BLCC Minutes and January police report
BONNYRIGG and LASSWADE COMMUNITY COUNCIL
Agenda of meeting to be held on Thursday 21 February 2019
In Sports Pavilion, King George V Park at 7 pm
A G E N D A
1. Introduction and Welcome
2. Apologies
3. Issues Raised by Members of the Public
4. Minutes of Meeting of 17 January 2019
5. Matters Arising from the Minutes
6. Police Report
7. Report from Midlothian Councillors
8. Youth Shelters
9. Roads, Pavements, Traffic
10. Resilience Group
11. Planning
12. Financial Report
13. A.O.C.B.
14. Date of Next Meeting
Agenda of meeting to be held on Thursday 21 February 2019
In Sports Pavilion, King George V Park at 7 pm
A G E N D A
1. Introduction and Welcome
2. Apologies
3. Issues Raised by Members of the Public
4. Minutes of Meeting of 17 January 2019
5. Matters Arising from the Minutes
6. Police Report
7. Report from Midlothian Councillors
8. Youth Shelters
9. Roads, Pavements, Traffic
10. Resilience Group
11. Planning
12. Financial Report
13. A.O.C.B.
14. Date of Next Meeting
BONNYRIGG & LASSWADE COMMUNITY COUNCIL
Minutes of a meeting held on Thursday 21 February 2019
In Sports Pavilion, King George V Park
Welcome and Introduction
Chair Marnie Crawford welcomed the visitors to the meeting.
In attendance:
Community Councillors: [Chair] Marnie Crawford, Jan Irvine, Owen Proudfoot, Diane Easton, Ruth Scott, Darius Namdaran, Bill McDonald, Rhona Matthews.
Councillors: Derek Milligan, Dianne Alexander.
Colin Beattie MSP
Visitors: Steven Gough, Linda Kane, Gail Halley, Brian Kane, Kerry Kane, Ken Davidson, Fiona Gilbert, Mike Strasser, John Aitchison (Poltonhall and Hopefield Community Council)
Apologies
Community Councillors: Ann Morrison, Sheila Metcalfe, Simon Tracey.
Councillor Janet Lay-Douglas
Issues raised by members of the public
CC Darius commented that the Community Council supported the visitors’ concerns and that it would be essential to have input from people who deal with traffic. Local councillors should instruct them to attend for full discussion. CC Darius asked the councillors present for their views.
Councillor Alexander said she had run a speeding campaign in Lasswade and Wadingburn last year. She leafleted the area and received a high volume of responses, then followed up with Police Scotland who are monitoring the area. Councillor Alexander also asked for help to police traffic at Poltonhall, Lasswade and Broomieknowe. However, speed campaigns tend to be short term and not effective enough for longer term solutions. She had also asked for speed bumps and chicanes to be erected in some areas but was told there are not enough resources to cover the costs.
Councillor Milligan has already asked the Council officers to attend meetings with Police Scotland and residents. He also commented that chicanes had been tried before, however the traffic was actually faster as drivers were racing through them. The Council has also tried speed bumps in some areas and received lots of complaints about noise from lorries being driven over them.
CC Darius asked the Community Council to add their voice to these concerns for the whole of Bonnyrigg and Lasswade.
Minutes of meeting of 17 January 2019
The minutes were considered a true report of the meeting.
Proposed: CC Ruth
Seconded: CC Jan
Matters arising from the previous minutes
The yellow junction box at Dundas Street is to be re-painted but hasn’t been done yet.
Chair Marnie has received a reply from her letter to the Co-op; it states they are aware the Bonnyrigg community has lost its Post Office. They have already approached the Post Office to express an interest and explore the possibility in closer detail. MSP Beattie expressed an interest in the letter as he has also been involved in this.
Obstacle course. At the last Community Council meeting it was agreed that this project would not be going ahead in Waverley Park. Since the meeting it transpired that the funding application had not been successful.
E-mail from Bonnyrigg Bowling Club concerning their new clubhouse. Chair Marnie has replied and heard nothing further.
Police Report
There were no members of Police Scotland in attendance at tonight’s meeting but they sent a copy of the January Police Report.
Summary of the police report for January 2019
49 recorded crimes
25 recorded crimes solved [51%]
331 calls to Police Scotland
A full copy of the report appears below.
Report from Midlothian Councillors
Councillor Alexander commented on the Council budget proposals [described in the minutes of last month’s Community Council meeting]. She said she was disappointed that all parties hadn’t come together to look for alternatives to the proposed budget cuts and job losses. She believes that the 4.79% rise in Council Tax is too high.
One of the visitors complained that Midlothian Council had been insisting on electronic payments and refusing people paying in cash for brown bin collections. Councillor Milligan apologised and reported that the Council is moving towards being able to accept cash payments by 21 March.
Councillor Milligan spoke at length about the Council budget. This has also been described in more detail in the minutes of previous Community Council meetings. Council tax income pays for 23% of Council services; the remaining 77% is covered by Government grant and charges, eg. from leisure centres. There followed a lively discussion between Councillor Milligan and Colin Beattie MSP about budget arrangements for local authorities.
