Who we are and what we do
Community councils are voluntary bodies which work closely with local councils across Scotland. They provide a voice for local communities and are able to take on a wide-ranging role, including owning property, employing staff, fund-raising and receiving public sector grants. They are formally consulted on planning applications. Around 1,200 community councils have been set up across the country since 1975.
We have 20 community councils in East Lothian, with more than 200 councillors, covering a mix of busy market towns and more peaceful rural villages. The funding arrangements put in place by East Lothian Council are unique in Scotland.
How we got going
East Lothian's first community councils were set up in 1976 following national legislation. But the real impetus came in 1996 when East Lothian Council decided to use surpluses from its direct labour organisation to set up a local priorities scheme, giving each community council a share of significant funds to spend on their own local projects. This paved the way for a close working relationship between the local authority and the community councils, something which continues to this day.
Lillian Pryde, Community Council Liaison Officer for East Lothian, feels this shared history has been the key to their success…
"There has never been a 'them and us' relationship between community councils and the local authority here; it's a genuine partnership. Many council staff have been community councillors over the years, so everyone feels they're working to the same agenda. Politically and culturally, they have always been seen as an essential part of the way the local authority goes about its business"
How we organise ourselves
None of our community councils employ staff - they are all run entirely by volunteers. They operate their own budgets and do much of their own fund-raising, some of which is used to match-fund grants they receive through mainstream local authority funding.
Our community councils have a reasonably good track record on local democracy; turnout at community council elections, where they are held, was between 23% and 42% last year. In many community councils, however, places are uncontested and there are some vacancies; there is always a need to encourage more local people to take part.
Community councils look after their own patches, but also come together to look at the bigger picture in East Lothian. They meet once a quarter through the association of east lothian community councils, which helps provide the council with community feedback on large-scale proposals and changes.
Where our funding comes from
All our community councils run on quite modest budgets; each of them receives a small administrative grant every year, divided between them, based on the size of their population.
The Local Priorities Scheme currently provides them with £129,000 a year, allocated in the same way as the administrative grant. Our community councils use this fund for a wide variety of priority projects, decided locally, which include landscaping, community hall refurbishments, plays areas, fun days and Christmas lighting. This highly successful scheme was supplemented by a Capital Improvement Grant programme in 2001. Community councils had to bid to East Lothian Council for a share of this money - it was a competitive process - and were encouraged to match fund by making their own grant applications. Many have done so and although the capital funding arrangements have recently changed, in 2007-08, £100,000 of public money was used to attract more than £800,000 of matched funding; quite an achievement.
Much of this external funding wouldn't have come into East Lothian without the work done by community councils - it all goes on projects they have initiated and which would otherwise not be a high enough priority to attract local authority support.
What we've achieved so far
Overall, the East Lothian Community Councils have made a significant difference in their areas. Inevitably, of course, some have been more active than others. We have highlighted a few of them here.
Dunpender Community Council is quite small, but it covers a wide rural area around the village of East Linton. Judith Priest is the current chair…
"We produce a twice-yearly newsletter which is sent out to 1500 households; we also have our own website. We have recently extended the John Muir Way footpath and developed a plan for East Linton to off-set the effects of proposed changes to the A1, a task which involved a big survey of the whole community. The plan is reviewed every year to keep it up to date with local opinion and measure progress. We feel this is empowering because it means we are taking the lead on issues, not waiting to be consulted by East Lothian Council."
Jan Wilson MBE chairs Haddington Community Council which has been up and running for the past 25 years…
"Everywhere you look in Haddington you can see something that the Community Council has done. We have established a Pathways Network, helped refurbish the Corn Exchange building and developed a visitor centre. Every year we run a 12-day town festival and produce a handbook about the town. Most of our 13 members are very active and our meetings are always attended by East Lothian councillors, so we are always well-briefed."
What we've achieved so far
Garvald and Morham Community Council runs a community broadband service in a remote part of its area. A local resident who couldn't obtain a service from British Telecom, suggested the idea in 2004. Five years later it is up and running, with funding provided to the community council by the Local Priorities Scheme and the Leader+ European programme. Despite BT's reluctance to provide a service, the community council's scheme is now self-financing. Surpluses are reinvested in equipment and making sure the service is fully reliable. The original aerial was mounted on the local Abbey roof, with the monks receiving a free broadband service in return.
Although satellite broadband was used originally, subscriptions were very high and the suppliers went bankrupt. This prompted a change to wireless, which comes from an adjacent village and is a quarter of the price. A wind and solar power generator transmits the broadband signal from here to the local community. There are now plans to set up a limited company to expand the initiative.
Many of our community councils work closely with other agencies; they help point them in the right direction, aiming to improve a local service. Stephen Bunyan, who chairs Dunbar Community Council explains…
"We had a policing problem in Dunbar, so the community council decided to pay for a bike for the local policeman, using funds from the Local Priorities Scheme. It was a small amount of money, but it paid off - we now have a community support officer, as well as our policeman, and a second bike, paid for by the police themselves."
The problems we've overcome
The relationship between East Lothian Council and the network of community councils is generally very positive. Nevertheless, problems will always arise occasionally.
Changes in the funding arrangements made by East Lothian Council in 2007 caused a fair bit of consternation amongst community councils, significantly reducing their funding for key local projects. The introduction of a new Capital Development Fund, in 2008, with a maximum £10,000 per application available on a first-come, first-served basis, has helped to put things back on an even keel.
Consultation is a thorny issue for some, but certainly not all. Some community councils feel they are over-consulted, whilst others are concerned that new arrangements for community planning, with its emphasis on wider community engagement, may undermine their role.
What we've learned
Community councils work best when they have money they can spend on their own priorities. The unique Local Priorities Scheme we run in East Lothian very much fits the bill in this respect.
Many of our community councils have learned how to make large, as well as small, funding applications and know all about the complexity involved in matching different funds for their priority projects They have become more mature and experienced organisations over the years; it has been a real learning experience for many of them.
The close ties with the local authority are seen by most community councillors as both empowering and mutually beneficial. Community councils decide their own local priorities, but the local authority manages their budgets and expects them to use council departments to help them deliver most of their projects. This eases any potential strain on volunteers, but also serves to protect the local authority's interests. It is an arrangement that seems to work well for both sides.
What's next for us?
Whilst some people would like to see their community councils have more power and responsibility, particularly over finance, most feel it might make the role of community councillor more onerous and therefore less attractive.
"Support from East Lothian Council is superb, but it would be going too far to say that the local authority gives the community councils power"
Jim Thompson Chair, Garvald and Morham Community Council
"More power would be a strain. The majority of us are here because we want to be, not because we have to be. That makes it different"
Jan Wilson Chair, Haddington Community Council
There is a balance to be struck here and we feel we have it about right in East Lothian. Community councils are making a real difference - giving ordinary folk a degree of control over what happens in their towns and villages. There is no real appetite for changing this successful formula in the near future.
If you would like to know more about the work of community councils in East Lothian, contact:
Community Council Liaison Officer
East Lothian Council
John Muir House
Haddington East Lothian EH41 3HA
Phone: 01620 827377 Email: lpryde@eastlothian.gov.uk