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Moorfoot Community Council represents Borthwick, Carrington, North Middleton & Temple, together with the surrounding landward area up to the Moorfoot hills.

Important NEWS: Please scroll down this page, to see information on recent events and consultations, especially those that are open for comment where you can make your voice heard.

The Community Councillors need your feedback, so if there is anything which you feel we should know about, please let us know.

The aim of this website is to keep you informed of what is happening in the Community Council, and what might affect you if you live in this part of Scotland.

Community Council meetings are held most months, so you can come along and let us know your views in person.  It is helpful if you let us know in advance so we can plan the meeting. Please email secretary@moorfoot.org.uk

In general, meetings are held on the first Wednesday every month (not January or July). in either Middleton Village Hall, Temple Village Hall or Carrington Village Hall, from 7pm to 9pm.

At present all meetings are held virtually.

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MCC Election: final call for nominees

Wednesday 4 November 2020

NOMINATION FORM link below

Although we held our election at last month’s meeting, we are still short of the numbers needed to make the Community Council viable. This means it will be formally dissolved at the next meeting in November, and cannot be restarted without at least 20 members from the Moorfoot area committing to making it happen again.

Over the past few years the Community Council’s aim to improve local life in the Moorfoot area and represent residents’ interests has succeeded in a number of ways along with a few milestones:

  • Defibrillators installed in Temple, Carrington and North Middleton, all highly visible, with two using repurposed telephone kiosks
  • Support for village halls in the three villages, including microgrants to small group activities
  • Coordinated resilience response to Covid-19 through lockdown and later, including Fareshare food distribution at North Middleton and Temple
  • Support and administration of the distribution of funds from the Carcant grant specific to the Moorfoot area; it’s unclear whether these funds will be available if there is no Community Council to represent the area’s needs
  • Improved signage and road markings to the North Middleton junction with the A7 to reduce risks of cars overtaking at speed
  • Work towards the preservation of Temple OId Kirk

With lots of developments planned in the Moorfoot area — Redheugh West and East, Mossend/Lady Brae as well as a new high school — it’s important to contribute to the planning process from a local perspective, and for Community Councils to represent our interests more effectively.

Please consider whether you can contribute by joining the Community Council — the time commitment isn’t huge and it’s a good way to support the area where you live. 

mcc-nomination-form-2020-1Download

Elections postponed

Due to the current COVID-19 situation we have had to postpone elections until such time as the Community Council is able to meet face to face. When the lockdown is lifted we plan to re-advertise across the Moorfoot area.

In the meantime members of the Community Council will do their best to continue their roles remotely to support our rural communities. This will be to arrange ways and means to support local residents to maintain self-isolation and to access supplies of food, medicine as well as other necessities, and to offer both information and advice where helpful.

Join the Community Council

Deadline for nomination forms — Wednesday 25th March 12 noon

Moorfoot Community Council is looking for new members to join from 1st April, the date of our next monthly meeting.
If you would like to help your local community make its voice heard by Midlothian Council and other bodies, please think about joining.
Any Moorfoot area resident on the electoral register is eligible to be nominated by two people and the only commitment is a willingness to attend regularly on the first Wednesday of each month when the Community Council meets (not January or July), usually in North Middleton Village Hall.
If you’re interested, please download the nomination form from the link above,  but printed copies are also available at Temple Village Hall and North Middleton Village Hall.
When completed, the form should be submitted by Wednesday 25th March by 12 noon in one of the following ways:

POST to:
Gillian Cousin
Senior Communities and Lifelong Learning Worker
Midlothian Council
Fairfield House
8 Lothian Road
Dalkeith
EH22 3ZG
EMAIL to:
gillian.cousin@midlothian.gov.uk
secretary@moorfoot.org.uk

Wull Muir wind farm proposal

Wull Muir Wind Farm Proposal to include share ownership scheme

New application for 8 x 130m turbines just inside Scottish Borders, on Moorfoot escarpment.  The developer, Energie Kontor, is offering a Shared Ownership Scheme run through a Community Interest Company.  This could be a Midlothian-wide scheme with significant benefits for funding of community projects.

This point has been raised at Moorfoot Community Council meetings as well as at the Midlothian Federation of Community Councils but please come along if you are interested in discussing the proposal further.

For further details of the proposed Shared Ownership Scheme, please see the attached information.

Shared Ownership Scheme summary

25 September 6 – 7.30 pm Newbyres PPG Open Evening

NEWBYRES MEDICAL GROUP PPG OPEN EVENING

There will be an open evening at Newbyres Medical Practice in Gorebridge where patients are invited to come along and meet members of the Patient Participation Group (PPG). You will also have a chance to meet the new Practice Manager as well as a few of the practice GPs.

