The Christmas Tree on the village green is now standing up and decorated with lights. Thank you to the Donaldson family for providing the tree, and to the squad led by Dave Ramsey and Peter McQuade for putting it up. Have a Merry Christmas!

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A message sent to us by Sylvia Wood:
Energy suppliers may be able to offer some customers a Warm Home Discount. A discount of £135 may be available to people on low incomes/benefits. Customers must meet certain criteria and should contact their individual suppliers for information and to apply. Hurry, because the offer is time restricted.

Garvald & Morham Community Council

AGENDA
For meeting to be held on Monday, 2nd December
At 7pm, Morham Village Hall

1. Attendance and Apologies

2. Minutes of Last Meeting

3. Matters Arising from Minutes

4. Councillors’ Report

5. Update from Kirstie Shearer, Council Liaison Rep

6. Update from Ian Smith, Broadband Rep

7. Update from Phillip White, Funding Rep
• Outdoor gym equipment for adults/teenagers.

8. Update from Ian Middlemass, Treasurer

9. Local Planning Applications

10. Garvald and Morham Updates
• Speeding and Road Safety Issues in Garvald.
• Neighbourhood watch in Garvald.

11. Garvald Woodland Project

12. A.O.C.B.
• 1st responders
• You Pay… Have Your Say – community consultation exercise
• Consultation on the Community Empowerment Bill
• Reports from Lammermuir CC meeting and Assoc of East Lothian CC meeting.

Everyone Welcome

Councillor Tom Trotter hold his surgeries in Garvald Village Hall once a month on a Saturday, 10.30-11am. Dates for 2014 are listed on the GMCC page.

Yes it is the time of year when, unfortunately, we must turn our attention to the fact that Winter is upon us and be ready for everything it has to throw at us! We all know that bad weather and difficult driving conditions are all part of living rurally but there are a few things we can do to make it a little easier for us all.

The Council website (http://www.eastlothian.gov.uk/) has helpful information contained on the “Transport and Streets” section regarding winter maintenance on roads, gritting etc. Also have a look at the Scottish Government’s “Ready Scotland” website where you can find out how to get updates on road conditions via Facebook, email or SMS alerts! Also see our new Safety Information webpage.

Grit bins and shovels are available throughout the villages of Garvald and Morham for use of the local community – if you don’t know where to access them please let us know by posting a comment to this item.

The Community Council have been requested by the Council’s Roads Section to ask that residents please give some consideration when parking to allow access, not just for emergency vehicles, but also for the machines gritting and clearing snow. The wide blades of the snow clearers are particularly hard to manoeuvre and if the operators cannot get access or if the area looks too difficult to get into then they will simply be unable to grit or clear snow. They have pointed out a particular difficulty at Garvald Grange but it makes sense for everyone to be aware of this issue.

We are lucky to have a wonderful community spirit but sometimes people don’t always like to ask for help. If you have any elderly or infirm neighbours perhaps they would be grateful for an offer of help during bad weather such as clearing a path or picking up essential groceries etc.

If anyone wants to make any comments, volunteer to be part of a ‘shovelling squad’ to help those who need it, or feels that they may need any extra assistance in the event of severe weather, please contact us.

Minutes from the October meeting of the Garvald and Morham Community Council are now available on the GMCC page. Among the items discussed were Crystal Rig funding, progress on the Garvald Woodland Project and Christmas plans for both villages.

A message from Phillip White, Garvald and Morham Community Council:

The Community Council is endeavouring to set up a Neighbourhood Watch in Garvald to include Garvald Grange, Garvald Mains, Nunraw Barns and Tanderlane Cottages.

In the next few days you should receive a leaflet through your letterbox inviting you to join the scheme. We would be pleased if you would complete and return the form to us.

We are at the early stages of deciding the best way to proceed with this project and how the scheme would be run, so we need your feedback. A Neighbourhood Watch should meet the needs of the community it serves. Our aim is to have a fully functioning Neighbourhood Watch for the area, coordinated in a way that best suits the community. We already have a community that cares and what we want to do is to make sure our village and its residents are looked after.

A local resident has suggested we explore the possibility of having a First Responders unit in Garvald/Morham, with portable defibrillators and trained medical emergency volunteers. This topic will be discussed at the next Community Council meeting in December.

There are First Responder teams in Dunbar and Stenton. Here’s a link with information about the project: http://www.scottishambulance.com/YourCommunity/responders.aspx.

We need your opinion:

• Please tell us if you think this would be a good idea.
• Also, let us know if you would be interested in receiving training to become a medical emergency volunteer.

To send your feedback, click here for the Contact Us form, or talk to Rufus Bellamy. Thank you!