. I spend most of my time just now as a taxi driver for the kids or helping out at kids’ clubs – this week I’ve been a Cubs and Beavers leader, football coach and tennis ball girl! I also enjoy visiting East Lothian to spend time with my family.”
Green Corner
A Ranger writes
Throughout late September and October the ranger service will be involved in assorted attempts at grassland management. The aim is to remove much of the standing vegetation so that it doesn’t die back over winter and rot down into the soil. This reduces the nutrient levels in the soil which, to cut a long story short, should allow wildflowers to flourish long-term (at least that’s the theory). In the past we’ve done this by strimming the area and then raking and lifting the cuttings, but recently we’ve taken to using scythes as an alternative to strimmers.
After our most recent session spotted several voles, frogs and toads within the area. The latter two species will not be out and about for much longer, as both will soon be looking for damp, dark corners in which to spend the winter. Strictly speaking they don’t hibernate, but they will become largely inactive – although frogs and toads will take advantage of warm spells to emerge and forage for insects, worms and slugs. Being amphibians, adult frogs and toads can survive in and out of water, but spend most of the year on dry land, indeed they only really need water to breed in and to live in as tadpoles. The commonest amphibians we’re likely to come across in East Lothian are the aptly named Common frog (pictured above) and Common toad. Common frogs come in a variety of colours ranging from grey, through greens to a sort of yellowy-brown. They have a dark stripe around their eyes and dark blotches scattered irregularly over their body. The skin of the common frog is smooth and moist to the touch - although it’s not a good idea to handle frogs too much, as their skin is sensitive and easily damaged. Frogs have long back legs and will often spring away when threatened.
Common toads are superficially similar to frogs, but there are several differences to distinguish them. Their colouration is usually a grey-brown and the skin is dry and “warty”. This latter fact probably accounts for the old wives’ tale about catching warts from toads (with apologies to any old wives reading this). Toads don’t jump very much, and will tend to crawl away when threatened, or even just sit there. This may be related to the fact that they have very few predators and therefore don’t really need to escape rapidly. Instead they rely on their unpalatable skin, and rather unpleasant toxins exuded from glands on their back, to put off most threats (although hedgehogs and some birds will happily chomp on them).
October may well be your last chance to see these lovely amphibians before they disappear for the winter so keep your eyes peeled when you’re out and about this month.
Share your weather stories to help East Lothian respond to climate change
Online story map gathering details from across South East Scotland
People living and working in, and visitors to, East Lothian are being asked to share their weather stories as part of a project looking at climate change impacts across South East Scotland and how to respond to them.
Through Climate Ready South East Scotland’s online story map, people can add their experiences of how weather is having an effect on their communities, day to day lives, and livelihoods.
The project is led by charity Sniffer, in partnership with six local authorities, including East Lothian Council, to support collaborative climate action in the region. It’s looking at the risks and opportunities from climate change for South East Scotland to guide what action is needed to respond to these and produce a risk assessment. Gathering details from people about how they are being impacted is vital to ensure the responses suggested meet the needs of communities and help to build their resilience.
Climate change is already having an impact in East Lothian as recent extreme weather, such as the high tides and storm on 30 October 2023 which caused damage to North Berwick harbour wall, and Storm Arwen in November 2021 which caused extensive damage, including the felling of a large number of trees at Hedderwick, near Dunbar – part of the John Muir Country Park. We also had a sustained period of heat above 30 degrees and water scarcity warnings in summer 2022. In future there is likely to be more extreme weather like this with hotter, drier summers, wetter winters, and rising sea levels.
These changes are being felt by communities across South East Scotland and the project is gathering evidence of this and how prepared the region is for it. This is being done in two ways; a formal call for organisations, sectors and communities to share any assessments they have done on these issues, and the online story map asking people to contribute their experiences to capture the realities for those whose lives are being impacted by the changing weather.
Stories are added to the map by searching for the location of where it occurred or placing a pin on it, and then answering a few short questions about it – covering what took place and what could be done to help respond to it. Photos can also be added. The project is also working with the region’s community climate action hubs on a programme of events and activities to help communities share their stories and explore solutions to our climate challenge.
The story map is open until 20th December 2024.