MSP Beattie described the process. Scottish Government produces a block grant. How the grant is distributed is decided by COSLA in line with a formula agreed by local authorities in 2009. The argument now is that the formula is no longer fair. The Scottish Government cannot change the formula as it has been agreed by the local authorities. Midlothian Council received 5.98% (£10.35m) increase which is an above inflation increase; other local authorities received less. MSP Beattie doesn’t understand why, with this increase, there is such a crisis in Midlothian Council. He believes the Council should have had a better consultation process instead of causing unnecessary fear about cuts to services and possible redundancies. He said that Councillor Milligan must put his concerns to COSLA. He believes that Midlothian Council should be looking more radically at how services are delivered instead of resorting to budget cuts.
Councillor Milligan replied that until 29 January 2019 the Council didn’t know that the Scottish Government were going to increase the block grant by £90m. They had to proceed in the belief that the earlier grant was all that would be available.
CC Jan asked MSP Beattie about all the house building that has been going on recently and the pressures this is adding to the local infrastructure. She referred to comments made in earlier Community Council meetings that developers’ applications are being approved by Scottish Government after they had been rejected by Midlothian Council. MSP Beattie replied that the Scottish Government does not approve planning applications. This is done by the Reporter in line with planning regulations and policies. He said he recognised there are problems with the local infrastructure, but so many people are re-locating from the west of Scotland means that it is unavoidable.
CC Darius commented that there appeared to be lots of external cuts in the budget proposals; why couldn’t more savings be found internally in the Council? Where had savings come from? Councillor Milligan gave an example; the Council will need in the region of 80 teachers and 30 classroom assistants for all the new schools that are being built. Instead of recruiting 80, the Council employ only 30 teachers. The Council would still need to pay for headteachers, janitorial staff etc. The simplest saving would be to cut back on the number of teachers recruited which would likely lead to increased class sizes.
MSP Beattie spoke about the uncertainty arising from Brexit. If there is a hard Brexit, the Westminster Government will implement an emergency budget which will mean a knock-on emergency budget in Scotland. The Scottish Government understands that Westminster will try and release an unconfirmed amount of money to help British industry recover from the effects of a hard Brexit.
MSP Beattie is a member of the Scottish Government’s Public Audit and Post-Legislative Scrutiny Committee. The Committee is doing some post-legislative scrutiny on the Dangerous Dogs Act (2010). They have received horrendous reports of people, including young children, suffering terrible injuries from dog attacks. MSP Beattie believes there will be more regulation of dog ownership, perhaps reverting to a form of dog licensing.
MSP Beattie has visited the current development at Shawfair. This is effectively going to be a new town with schools and a library. Housing will be developed incrementally depending on how quickly houses are sold. CC Rhona mentioned that the marketing signage next to the A7 referred to the site as ‘Shawfair Edinburgh’ and not Midlothian.
CC Jan asked MSP Beattie about the ‘People’s Vote’, ie a new EU referendum. He said he would be in favour of this.
Visitor John Aitchison asked Councillor Alexander about the SNP’s amended budget and why this hadn’t been put forward earlier. She replied that it was important to look beyond the budget proposals put forward by Midlothian Council and try and find alternatives. Their plan was to defer the budget for a month, discuss the proposals with Labour and try and mitigate some of the cuts.
Youth Shelters
CC Bill is concerned that the continual reporting of anti-social behaviour is demonising young people. He has put forward a proposal to erect youth shelters in the public park. CC Bill put forward the following motion to be considered by the Community Councillors and all others present and to be discussed at the next meeting.
This Community Council urges Midlothian Council to provide for the youth of Bonnyrigg and Lasswade, when finances allow, Youth Shelters, bearing in mind the repeated reference in the monthly Police Reports delivered to us meeting as a Council, to "youths causing a nuisance', when (A) this alleged "causing a nuisance" would be more appropriately and usefully referred to and considered as "expressing a need" and (B) the proven record of such shelters in reducing anti-social behaviour (behaviour causing distress and/or alarm to others), damage and other petty offending".
Road, Traffic and Footways/Pavements Issues
Grit Bag Locations.
CC Darius created a poll via the residents’ forum on Facebook asking for nominations for suitable locations. He has narrowed the responses to up to 20 strong locations evenly distributed throughout the community.
Action. CC Darius to respond to the Council with the list and ask them to drop 1-tonne bags at each location. CC Darius will post the map on the residents’ forums. He will also ask the Council when this is likely to happen.
CC Rhona reported that members of two other Community Councils [Rosewell and Roslin] had submitted a proposal to the Council which would empower residents to take before and after photographs of utility works and, where these are not finished to an acceptable standard, attempt to hold the utility companies to account. They argue that the utility companies are taking advantage of the fact that only 10% of roads and paths dug up and reinstated are checked by the Council. The proposal is currently with Council officers.
Core Paths. The Council is trying to expand its core path network. A core path is one which is open to all non-motorised users – walkers, cyclists, mobility vehicles, horse riders. Midlothian Council officers are liaising with the Council’s Paths Team. The initial consultation is available until 6 March. CC Rhona will respond on behalf of the Community Council.
