Gullane, Aberlady, Dirleton and Drem Area Community Council

The next meeting of the Community Council will be held on Thursday June 26th, at Dirleton Church Hall, starting at 7.00pm.
The meeting is open to members of the public.

The draft Minutes of the May meeting can be downloaded from the Local Diary page, under Minutes.

Details of the new Community Council can be found on the Community Council page.

The are vacancies for Community Councillors in the following wards:

Aberlady (1 vacancy)

Dirleton (1 vacancy)

Gullane (2 vacancies)

If you are interested in becoming a community councillor or wish to discuss it further, please make one of the following contacts

Email this website

or phone

George Fraser (Chairman) 01620843102
Linda Ogilvie (Secretary) 01620 825302

The deadline for contact is 21st June 2008

The next meeting of the Community Council will be on Thursday 29th May, in Aberlady Kirk Stables, starting at 7.00pm.

The draft Minutes of the April meeting can be downloaded from the Local Diary page under Meeting Minutes.

The following Community Councillors were welcomed as new members following the elections of April 2007.

Aberlady – John Aitken
Drem – Sian Morris
Dirleton – Sandy Steel
Gullane – Jeremy Findlay

March 2008 saw the final meeting of the Community Council before the April elections of a new Community Council.

The Chairman – George Fraser – thanked all Councillors for their service. He paid tribute in particular to John Fortune of Drem who had served his area and the wider community with distinction for 30 years. George also thanked Bill McNie of Dirleton who had been a very effective Councillor for his area.

The new Community Council will meet for the first time on Thursday April 24th, at Gullane Village Side Hall. The meeting starts at 7.00 pm and members of the public are welcome to attend. The draft Minutes of the March meeting can be downloaded from the Meeting Minutes section of the Local Diary page.

Many residents will have followed the story of the Gullane Surgery in the press or through the letter distributed by the Doctors. This is a summary of the current position.
The Community Council was approached by the Doctors and Gullane Day Centre to help to gauge views of residents on their proposal. This was to support the building of a new Health Centre and Day Centre on land immediately to the east of the Gullane boundary, on fields to the north and south of the A198. The new Centres would be provided free of cost by a developer in return for permission to build 150 houses over the two fields.

Prior to this approach as a Community Council we had not been involved in any formal discussions about the Surgery or the Day Centre by the Authorities (NHS Lothian and East Lothian Council). We had organised a public meeting in June involving these Authorities, the Doctors and East Lothian Councillors. We had no feedback on any outcome from that meeting.

The new proposal is undoubtedly a complex one, involving many issues. One issue is funding/spending on local services. Another is the fact that the area in question has been excluded from housing development by two East Lothian Plans and two Public Inquiries. As a Community Council we were in no position to consult the public from a position where had very little informed knowledge. We have set out to gather a range of relevant information from various sources. Because of their record of unwilling communication we have asked NHS Lothian and ELC for information as Freedom of Information requests. Once we have analysed information the Community Council will set out to consult local opinion. In the meantime we are happy to get any initial responses from residents – through Gaddabout, through letters or contact with Community Councillors.

The next Community Council meeting will be held in Dirleton Church Hall on March 27th, starting at 7.00pm.

Members of the public are welcome to attend.

The Draft Minutes of the February meeting can be downloaded from the Local Diary page.

Did you know that Gullane Bowling club is over a hundred years old? Well it is and the green is getting a facelift in time for the new season commencing April 2008. Thanks to a generous grant from East Lothian Council, new wooden edging for the green, levelling of sunken rink ends, removal of grass banking and replacement by artificial banking has all been worked upon of late. This will be complemented by an automatic irrigation system and finished off by new pathway surrounds. The whole thing will be aesthetically pleasing and labour saving in terms of upkeep. At the end of the day a great communal facility will be restored to its former glory to be enjoyed by all.
Bowls is a game for all ages: we have at least ten youth members, nine year olds and upwards, as well as adults. The Community Council gave us a grant to buy special bowls for young players. Why not come and join the bowling club, or try the game out? You will be made most welcome on Monday evenings, Tuesday afternoons and if you are a youngster, Friday afternoons at 2pm. Membership fees are modest to enjoy this wonderful facility, right in the middle of the village in Hall Crescent, behind the Bissets and opposite the village hall car park. For more information contact Douglas McRae, President 842593.

The next meeting of the Community Council will be held in Aberlady Kirk Stables on February 28th, starting at 7.00pm.
Members of the public are welcome to attend.

The draft minutes of the January meeting can be downloaded from the Local Diary page.

The four-year term of your current Community Council is nearly complete and elections for a new Council will be held on April 24th 2008. Nomination papers will be available from East Lothian Council (John Muir House) from March 19th.

There are likely to be vacancies amongst our Wards of Aberlady, Dirleton, Drem and Gullane. If you are interested in further information, why not contact Gaddabout and one of our Councillors will get back to you.

We will post further details nearer to the time.

Gullane’s fairly new youth group has started well, but needs further help to widen its scope and attractiveness. Helpers (over 16 years) would be welcome, even for a few hours per term.

For details you can download the advert from this site – Local Diary page.