Partnership
Public engagement on Planning Older People’s Services priorities launched
Over the last 12 months, ELHSCP has been engaging with local communities, providers, and staff to identify, develop and prioritise suggestions that could support the delivery of older people’s services for generations to come.
Having identified four priorities, ELHSCP has launched a 12-week engagement and consultation schedule where public can share their comments.
The four priorities
Priority 1: Review palliative and end of life care
This priority indicates a request to review and enhance the options available within palliative care, so people can plan and consider their preferences for their end-of-life care and treatment.
Priority 2: Polypharmacy reviews
This priority indicates an opportunity for a more coordinated approach to polypharmacy reviews undertaken in East Lothian. An ‘invest to save’ approach could see an increase in polypharmacy reviews aiming to reduce potential harm from medicines in older patients, improving quality of life, reducing medicines burden for patients, reducing avoidable hospital admissions, and ensuring medicines are used cost effectively across East Lothian.
Priority 3: Intermediate Care Services
This priority provides an opportunity to remain committed to developing intermediate care services to facilitate care closer to home and ensure that East Lothian’s population can remain within their own communities for as long as possible. Provision of efficient and effective intermediate care is also vital to alleviate pressure on hospital and care home beds.
Priority 4: Use of technology
This priority identifies an opportunity for enhancing the use of technology and increasing digital choice in order to support the development of efficient and sustainable services for older people, that are agile and responsive to the changing needs of the East Lothian population.
How to get involved
ELHSCP is looking to engage with a wide range of people, who have an interest in or may be directly affected by the delivery of older people’s services in the future. This includes people currently making use of our services, their family members and/or carers, health and social care staff, community groups, third sector organisations, providers, partner organisations and the public who live and work in East Lothian and may require access to older people’s services in the future.
Complete the online survey: www.eastlothian.gov.uk/pops-consultation
From the website, members of the public can share their views on the identified priorities and make comments on the engagement process to date, which is outlined in a presentation document. Closing date for comments is 8 December 2024.
Attend an event: ELHSCP will be hosting a series of in-person pop-up events, within each of the major towns in East Lothian. Members of the public are welcome to come along and share their feedback in person. There will be paper copies of our project findings as well as a feedback form.
Schedule of events:
- Tuesday 8 October, 10:30am to 2:30pm, Bleachingfield Centre, Dunbar
- Tuesday 15 October:
- 10am to 1pm, John Gray Centre, Haddington
- 2pm to 4pm, East Lothian Community Hospital, Haddington
- Thursday 24 October, 10:30am to 2:30pm, Pennypit Centre, Prestonpans
- Tuesday 29 October, 10:30am to 2:30pm, Hope Rooms, 34 Forth Street, North Berwick
Alternatively, members of the public can email their views directly to the project team via: engagement-hscp@eastlothian.gov.uk
A dedicated website providing full details of the background to this project, as well as the engagement and selection process to date to arrive at the four priorities, is detailed on www.eastlothian.gov.uk/elhscp/pops
Partnership was key to completing work at North Berwick Harbour
Partnership working between East Lothian Council, Marine Scotland, RHDHV, Southbay, East Coast Masonry, the North Berwick Harbour Trust and members of the public was key to funding and completing the work at storm-damaged North Berwick Harbour wall.
The wall was extensively damaged on 30 October 2023 during high tides and severe stormy weather.
The first phase of the work involved East Lothian Council obtaining the necessary permissions and support from the Scottish Government’s Marine Directorate to proceed with the clear up and preparation work within the harbour.
Royal Haskoning DHV (specialist marine engineers) and Southbay (a marine construction company) were appointed at this stage and work involved clearance of more than 500 tonnes of material displaced by the breach of the wall.
Council officers, working in partnership with North Berwick Harbour Trust, planned the works in line with marine licensing requirements which included the reuse of the existing materials.
The second phase involved the repair work, which was carried out by East Coast Masonry.
East Lothian Council Leader Norman Hampshire said:
"This was a complicated engineering project that could have taken far longer if it had not been for the partnership work involved and the dedication of all partners and members of the public to fund and progress this work as quickly as possible. I’m delighted that the work is now complete and the harbour is fully operational for the benefit of the local businesses who rely on it, local residents and visitors."