Speed limit amendment [Lasswade to Melville Dykes Road]. CC Diane reported that the Council are proposing to reduce the speed limit on this road from 60mph to 40mph. The proposal doesn’t give a timescale. It was commented that it would be a shame for it to be agreed but not implemented through lack of resource as the Community Council agrees this would be a sensible change.
Traffic issues in Waverley area and elsewhere. Issues relating to speed and volume of traffic throughout Bonnyrigg and Lasswade have been noted earlier and in previous meetings. The Community Council agreed several actions.
Resilience Group
CC Diane attended this on behalf of the Community Council. The session was organised by PC Murdoch of Police Scotland and Jane Young of Midlothian Council. The session wasn’t well attended despite being fairly widely advertised. Participants were confused because they believed the session was planning for imminent bad weather, whereas it was actually planning for future years. There were several presentations about how the Council deals with winter service provision. There was also a presentation by the Emergency Planning Officer at East Lothian Council. Their remit is to approach Community Councils to gather people willing to co-ordinate and undertake tasks to help in emergency situations, for example heavy snow or flooding. Midlothian Council is just starting this process so it is still at a very early stage. The session organisers have invited attendees back for further discussions. CC Diane will attend the next meeting and will report back to the Community Council.
Planning
Fast food restaurants
The planning application for two fast food restaurants next to Tesco and McDonalds has gone to appeal. This had originally been rejected by the Council. Chair Marnie is considering writing a letter to the Council commenting on the current traffic situation there. Most people present at tonight’s meeting had concerns about the car park layout and the volume of traffic. The Community Councillors were asked for their views on the planning appeal.
CC Darius was happy to support either way.
CC Owen believes the traffic is too bad there.
CC Bill is in favour of the application.
CC Rhona has concerns about the traffic, also about litter. Also the risk of the proposed development ripping the heart out of the community.
CC Ruth believes the traffic is horrendous as it is.
CC Diane would support the application if it included provision for a separate entrance off the A7. This should be possible, particularly if the Council proceeds with the urbanisation of the A7.
CC Jan feels that the traffic in the vicinity is already at capacity.
Most people are in favour of the development in principal, but the traffic issues are too great.
Eskbank
An industrial unit at Eskbank is to be made into some form of shooting range.
Melville development
CC Jan asked if anyone had any knowledge of a planning application for the new building next to Melville Inn. Councillor Milligan believes the original application for Melville Inn included a hotel which wasn’t built at the time but is being built now.
Financial Report
Chair Marnie reported there had been no change in the Community Council’s bank balance because it hadn’t been spending any money. The balance is currently £2657. She also advised that the Community Council’s grant funding will be £1100 over the next three years.
CC Jan asked about the money in the town twinning account. Chair Marnie confirmed that nothing has been done about it so far. Midlothian Council is happy with the Community Council’s proposal to give it to a registered charity.
Chair Marnie reported that we will need to cover any admin costs before the Community Council AGM in April.
AOCB
Community Day at Lasswade Centre on Saturday 30 March; 12-4pm. This event is being run by Bonnyrigg Rose Football Club in association with Midlothian Council. The organisers were successful in applying to the Scottish Government’s Place Standard Conversion Fund. The funding enabled them to hold this community day to which community groups are invited to attend and run a stall advertising their services. The event is open to everyone. Chair Marnie will speak with the Midlothian Communities Officer to find out what the event is about and what the Community Council can do on the day. CC Bill commented that he still has cards advertising the fitness trail which could be handed out. CCs Diane and Jan asked whether we could create some leaflets or a banner.
CC Ruth asked about the Poltonhall bowling site. Chair Marnie advised that this is subject to a community asset transfer application by Bonnyrigg After School Club and is still ongoing.
Bonnyrigg Rose Football Club is holding a social gathering for older and isolated people at the Poltonhall Recreation Hall on Friday 22 February. They are hoping to repeat the event every month. It’s been held in partnership with the Orchard Centre and with support from the Co-op.
There will be an event promoting local food producers at Penicuik Town Hall on Saturday 23 February at 2.30pm. All invited.
CC Rhona reported that the Scottish Government has opened a consultation on the sale of fireworks in Scotland. She will distribute the link to the consultation.
Date of next meeting
The next meeting will be on Thursday 14 March 2019 at 7pm. The venue will be the Sports Pavilion in King George Park.
Minutes of a meeting held on Thursday 21 February 2019
In Sports Pavilion, King George V Park
Welcome and Introduction
Chair Marnie Crawford welcomed the visitors to the meeting.
In attendance:
Community Councillors: [Chair] Marnie Crawford, Jan Irvine, Owen Proudfoot, Diane Easton, Ruth Scott, Darius Namdaran, Bill McDonald, Rhona Matthews.
Councillors: Derek Milligan, Dianne Alexander.
