The Community Council has been unable to meet since March but everyone has been keeping in touch and all matters discussed via email.

When the Coronavirus Emergency was announced members quickly put together a list of people who could be contacted by those needing help with shopping and so on. Tyninghame Hall and Whitekirk set up groups for their residents too.This and all relevant information from ELC and the Scottish Government was posted on our website. We did our best to process all the demands made on us by ELC. A group of people in East Linton came forward to offer help and thanks to them we were able to put together a Community Resilience Team complete with hi-vis vests and volunteer badges. Anyone needing help was able to call one of the two phones provided by ELC. DCC members also took an active part in helping to administer various crisis Funds. It’s been a huge effort on the part of both organisers and the volunteers and the community owes a big thank you to all those involved. Like most other communities we stood our volunteers down on 31st July.

Other news: DCC has been active in objecting to the appeal to the Scottish Government concerning the Museum of Flight’s application to fell 299 trees in Gilmerton Wood. We also responded to consultations on the Viridor plastic recycling plant at Dunbar, the Dunbear site expansion proposals, ELC’s Spaces for People and ClimatEvolution.

The giant hogweed project on the Tyne has been a huge success with many people now involved in spotting. Many thanks to the spotters and the organisers for all the work and time they have put in. Following a note in June to Nick Morgan of ELC, the Countryside Management team replaced some defective boards, a section of handrail, and a wooden step at the white bridge by Preston Mill. The bare wood of the handrail has been painted but the rest of the bridge could do with re-painting.

Whittingehame residents are now using and enjoying their phone box lending library and are grateful for the support from DCC. All members of the community were able to liaise with each other locally during the lock down and help with shopping and shared deliveries of food.

In Tyninghame we have been pursuing the replacement of Tyninghame sign at the bridge and continuing attempts to make Lawhead junction safer as well as liaising between Tyninghame Covid Response Group and DCC Covid emergency response.

All planning consents are now in place for the Robert Noble board on the wall opposite the Community Hall after some complicated navigation of ELC’s e-planning system.

Repair work to the Fountain has been held up by the pandemic but we hope it can start soon. We are now entering the final phase of plans to make up and supply and repair seats and benches around Dunbar/East Linton area, 22 seats/benches so far. A seat and a bench are ready to be installed in the Tyninghame Cricket pitch area. This leaves one seat and two benches to be completed.

Our new Treasurer has been busy reviewing our finances and has moved our account online with payments now being made electronically.

We have contributed to a fantastic fundraising effort by the residents of Whitekirk to buy their much-used village Hall. Having secured a grant from the Scottish Land Fund they still needed £22,000 to meet the asking price and secure the hall as a community hub.

Our meetings in future will be held in The Stables at Prestonkirk as ELC have let out our Council Chambers. We hope to have our next meeting on Thursday 3rd September at 7.30pm although at this point we have no idea what will be permitted by then.

Thanks to the editor of the Advertiser for this space and to Alastair Seagroatt who has kept our website up to date throughout the emergency.

Judith Priest 23 July 2020