We are also looking for new members to join our group; come along to see if you would like to join the discussion and share ideas on how to maintain the Medical Centre as a facility able to serve the growing population of Gorebridge and its surrounding areas.

For the latest newsletter please see the link below:

Newbyres PPG Newsletter Sept 2019

 

Litter picks in progress

There is so much litter everywhere!

It’s hard not to notice the amount of rubbish that is scattered around us in rural areas. Some of us have started collecting litter from time to time to try to solve the problem.

Last year Moorfoot PTG organised a sponsored event with schoolchildren from Moorfoot Primary to collect litter by walking from Temple Village Hall to Gladhouse Reservoir. The event was well-attended and succeeded in raising funds for the school as well as clearing quite a few bags’ worth of rubbish from the verges.

If you would like to organise a regular litter pick in your area MCC can lend you Hi-Vis vests and litter pickers to help you collect litter safely and to raise awareness of the problem.

 

Midlothian Disabled People’s Assembly 27th March 11.30-1.00, Dalkeith

MIDLOTHIAN DISABLED PEOPLE’S ASSEMBLY LAUNCH

Wednesday 27th March 2019 11.30 to 1.00 pm

St John’s and Kings Park Church, Dalkeith                                                               (opposite Morrisons and beside Kings Park)

To launch this year’s edition of the Disabled People’s Directory 2019 and to establish the Disabled People’s Assembly there will be a meeting at St John’s and Kings Park Church in Dalkeith on the 27th March starting at 11.30.

Join us for the first meeting and to pick up your free copy of the Directory, produced by Forward Mid. There will be refreshments as well as lunch to follow, along with the opportunity to meet a number of representatives from local services, including councillors.

Please get in touch if you have transport issues as we will try to help.

RSVP — it helps to know numbers for catering

Eric, Margaret or Ross on 0131 663 9471

Eric.johnstone@mvacvs.org.uk

Carcant Community Fund applications deadline SOON! – 29th May 2019

CARCANT (MOORFOOT) COMMUNITY FUND

Applications for the 2019 funding cycle have a submission deadline of 29th May. Decisions on grant applications will be made on 17th July.

More information on the Fund can be found below, along with links to the announcement poster, application form and fact sheet.

Please feel free to share with any local groups that might be interested in applying.

The total funding available is £5761.

 

https://www.foundationscotland.org.uk/programmes/moorfoot/

CarcantMoorfootApplicationForm2019

Carcant Moorfoot Community Fund Factsheet 2019 FINAL

2019 Carcant Moorfoot Community Fund poster

Borthwick Castle Open Weekend: 9th-10th March 2019

Borthwick Castle Open Weekend
Saturday 9th March and Sunday 10th March 2019.
Tour times on both days: 10.30 am, 12 noon, 1.30 pm and 3 pm.

Borthwick Castle opens its doors for one weekend only. See the Great Hall, the bedchamber of Mary Queen of Scots, Oliver Cromwell’s cannon damage, the beautifully furnished State Room, and much more on our tour of the Castle with our resident historian.

Although this event is fully booked, please contact Kieran Rose, Front of House Manager to be put on the waiting list.
His contact details are:
01875 820514 and kieran@borthwickcastle.com
Please also see the website for further information about this and other upcoming events.

Burns Ceilidh at Temple Village Hall Saturday 26th January

Burns Ceilidh at Temple Village Hall on Saturday 26th January

7.30 supper // 8.30 dancing

TICKETS: £12 adults // £5 children age 12+ // primary school children free

 

Temple Village Hall welcomes back the amazing Shandoneers  for a ceilidh to celebrate Burns Night on Saturday 26th January.

The evening will start with a light supper at 7.30 followed by music at 8.30.

For tickets and more information please contact Sandy Delap on 830253.

 

 

 

IMPORTANT: limited appointments available at Newbyres Medical Group 10/12/18 to 13/12/18

Newbyres Medical Group Newsletter December 2018

An IMPORTANT IT UPGRADE is taking place Monday 10th December to Thursday 13th December at Newbyres Medical Group in Gorebridge

This means only urgent appointments will be available and no pre-booked appointments can be scheduled.

For more information on alternative arrangements during this week please see the link below to download the December Newsletter in full:

PPG Patient newsletter Dec 2018

Defibrillator training 1 November N. Middleton Village Hall

Thursday 1 November at 7.30 pm in North Middleton Village Hall

Defibrillator training will be given by a representative from the Scottish Ambulance Service.

The training is expected to last for about two hours and is primarily for North Middleton residents and those in the area close by.

Other training dates for Temple and Carrington along with further sessions at North Middleton will be arranged and advertised.