Colin Beattie MSP
Visitors: Steven Gough, Linda Kane, Gail Halley, Brian Kane, Kerry Kane, Ken Davidson, Fiona Gilbert, Mike Strasser, John Aitchison (Poltonhall and Hopefield Community Council)
Apologies
Community Councillors: Ann Morrison, Sheila Metcalfe, Simon Tracey.
Councillor Janet Lay-Douglas
Issues raised by members of the public
- The residents of the streets surrounding Waverley Park are concerned about the traffic generated by the increasing number of groups visiting the park, for example fitness boot camps. They report that vehicles are being driven onto the grass in the park.
- Also, the street lighting in Waverley Park is coming on for long periods during the day which doesn’t seem to be cost effective given the Council’s current budget situation.
- There were concerns about the speed of the traffic in such a confined area, particularly the narrow access route from Waverley Drive into Waverley Park.
- The Remembrance Committee that organises the wreath laying ceremony for Armistice Sunday should be advised to contact the Masonic Lodge who may make a donation. Councillor Milligan said he would pass the message on when he next meets them.
- Two visitors reported concerns about the volume and speed of traffic through Bonnyrigg High Street. They presented a petition detailing 112 signatures from residents of the surrounding area. The objective of their petition is to find a way to reduce the volume and speed of the traffic, preferably using measures which would involve traffic giving way to oncoming vehicles. A speed monitor had previously been fitted and recorded traffic moving in excess of 50mph. However, the traffic monitor was only in place for a very short time therefore evidence was limited. They want another monitor to be installed, this time for at least one month. There was no one from Police Scotland in attendance at tonight’s meeting therefore the Community Council couldn’t ask them for information. The visitors asked for someone who deals with traffic to attend the next Community Council meeting.
CC Darius commented that the Community Council supported the visitors’ concerns and that it would be essential to have input from people who deal with traffic. Local councillors should instruct them to attend for full discussion. CC Darius asked the councillors present for their views.
Councillor Alexander said she had run a speeding campaign in Lasswade and Wadingburn last year. She leafleted the area and received a high volume of responses, then followed up with Police Scotland who are monitoring the area. Councillor Alexander also asked for help to police traffic at Poltonhall, Lasswade and Broomieknowe. However, speed campaigns tend to be short term and not effective enough for longer term solutions. She had also asked for speed bumps and chicanes to be erected in some areas but was told there are not enough resources to cover the costs.
Councillor Milligan has already asked the Council officers to attend meetings with Police Scotland and residents. He also commented that chicanes had been tried before, however the traffic was actually faster as drivers were racing through them. The Council has also tried speed bumps in some areas and received lots of complaints about noise from lorries being driven over them.
CC Darius asked the Community Council to add their voice to these concerns for the whole of Bonnyrigg and Lasswade.
Minutes of meeting of 17 January 2019
The minutes were considered a true report of the meeting.
Proposed: CC Ruth
Seconded: CC Jan
Matters arising from the previous minutes
The yellow junction box at Dundas Street is to be re-painted but hasn’t been done yet.
Chair Marnie has received a reply from her letter to the Co-op; it states they are aware the Bonnyrigg community has lost its Post Office. They have already approached the Post Office to express an interest and explore the possibility in closer detail. MSP Beattie expressed an interest in the letter as he has also been involved in this.
Obstacle course. At the last Community Council meeting it was agreed that this project would not be going ahead in Waverley Park. Since the meeting it transpired that the funding application had not been successful.
E-mail from Bonnyrigg Bowling Club concerning their new clubhouse. Chair Marnie has replied and heard nothing further.
Police Report
There were no members of Police Scotland in attendance at tonight’s meeting but they sent a copy of the January Police Report.
Summary of the police report for January 2019
49 recorded crimes
25 recorded crimes solved [51%]
331 calls to Police Scotland
A full copy of the report appears below.
Report from Midlothian Councillors
Councillor Alexander commented on the Council budget proposals [described in the minutes of last month’s Community Council meeting]. She said she was disappointed that all parties hadn’t come together to look for alternatives to the proposed budget cuts and job losses. She believes that the 4.79% rise in Council Tax is too high.
One of the visitors complained that Midlothian Council had been insisting on electronic payments and refusing people paying in cash for brown bin collections. Councillor Milligan apologised and reported that the Council is moving towards being able to accept cash payments by 21 March.
Councillor Milligan spoke at length about the Council budget. This has also been described in more detail in the minutes of previous Community Council meetings. Council tax income pays for 23% of Council services; the remaining 77% is covered by Government grant and charges, eg. from leisure centres. There followed a lively discussion between Councillor Milligan and Colin Beattie MSP about budget arrangements for local authorities.
MSP Beattie described the process. Scottish Government produces a block grant. How the grant is distributed is decided by COSLA in line with a formula agreed by local authorities in 2009. The argument now is that the formula is no longer fair. The Scottish Government cannot change the formula as it has been agreed by the local authorities. Midlothian Council received 5.98% (£10.35m) increase which is an above inflation increase; other local authorities received less. MSP Beattie doesn’t understand why, with this increase, there is such a crisis in Midlothian Council. He believes the Council should have had a better consultation process instead of causing unnecessary fear about cuts to services and possible redundancies. He said that Councillor Milligan must put his concerns to COSLA. He believes that Midlothian Council should be looking more radically at how services are delivered instead of resorting to budget cuts.