Andrew Duns, Treasurer of North Berwick Harbour Trust, said:
“We are delighted to have been able to re-open the walkway and to see the wall completed and the harbour repaired and restored back to its historic looks. It’s been an amazing effort from the community and the support from everyone has enabled all the work to be completed. It’s been humbling for the Harbour Trust to have so much brilliant support in terms of effort, money and moral support and shows how important the harbour is to the local community. It’s a great example of where we work together, we can complete great things.”
Funding for the repairs came from East Lothian Council, the Marine Directorate, North Berwick Trust, North Berwick Harbour Trust, and a Justgiving page which saw members of the public donate £42,783.
HWL and Learning
Improving the Cancer Journey Service
We know that getting a cancer diagnosis can impact on many parts of our lives.
'Improving the Cancer Journey’ (ICJ) is a Macmillan funded Link Worker service that can help people affected by cancer (so families and carers too).
ICJ is part of Scotland’s Cancer Strategy to help people access the support they need ‘at the time that it is right for them’.
We have teams in East Lothian, Edinburgh, Midlothian & West Lothian & offer everyone time to talk about what matters to them, help them access local supports and services and be a listening ear/point of contact.
If you support cancer patients or know someone who has been diagnosed, then this service may be able to help with a number of issues.
Since starting in Summer 2021, we have worked with over 2200 people including more than 200 family members. ICJ works with services to help people with money & benefits (over £2million secured so far), become more physically and socially active, find emotional support & help with practical issues that people experience.
Self-referrals welcome and we can usually see people within 2 weeks of hearing from you.
How to refer:
The service takes self-referrals.
To self-refer contact loth.icj@nhs.scot/ 0131 537 1500 or find out more by going to our webpages NHS Lothian Improving the Cancer Journey
‘The main thing from the appointments was I felt I wasn’t alone and that there was help available.’
Massage availability October to December
Did you know that council employees have access to appointments with a qualified massage therapist on site at John Muir House campus?
Fully qualified remedial and sports massage therapists Susan Green and Angela Jones operate by appointment only from Block A in Brewery Park on Wednesdays and Fridays. Appointments last for approx. 1 hour and cost £35, payable to the therapist on the day. They can be pre-booked through the Healthy Working Teams inbox. Susan and Angela have the following availability in October, November and December - book now to avoid missing out:
Susan Green
- Fri 18 Oct: 10.30am, 12.00pm
- Fri 01 Nov: 10.30am
- Fri 15 Nov: 9.00am, 10.30am, 12.00pm
- Fri 29 Nov: 10.30am, 1.30pm
- Fri 13 Dec: 12.00pm
Angela Jones
- Weds 23 Oct: 12.30pm
- Weds 06 Nov: 11.00am
- Weds 04 Dec: 11.00am
To book an appointment please email hwl@eastlothian.gov.uk
Campaign to Rethink Dementia
When a friend or relative is diagnosed with dementia it’s natural not to know what to do, but helping someone stay connected, socially active, and doing many of the things you’ve always done together, can help them stay well for longer. The Scottish Government in partnership with COSLA has launched a new campaign to challenge the stigma surrounding dementia.
Alleviate symptoms
The ‘Rethink Dementia’ campaign encourages people to continue doing the things they always did with friends or relatives diagnosed with dementia. Created in collaboration with a National Dementia Lived Experience Panel, the campaign emphasises the importance of maintaining relationships with those living with dementia. Research has shown that making this effort to stay in contact and include individuals in social activities can help alleviate symptoms of depression, agitation, sleep disturbance, anxiety and apathy that can often come with dementia.
Think differently about dementia
Dementia affects an estimated 90,000 people in Scotland and 3,000 of whom are under the age of 65. Insight informing the campaign highlighted that many people associate dementia with the later stage of the illness and therefore change their behaviour towards a friend or family member who has been diagnosed, some even step away.
The Rethink Dementia campaign will play a key role in getting friends and family to think differently about a dementia diagnosis and provide simple ways they can help a friend or loved one live fulfilling lives with dementia and help them stay well for longer.
