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.

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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. 

Welcome

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

Important NEWS: Please click the recent posts links at the right, or scroll down this page, for information on recent events and consultations, especially those that are open for comment where you can make your voice heard.

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.  Scroll down this page for information on opportunities and events which are one-off or have a specific date, and see the page tabs at the top for more permanent information.

The Community Councillors need your feedback, so if there is anything which you feel we should know about, or if there is any information missing from our publications, please let us know.

Remember that we do this on a voluntary basis, so we may not be able to respond immediately to your concerns.

Community Council meetings are held most months, so you can always 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 2018, meetings will be held first Wednesday every month but NOT January or July. Most are at Middleton Village  Hall from 7pm to 9pm.  Some will be at Temple Village hall or Carrington Village hall, at the same times. See the calendar page for dates.

Moorfoot Neighbourhood Plan

The Moorfoot Neighbourhood Plan is being developed through discussions with local groups across the region.

Currently in its draft stages, the document identifies themes for areas of support relevant to preserving as well as enhancing the rural qualities of the local Moorfoot communities. Ideas for improvement and steps to achieve those aims are timetabled within the document, along with the agencies likely to be involved.

If you would like to be involved in the steering group for the Moorfoot Neighbourhood Plan, please get in touch with:

Gillian Cousin: gillian.cousin@midlothian.gov.uk

You can also see the current working document here, which will be updated regularly.

121217 Moorfoot Neighbourhood Plan DRAFT

Moorfoot Farm Woodland Creation Proposal

Wednesday 11th April 4:00 – 7:30 pm at CARRINGTON VILLAGE HALL

INFORMAL DROP-IN and PRESENTATION

The Community Council has been approached by Rosebery Estates with a proposal to create a new forestry plantation of approximately 185 hectares on a 340 hectare site in the Hog and Cotley Hills, southwest of Gladhouse Reservoir.

The proposal is being prepared with some attention to biodiversity, preservation of archaeological interests and protection of habitats and wildlife, and in response to informal consultations with Scottish Natural Heritage, Midlothian Council, Scottish Environment Agency and Scottish Water. The proposal will be submitted at the end of April to the Forestry Commission Scotland.

There will be an opportunity to find out more about this proposal and to ask questions at a drop-in event at Carrington Village Hall on Wednesday 11th April 4:00 to 7:30.

The agent, Mark Hamilton Landscape Services, is interested in hearing the views of the Community Council as well as anyone else about this proposal.

Comments should be sent to 
mail@mhlandscapeservices.co.uk by 16th April.

Details of the proposal are in the documents below.

Cover letter introducing the proposal: Moorfoot CC MWC

Location map: Moorfoot Location Map

Species design for woodland area: 6 Moorfoot wc Species Design5

 

Defibrillator Project

As part of the Moorfoot Neighboorhood Plan, Moorfoot Community Council have now signed a contract and paid a nominal sum for the purchase of the BT kiosks in North Middleton and Carrington which can each then be used to house a defibrillator inside a heated cabinet.

As the BT kiosk in Temple has not yet been decommissioned and cannot be purchased, Temple Village Halls Association is planning to install a defibrillator on an exterior wall of the Village Hall.

BT have yet to complete the handover, so the timescale for moving the project forward in N Middleton and Carrington is for the moment dependent on BT.

Temple Village, however, can press ahead and Moorfoot Community Council will offer support as required.

Moorfoot Community Council, along with N Middleton and

Carrington Village Halls will undertake to:

• Organise fund raising
• Organise the refurbishment of the 2 BT kiosks
• Evaluate and purchase the equipment
• Organise installation by a qualified electrician
• Organise training of local volunteers in CPR and the use of a defibrillator
• Set up a system to monitor and test equipment
• Be responsible for maintenance

Volunteers will be needed for

— Fund raising

— Training in CPR and the use of defibrillators

— Monitoring of equipment as well as local communication of access details

If you would like to know more or are interested in getting involved to support this project, long or short-term, please get in touch with the Secretary at Moorfoot Community Council: secretary@moorfoot.org.uk

For further updates please continue to visit the Moorfoot Community Council website.

 

Community Litter Pick

Saturday 24th March 2018 at 2 pm

Starting at Temple Village Hall members of Moorfoot Primary School and their families will walk to Gladhouse Reservoir, where hot chocolate and refreshments will be served. Younger walkers can start later at the T-junction with Toxside crossroads.

Pupils at Moorfoot Primary have noticed a local problem with litter and have worked with the PTG to address this through sponsorship for their Litter Pick from Temple to Gladhouse.

For those unable to make it on Saturday the 24th, there will also be a similar event at North Middleton on Friday 23rd starting at 12.30 with children and families walking through the village.

This event was developed partly out of discussions around the Moorfoot Neighbourhood Plan, a document that identifies areas of action relevant to the communities across the Moorfoot area and sets out achievable objectives for meeting local and individual requirements within a rural setting.  There will be more information about the Neighbourhood Plan and its future development  when the  Litter Pick takes place at Moorfoot Primary School on Friday 23rd March.