Councillor Milligan replied that until 29 January 2019 the Council didn’t know that the Scottish Government were going to increase the block grant by £90m. They had to proceed in the belief that the earlier grant was all that would be available.
CC Jan asked MSP Beattie about all the house building that has been going on recently and the pressures this is adding to the local infrastructure. She referred to comments made in earlier Community Council meetings that developers’ applications are being approved by Scottish Government after they had been rejected by Midlothian Council. MSP Beattie replied that the Scottish Government does not approve planning applications. This is done by the Reporter in line with planning regulations and policies. He said he recognised there are problems with the local infrastructure, but so many people are re-locating from the west of Scotland means that it is unavoidable.
CC Darius commented that there appeared to be lots of external cuts in the budget proposals; why couldn’t more savings be found internally in the Council? Where had savings come from? Councillor Milligan gave an example; the Council will need in the region of 80 teachers and 30 classroom assistants for all the new schools that are being built. Instead of recruiting 80, the Council employ only 30 teachers. The Council would still need to pay for headteachers, janitorial staff etc. The simplest saving would be to cut back on the number of teachers recruited which would likely lead to increased class sizes.
MSP Beattie spoke about the uncertainty arising from Brexit. If there is a hard Brexit, the Westminster Government will implement an emergency budget which will mean a knock-on emergency budget in Scotland. The Scottish Government understands that Westminster will try and release an unconfirmed amount of money to help British industry recover from the effects of a hard Brexit.
MSP Beattie is a member of the Scottish Government’s Public Audit and Post-Legislative Scrutiny Committee. The Committee is doing some post-legislative scrutiny on the Dangerous Dogs Act (2010). They have received horrendous reports of people, including young children, suffering terrible injuries from dog attacks. MSP Beattie believes there will be more regulation of dog ownership, perhaps reverting to a form of dog licensing.
MSP Beattie has visited the current development at Shawfair. This is effectively going to be a new town with schools and a library. Housing will be developed incrementally depending on how quickly houses are sold. CC Rhona mentioned that the marketing signage next to the A7 referred to the site as ‘Shawfair Edinburgh’ and not Midlothian.
CC Jan asked MSP Beattie about the ‘People’s Vote’, ie a new EU referendum. He said he would be in favour of this.
Visitor John Aitchison asked Councillor Alexander about the SNP’s amended budget and why this hadn’t been put forward earlier. She replied that it was important to look beyond the budget proposals put forward by Midlothian Council and try and find alternatives. Their plan was to defer the budget for a month, discuss the proposals with Labour and try and mitigate some of the cuts.
Youth Shelters
CC Bill is concerned that the continual reporting of anti-social behaviour is demonising young people. He has put forward a proposal to erect youth shelters in the public park. CC Bill put forward the following motion to be considered by the Community Councillors and all others present and to be discussed at the next meeting.
This Community Council urges Midlothian Council to provide for the youth of Bonnyrigg and Lasswade, when finances allow, Youth Shelters, bearing in mind the repeated reference in the monthly Police Reports delivered to us meeting as a Council, to "youths causing a nuisance', when (A) this alleged "causing a nuisance" would be more appropriately and usefully referred to and considered as "expressing a need" and (B) the proven record of such shelters in reducing anti-social behaviour (behaviour causing distress and/or alarm to others), damage and other petty offending".
Road, Traffic and Footways/Pavements Issues
Grit Bag Locations.
CC Darius created a poll via the residents’ forum on Facebook asking for nominations for suitable locations. He has narrowed the responses to up to 20 strong locations evenly distributed throughout the community.
Action. CC Darius to respond to the Council with the list and ask them to drop 1-tonne bags at each location. CC Darius will post the map on the residents’ forums. He will also ask the Council when this is likely to happen.
CC Rhona reported that members of two other Community Councils [Rosewell and Roslin] had submitted a proposal to the Council which would empower residents to take before and after photographs of utility works and, where these are not finished to an acceptable standard, attempt to hold the utility companies to account. They argue that the utility companies are taking advantage of the fact that only 10% of roads and paths dug up and reinstated are checked by the Council. The proposal is currently with Council officers.
Core Paths. The Council is trying to expand its core path network. A core path is one which is open to all non-motorised users – walkers, cyclists, mobility vehicles, horse riders. Midlothian Council officers are liaising with the Council’s Paths Team. The initial consultation is available until 6 March. CC Rhona will respond on behalf of the Community Council.
Speed limit amendment [Lasswade to Melville Dykes Road]. CC Diane reported that the Council are proposing to reduce the speed limit on this road from 60mph to 40mph. The proposal doesn’t give a timescale. It was commented that it would be a shame for it to be agreed but not implemented through lack of resource as the Community Council agrees this would be a sensible change.
Traffic issues in Waverley area and elsewhere. Issues relating to speed and volume of traffic throughout Bonnyrigg and Lasswade have been noted earlier and in previous meetings. The Community Council agreed several actions.