Things you can do with someone who has had a dementia diagnosis:
If you have a friend or relative who has been diagnosed with dementia, they have not changed overnight. They will appreciate your understanding and support, as well as you still being you.. Having fun, laughing and chatting about the same things you always did matters. So keep doing the things you did together before their diagnosis. There are so many simple ways you can be there for someone living with dementia. You could:
- go shopping together so they can choose things for themselves
- take your usual walks or go for a scenic bike ride
- keep doing your hobbies together – play your weekly game of golf, watch the local football, go bird watching or go to the gym
- listen to music, reminisce and have a dance
- have them round for dinner or organise a family get-together
- read books – take turns reading aloud or go through it together, you could even start a family book club
- spend time in the garden or walk through the local park, talking about the different plants and flowers
- go for a swim at your local pool or if you live near the water take a dook in the sea
- look through old photo albums to bring back favourite memories
- play games you’ve always enjoyed – things like dominoes, board games, card games and jigsaws
Find out more about local supports for people living with dementia from the East Lothian Health and Social Care Partnership web pages.
For more information around supporting someone with a dementia diagnosis, please visit NHS inform - Rethink Dementia
The new campaign aims to break the stigma around dementia and show how everyday interactions can keep people well for longer
Walk the walk with Step Count Challenge Autumn 2024
East Lothian Council staff are looking forward to taking part in Paths for All’s 4 week Step Count Challenge, starting on 4 November. The latest walking challenge welcomes teams of five to find new and exciting ways to help walk more during our working day, and there are still a few free places left for teams who have not signed up yet.
Get involved and when the challenge begins you will be able to log daily steps, set weekly targets and take part in weekly challenges to keep motivated and moving. Increasing physical activity throughout the working day brings incredible benefits: spending time outdoors can help to clear your head and boost your mood, helping you to feel more productive and focussed, reducing staff sick days and boosting team morale. Why not schedule a walking meeting or a lunchtime walk with colleagues now to help you boost your step count when the challenge starts? You could even end up topping the leader board for the whole of Scotland, just like Haddington Primary School’s very own Happy Positive Striders did earlier this year!
This initiative is a great opportunity for us to get together and stay connected, whilst having some fun along the way.
If you would like to sign your team up for free, just get in touch with Healthy Working Lives at hwl@eastlothian.gov.uk
Welcome to the Council – Corporate Induction
Our Organisational Development Team have developed a new process to increase awareness, attendance and commitment to these events.
- Corporate Induction events will take place every 4 months online via Teams
- The webinar invite will be sent to all managers that have had new employees start since the previous event, approximately 2-4 weeks before the event
- This will include any new employees due to start, up to the event date
- Managers can then forward the invite onto their new employee, which includes the full schedule
Emails to managers that have had new starts in July, August and September have already been sent and a further email will shortly be sent to those managers with new start in October and up to the next event, which is 6 November.
BUG lunchtime outing inspires team to get on their bikes!
Ciara Webb (Team Leader, Justice Social Work Services) and Errol Walls (Social Worker, Criminal Justice) took the opportunity to join the lunchtime bike ride on Tuesday, 3 September which was organised by Healthy Working Lives and the ELC Bike Users Group (BUG).
Starting at the Brunton Hall, Richard Kerr and Hedvig Ponten from the Healthy Working Lives team met with Ciara, Errol and other riders to head towards the beautiful Cockenzie House before returning to the Brunton. Cyclists also enjoyed lunch afterwards – the perfect reward for their efforts!
Ciara said: “Errol and I took part in a bike ride where we learnt more about the Council’s sustainability plans and also shared knowledge/ideas about how Justice Social Work might be able to contribute to these plans.
"Off the back of this, Errol and I decided to organise a team cycle. Six of us pootled from Musselburgh to Prestonpans and back again, enjoying the fresh air and the quiet paths en route.”
You can join the Bike Users Group (BUG) to receive their newsletter, packed with all things cycling. If you’d like to get these updates a few times a simply email bug@eastlothian.gov.uk to join the mailing list.
If you are new to cycling, the Get Cycling webpages may be of interest to you. There are a number of articles on helping you choose the right bike for you, what you should wear, bike security and other useful information to get you biking.