If you would like to attend this session or are interested in future sessions please contact katie.buxton@btinternet.com or phone 01875 821 859 asap.

 

 

 

Proposal for Wull Muir Wind Farm

18/01164/PAN | Wind farm of up to 9 No turbines up to 150m high to tip with a capacity of up to 49.9 MW | Land North Of Carcant Lodge (Wull Muir Wind Farm) Heriot Scottish Borders

The developers for this project, ENERGIEKONTOR, will be scheduling a meeting at Temple Village Hall to introduce their plans and discuss them with local residents.

For more details please see the Scottish Borders council link below which has the documents submitted for the initial Planning Application Notice (PAN).

https://eplanning.scotborders.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=documents&keyVal=PEKONUNT08G00

 

 

Carrington Coffee Morning 16 June

COFFEE MORNING IN CARRINGTON

Saturday 16 June: 11.00 – 12.30

A fundraising event for the installation of a defibrillator in the disused telephone kiosk in Carrington that will be combined with support from the British Heart Foundation.

All are welcome to share coffee, tea and home-made cakes!

If you would like to help, either with donations of baking or by assisting on the day, please get in touch with Rosie Newlands on 01875 830279.

VOTE for a Defibrillator grant for the Moorfoot Community

Moorfoot Community Council have applied to a Calor Gas Rural Community Fund for a £5,000 grant towards the cost of installing a defibrillator in each of Carrington, Temple and North Middleton.

This is a competitive UK wide fund. The applications will be judged by a Calor Gas panel on the basis of votes recorded by the communities applying for a grant.

Voting opened on Saturday 25th May and closes on Friday 29th June.

THE MORE VOTES REGISTERED FOR THE MOORFOOT PROJECT THE GREATER OUR CHANCES OF SUCCESS!

How to vote:

  1. Search for Calor Gas Grants or click on the link https://www.calor.co.uk/communityfund/
  2. Click on ‘Community Fund’
  3. NOTE: You will have to register before you will be allocated 10 votes. This can be difficult to see on the Home page where the link to ‘Register’ on the drop down menu is in very light text
  4. Locate the Moorfoot project by searching with the keyword ‘Moorfoot‘
  5. Enter your vote

It would also be greatly appreciated if anyone who uses social media could invite their friends or anyone else who is interested in this project to vote for Moorfoot.

With many thanks for your support!

Moorfoot Community Council

Midlothian Planning Seminar 5th May

Midlothian Federation of Community Councils (MFCC) has organised an event to introduce the planning application process and to explain the ways in which community groups can engage with this process.

There will be a number of guest speakers to cover a range of topics, including:

  • criteria for making comments and objections to planning applications
  • What is the Local Development Plan and how is it produced?
  • Development Planning vs Community Planning
  • ways for residents and local communities to be more engaged with the Planning Process and present their aims more effectively

This event will take place on

Saturday 5th May at Penicuik Town Hall 9:30 – 15:45

Booking is essential: 

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/midlothian-planning-seminar-tickets-45438210912

The full programme for this event can be seen here: MFCC Planning Seminar 20185

Further details can also be obtained from the organiser of the seminar:

Bill Kerr-Smith (Chair, Dalkeith Citizens Advice Bureau and of Eskbank & Newbattle Community Council)

7oaksbill@gmail.com

 

 

Have your say on the landscapes of Moorfoot

Midlothian Council has published its draft supplementary guidance on Special Landscape Areas across the county and is looking for comments from the public.

Special Landscape Areas are areas of high scenic value where greater controls are imposed on development to ensure that the character of the landscape is maintained.

There are seven designated SLAs in Midlothian. Three of them cover parts of the Moorfoot Community Council area:
  • the Tyne Valley SLA (covering the Middleton-Borthwick area);
  • the South Esk Valley and Carrington Farmland SLA (covering the Temple-Carrington-Dalhousie area); and
  • the Gladhouse Reservoir and Moorfoot Scarp SLA.

The Community Council will be responding to the consultation and we are keen to hear your views on the proposals. The draft Supplementary Guidance can be found at https://www.midlothian.gov.uk/info/1210/planning_and_building

If you have comments on the proposals you can make them direct to the Council. You can also tell us what you think by emailing us at chair@moorfoot.org.uk. The Council requires responses by 6th June. If you would like the Community Council to take account of your views please email them to us by 31st May.

Inspection of headstones at Temple Old Kirk churchyard

Midlothian Council Land and Countryside Management aims to inspect the headstones in local churchyards every five years.

Now that we are clear of the snow and very cold weather a contractor has been scheduled to re-erect some of the older headstones at the bottom of the cemetery within the next month. It has been four years since the last inspection, so the rest of the headstones will be assessed at the same time.