- They will contact Police Scotland concerning increasing speed checks and will bring to their attention the petition brought to tonight’s meeting.
- Waverley Drive and Waverley Park; the Community Council needs a summary of what is going on there with a view to formally requesting this to be looked at.
- Councillor Milligan will follow up the visitors’ concerns about the fitness boot camp that is being run in Waverley Park.
- CC Darius suggested asking for a speed sign to be erected in a more suitable location than is at present.
- The visitors asked for a new speed bump to be erected near the access road for Waverley Park.
- Councillor Milligan will arrange a site visit with a Council officer.
- The box on the lamppost that monitors speed seems to be broken. Chair Marnie will ask Council officers to repair it.
Resilience Group
CC Diane attended this on behalf of the Community Council. The session was organised by PC Murdoch of Police Scotland and Jane Young of Midlothian Council. The session wasn’t well attended despite being fairly widely advertised. Participants were confused because they believed the session was planning for imminent bad weather, whereas it was actually planning for future years. There were several presentations about how the Council deals with winter service provision. There was also a presentation by the Emergency Planning Officer at East Lothian Council. Their remit is to approach Community Councils to gather people willing to co-ordinate and undertake tasks to help in emergency situations, for example heavy snow or flooding. Midlothian Council is just starting this process so it is still at a very early stage. The session organisers have invited attendees back for further discussions. CC Diane will attend the next meeting and will report back to the Community Council.
Planning
Fast food restaurants
The planning application for two fast food restaurants next to Tesco and McDonalds has gone to appeal. This had originally been rejected by the Council. Chair Marnie is considering writing a letter to the Council commenting on the current traffic situation there. Most people present at tonight’s meeting had concerns about the car park layout and the volume of traffic. The Community Councillors were asked for their views on the planning appeal.
CC Darius was happy to support either way.
CC Owen believes the traffic is too bad there.
CC Bill is in favour of the application.
CC Rhona has concerns about the traffic, also about litter. Also the risk of the proposed development ripping the heart out of the community.
CC Ruth believes the traffic is horrendous as it is.
CC Diane would support the application if it included provision for a separate entrance off the A7. This should be possible, particularly if the Council proceeds with the urbanisation of the A7.
CC Jan feels that the traffic in the vicinity is already at capacity.
Most people are in favour of the development in principal, but the traffic issues are too great.
Eskbank
An industrial unit at Eskbank is to be made into some form of shooting range.
Melville development
CC Jan asked if anyone had any knowledge of a planning application for the new building next to Melville Inn. Councillor Milligan believes the original application for Melville Inn included a hotel which wasn’t built at the time but is being built now.
Financial Report
Chair Marnie reported there had been no change in the Community Council’s bank balance because it hadn’t been spending any money. The balance is currently £2657. She also advised that the Community Council’s grant funding will be £1100 over the next three years.
CC Jan asked about the money in the town twinning account. Chair Marnie confirmed that nothing has been done about it so far. Midlothian Council is happy with the Community Council’s proposal to give it to a registered charity.
Chair Marnie reported that we will need to cover any admin costs before the Community Council AGM in April.
AOCB
Community Day at Lasswade Centre on Saturday 30 March; 12-4pm. This event is being run by Bonnyrigg Rose Football Club in association with Midlothian Council. The organisers were successful in applying to the Scottish Government’s Place Standard Conversion Fund. The funding enabled them to hold this community day to which community groups are invited to attend and run a stall advertising their services. The event is open to everyone. Chair Marnie will speak with the Midlothian Communities Officer to find out what the event is about and what the Community Council can do on the day. CC Bill commented that he still has cards advertising the fitness trail which could be handed out. CCs Diane and Jan asked whether we could create some leaflets or a banner.
CC Ruth asked about the Poltonhall bowling site. Chair Marnie advised that this is subject to a community asset transfer application by Bonnyrigg After School Club and is still ongoing.
Bonnyrigg Rose Football Club is holding a social gathering for older and isolated people at the Poltonhall Recreation Hall on Friday 22 February. They are hoping to repeat the event every month. It’s been held in partnership with the Orchard Centre and with support from the Co-op.
There will be an event promoting local food producers at Penicuik Town Hall on Saturday 23 February at 2.30pm. All invited.
CC Rhona reported that the Scottish Government has opened a consultation on the sale of fireworks in Scotland. She will distribute the link to the consultation.
Date of next meeting
The next meeting will be on Thursday 14 March 2019 at 7pm. The venue will be the Sports Pavilion in King George Park.
Police Report
Bonnyrigg, Lasswade and Poltonhall and District
[1-31 January 2019]
During the month of January 2019 in the beat area BD01 – Bonnyrigg, Lasswade, Poltonhall & District – there were 49 recorded crimes reported, of which 25 were solved (51% solvency).
During this time period, there were 331 calls to Police Scotland.
INCIDENTS OF NOTE
On Tuesday the 1st of January the occupant of a property at Waverley Terrace discovered that their vehicle and living room window had been damaged.
On Wednesday the 2nd of January a female stole a quantity of meat from Tesco Express. The female was described as white skinned, 40 years old, long dark hair, slim build wearing dark coloured coat with a fur trim around the hood and dark jeans.
Between Friday the 21st of December 2018 and Thursday the 3rd of January 2019 the window of a property on Lothian Street was smashed.
About 2:40am on Saturday the 5th of January a 17 year old man was arrested for behaving in a threatening and abusive manner at South Chesters Grove. He has been reported to the Procurator Fiscal.
About 10:30am on Saturday the 5th of January a 27 year old man was arrested for drugs offences after a warrant was executed at an address on Polton Court. He has been reported to the Procurator Fiscal.
About 2:30pm on Saturday the 5th of January 2 men wearing black tracksuits with hoods up smashed the window of a property on Campview Road.
About 7:30pm on Sunday the 6th of January a number of youths damaged a bin at Polton Avenue Road.
About 4:30pm on Monday the 7th of January a man stole a charity tin from a premises on Polton Street. The man was described as white, medium build, 30 years old, dark hair wearing a blue jacket and grey hooded top.
About 9:15pm on Monday the 7th of January 4 youths were reported to have damaged the properties window at Leyden Place.
About 12pm on Monday the 14th of January a 23 year old woman was found using a mobile phone whilst driving on Lasswade Road. She has been reported to the Procurator Fiscal.
About 1:50pm on Monday the 14th of January a vehicle was issued with a prohibition order after the braking system was found to be defective at Lasswade Road.
About 6:30pm on Monday the 14th of January a man stole a basket of goods from Co-operative. The man was described as white, 30 years old, slim build wearing a dark tracksuit.
About 11:10am on Wednesday the 16th of January the window of a property at Polton Court was damaged.
About 12pm on Friday the 18th of January a man stole a can of Dragon Soup from a premises on Dundas Street.
About 5:30pm on Saturday the 19th of January the window of a property on Dobbies Road was smashed.
About 9pm on Saturday the 19th of January 2 men were charged after a disturbance at a premises on Dundas Street.
About 9am on Sunday the 20th of January a resident of Durham Place discovered damage to their cars wing mirror.
About 12pm on Sunday the 20th of January a vehicle was found being driven without insurance. The driver has been reported to the Procurator Fiscal and the vehicle uplifted.
About 4:20pm on Sunday the 20th of January youths smashed the window of a property at Waverley Court.
About 6am on Tuesday the 22nd of January a resident of Almond Crescent discovered that the wing mirror of their car had been damaged.
About 1pm on Tuesday the 22nd of January a resident of Auld Coal Loan discovered that a number of pedal cycles had been stolen from their garage.
About 5pm on Tuesday the 22nd of January it was discovered that building material were stolen from a property at Polton Road West.
About 6:50pm on the on Tuesday the 22nd of January a boiler and piping were discovered to have been stolen from the garden of a property on High Street, Lasswade.
About 7pm on Sunday the 27th of January a man was assaulted at a premises on Polton Street. A 49 year old man has been reported to the Procurator Fiscal.
About 10pm on Wednesday the 30th of January a man stole a quantity of alcohol from Co-operative and thereafter left in a black Vauxhall Corsa
A resident of Bonnyrigg reported an attempted fraud whereby they received a suspicious phone call from a person claiming to be a representative of HMRC. During the call the person attempted to persuade the resident of Bonnyrigg to buy Google vouchers to make a payment. Can all residents of Bonnyrigg and Midlothian please be vigilant to this fraudulent activity.
During the month of January there were several calls relating to persons on off road motorbikes in the Bonnyrigg area, particularly the Burnbrae and Waverley areas. A 21 year old man was charged in relation to this conduct and his motorbike seized. Please continue to notify police should this be witnessed.
During the month of January there were several calls relating to youths causing a nuisance at the Lasswade Centre. To tackle this police resources were targeted accordingly and discussions are ongoing in relation to changing the layout of the reception area to prevent youths accessing the centre.
If any person has any information about the incidents listed above, or indeed any other crime, please contact your Community Policing Officers PC Jonny Cassidy or PC Owen Findlay via 101 or email:
[email protected]
[email protected]
Additional Information
Hate crime and domestic abuse can now be reported online via the official Police Scotland website at www.scotland.police.uk or by visiting a Third Party Reporting Centre – details of which are also on our website.
Information regarding crime can be passed to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or through an Online Form - both of these routes are completely anonymous and available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Police Scotland use social media to circulate the latest news, events and information to the public via Twitter (@LothBordPolice and @MidLothPolice) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/LothiansScottishBordersPoliceDivision and www.facebook.com/MidlothianPolice).
Your View Counts
Police Scotland consults with the public every year on what their priorities are for policing in their community.
In the past this has always been by hard copy consultation questionnaires which were distributed by police officers within the community.
Bonnyrigg, Lasswade and Poltonhall and District
[1-31 January 2019]
During the month of January 2019 in the beat area BD01 – Bonnyrigg, Lasswade, Poltonhall & District – there were 49 recorded crimes reported, of which 25 were solved (51% solvency).
During this time period, there were 331 calls to Police Scotland.
INCIDENTS OF NOTE
On Tuesday the 1st of January the occupant of a property at Waverley Terrace discovered that their vehicle and living room window had been damaged.
On Wednesday the 2nd of January a female stole a quantity of meat from Tesco Express. The female was described as white skinned, 40 years old, long dark hair, slim build wearing dark coloured coat with a fur trim around the hood and dark jeans.
Between Friday the 21st of December 2018 and Thursday the 3rd of January 2019 the window of a property on Lothian Street was smashed.
About 2:40am on Saturday the 5th of January a 17 year old man was arrested for behaving in a threatening and abusive manner at South Chesters Grove. He has been reported to the Procurator Fiscal.
About 10:30am on Saturday the 5th of January a 27 year old man was arrested for drugs offences after a warrant was executed at an address on Polton Court. He has been reported to the Procurator Fiscal.
About 2:30pm on Saturday the 5th of January 2 men wearing black tracksuits with hoods up smashed the window of a property on Campview Road.
About 7:30pm on Sunday the 6th of January a number of youths damaged a bin at Polton Avenue Road.
About 4:30pm on Monday the 7th of January a man stole a charity tin from a premises on Polton Street. The man was described as white, medium build, 30 years old, dark hair wearing a blue jacket and grey hooded top.
About 9:15pm on Monday the 7th of January 4 youths were reported to have damaged the properties window at Leyden Place.
About 12pm on Monday the 14th of January a 23 year old woman was found using a mobile phone whilst driving on Lasswade Road. She has been reported to the Procurator Fiscal.
About 1:50pm on Monday the 14th of January a vehicle was issued with a prohibition order after the braking system was found to be defective at Lasswade Road.
About 6:30pm on Monday the 14th of January a man stole a basket of goods from Co-operative. The man was described as white, 30 years old, slim build wearing a dark tracksuit.
About 11:10am on Wednesday the 16th of January the window of a property at Polton Court was damaged.
About 12pm on Friday the 18th of January a man stole a can of Dragon Soup from a premises on Dundas Street.
About 5:30pm on Saturday the 19th of January the window of a property on Dobbies Road was smashed.
About 9pm on Saturday the 19th of January 2 men were charged after a disturbance at a premises on Dundas Street.
About 9am on Sunday the 20th of January a resident of Durham Place discovered damage to their cars wing mirror.
About 12pm on Sunday the 20th of January a vehicle was found being driven without insurance. The driver has been reported to the Procurator Fiscal and the vehicle uplifted.
About 4:20pm on Sunday the 20th of January youths smashed the window of a property at Waverley Court.
About 6am on Tuesday the 22nd of January a resident of Almond Crescent discovered that the wing mirror of their car had been damaged.
About 1pm on Tuesday the 22nd of January a resident of Auld Coal Loan discovered that a number of pedal cycles had been stolen from their garage.
About 5pm on Tuesday the 22nd of January it was discovered that building material were stolen from a property at Polton Road West.
About 6:50pm on the on Tuesday the 22nd of January a boiler and piping were discovered to have been stolen from the garden of a property on High Street, Lasswade.
About 7pm on Sunday the 27th of January a man was assaulted at a premises on Polton Street. A 49 year old man has been reported to the Procurator Fiscal.
About 10pm on Wednesday the 30th of January a man stole a quantity of alcohol from Co-operative and thereafter left in a black Vauxhall Corsa
A resident of Bonnyrigg reported an attempted fraud whereby they received a suspicious phone call from a person claiming to be a representative of HMRC. During the call the person attempted to persuade the resident of Bonnyrigg to buy Google vouchers to make a payment. Can all residents of Bonnyrigg and Midlothian please be vigilant to this fraudulent activity.
During the month of January there were several calls relating to persons on off road motorbikes in the Bonnyrigg area, particularly the Burnbrae and Waverley areas. A 21 year old man was charged in relation to this conduct and his motorbike seized. Please continue to notify police should this be witnessed.
During the month of January there were several calls relating to youths causing a nuisance at the Lasswade Centre. To tackle this police resources were targeted accordingly and discussions are ongoing in relation to changing the layout of the reception area to prevent youths accessing the centre.
If any person has any information about the incidents listed above, or indeed any other crime, please contact your Community Policing Officers PC Jonny Cassidy or PC Owen Findlay via 101 or email:
[email protected]
[email protected]
Additional Information
Hate crime and domestic abuse can now be reported online via the official Police Scotland website at www.scotland.police.uk or by visiting a Third Party Reporting Centre – details of which are also on our website.
Information regarding crime can be passed to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or through an Online Form - both of these routes are completely anonymous and available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Police Scotland use social media to circulate the latest news, events and information to the public via Twitter (@LothBordPolice and @MidLothPolice) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/LothiansScottishBordersPoliceDivision and www.facebook.com/MidlothianPolice).
Your View Counts
Police Scotland consults with the public every year on what their priorities are for policing in their community.
In the past this has always been by hard copy consultation questionnaires which were distributed by police officers within the community.