WTTs

 

 

 

Works to trees are coded as WTT in the Midlothian Council planning system. At a recent community council meeting we were perturbed by the number of oustanding applications. 

 

I sent a letter on behalf of the community council, with reference to my own personal experience.

 

Here it is. Have been advised it will be dealt with by Mr Peter Arnsdorf.

 

 

Dear Mr Johnson

 

I wish to raise some questions regarding the policy and practice for applications for works to trees.

At the most recent meeting of Eskbank and Newbattle Community Council it was noted that "works to trees" applications (wtt's) are pending consideration as far back as January 2012. Today I have checked the planning application report for 5 Waverley Road Eskbank. The planning report states that the associated tree felling application for this site was granted on April 2nd yet the council web page shows the referenced wtt application as still "pending consideration". Related information is pasted from the councils' web site below.

From personal experience, delays in advising the status of wtt's to the public causes considerable local neighbourhood angst and false reporting which in my own case escalated out of all control. I'm sure you will remember.

The concerns of the community council however arise from communications last year regarding tree works in Newbattle woods and it is the responses provided for Newbattle woods coupled with these overdue status reports that has prompted our request.

The community council would appreciate a response from the council on the following;

1. Why is the council web site not up-to-date on the status of wtt's and what course of action is the council intending to take to rectify this situation?

2. Applications for tree felling may be assumed as acceptable to fell if the applicant does not receive notification within 6 weeks of the application. Is this course of action documented in a formal local/planning policy? and if so may we have a copy.

3. If a tree felling application is refused, the applicant may go ahead and fell anyway, unless the tree is the subject of a tree preservation order. Is this course of action documented in a formal local/planning policy? and if so may we have a copy.

Kind Regards

Susan Goldwyre

Eskbank and Newbattle Community Council

Councillor Boyes

Well what an exciting day yesterday at the local elections in Midlothian. I am not party political, when it comes to local elections, I vote for the person and not the party.

I should have been able to vote in the ward where councilor Peter Boyes was standing for re election, because the Eco House is in his ward. However my voting papers came through for the adjoining ward. At least it made my voting decisions easier because I certainly would not have been voting for Mr Boyes.

A blog site is not the place to document what I know about this man but suffice to say that despite representing Midlothian Council as the elected representative for Eskbank and Newbattle Community Council, when I asked Mr Boyes why he had never attended our community council he did not answer. When told it was held in Westfield hall he then said he had never heard of the place, despite being there a month before for a local Hustings event. Then when questioned again in Midlothian Coucil after a planning meeting he walked away from me and would not engage. What a coward.

So I sat down on the morning of the elections and thought hard about what my poster should say given my opportunity to put my message out to all who came to vote.

Here it is.

Vote for Adults. Not for Boyes.

At the Eskbank Roundabout

Outside the house before we walked down to the local school and left the poster outside the voting venue.

Forest Gardening

Had a very interesting afternoon with a couple of lads who have introduced me to Forest Gardening. It's all in the book;

Creating a Forest Garden: Working with nature to grow edible crops

Martin Crawford

Forest gardening is a novel way of growing edible crops - with nature doing most of the work for you. A forest garden is modelled on young natural woodland, with a wide range of crops growing in different vertical layers. Unlike in a conventional garden, there is little need for digging, weeding or pest control. Species are carefully chosen for their beneficial effects on each other, creating a healthy system that maintains its own fertility. Creating a Forest Garden tells you everything you need to know - whether you want to plant a small area in your back garden, or have a larger plot. It includes advice on planning, design (using permaculture principles), planting and maintenance and a detailed directory of over 500 trees, shrubs, herbaceous perennials, annuals root crops and climbers, almot all of them edible and many very unusual. As well as more familiar plants you can grow your own chokeberries, goji berries, yams heartnuts, bamboo shoots and buffalo currants - while creating a beautiful space that has great environmental benefits. In the light of our changing climate it is important that we find new ways of growing food sustainably, without compromising soil health, food quality or biodiversity. Forest gardening offers an exciting solution to the challenge.

I guess this is one of these "watch this space" moments. I am particularly taken with the idea of planting edible mushrooms on logs and planting lots more rhubarb. I can't believe I could grow Goji berries although I did once have these in pots grown from seed that I extracted myself from the dried berries. Must give this a try though because (a) they are one of the superfoods and (b) Sainsbury's charge a fortune for them.

Having just finished a 6 month work contract, I'll be starting next week in earnest in the woodland. First up though is the removal of a very large slick of concrete that I discovered on the slope of the woodland. Must have been there for years and have no idea where it came from. No wonder I couldn't plant this section. Just hope there not a bunker underneath. Then it's the area at the back of the tennis club house to remove the blaze pile and to re plant that whole area. I am going to include a new path to allow the tennis club to take the annual leaf collection out to an agreed shared area. Anyone got suggestions on the best way to collect and make leaf mould that doesn't involve back breaking collection of the leaves into bags? The tennis club collects a phenomenal amount of leaves every autumn and I guess it would be nice to find a way to compost them.

Ironmills Park Flower Meadow

Great News

This coming Monday 30th April at 6.30pm the meadow area in Ironmills park will be seeded as a wildflower meadow.

Alan Krumholds has invited the Bonnyrigg and Dalkeith Scouts, Dalkeith Rotary Club and hopes to have the Esk Valley Rotarians as well.

Posters are due to go up around the park as I write.

The plan for this work really took off at pace in recent weeks, much more rapidly than had been planned.The reason for this, as I understand it, is recent repair works to the Eskbank Sewer resulted in an opportunity to utilise the tracts created by Scottish Water. These tracts were ideal for progress into wild flower meadows. I'm sure all will become clear on Monday evening.

Hope you can come along. I will certainly be there since this was one of the key objectives for the Friends of Ironmills Park Group.

Contrarian - After then Before.....Updated with Gazebo

Had a few professional pictures taken recently of the house and garden and I thought it would be good for the record to see the before and after. Being a contrarian here's the after - first.

This is the woodland side of the house showing the raised path and the planted areas nearest the decking. It's only March but the weather has been good this year and the plants are peeping through already. OK - the house looks good too! but this blog is for the woodland and the garden. Both still in their infancy for new planting and growth.

We need to protect the edges of the woodland where there's a steep drop down to the river below. Used lots of pole trees cut from another Estate woodland to create the barriers.

My blue border. I just love blue flowers of any kind and grape hycanith bulbs are always easy to grow. Softening all the edges and at the same time holding back soil from falling down from the slope above was easily achieved by placing lengths of logs on the ground. Very simple. Once the planting gets through the gaps it will look even more natural.

I found this dead tree branch in the far away part of the wood last year and used it in the central planted area to add interest. The grasses behind would normally be cut back to remove dead growth at this time of the year. The growth doesn't look dead to me so I'm leaving it alone.

These 2 "before" photos are from April 27 2010. It was hard work clearing the ground here after the house build but after much digging, lots of weeding and now mulching, I seem to have decent plant borders for the woodland plants.

The real beauty of new planting is only evident after 3 years in  my experience so next year should be even better.

Just for the record, last year I tried and failed with a wild flower border. Weeds took over. The professionals kill the weeds first or they over turn the soil to a significant depth which prevents the weed getting through before they sow the seed. This year, not wanting to do too much weed killing and not able to do the depth turning trick, I decided to use waste plastic crates from the house foundations. Filled them with compost and sowed the seed into these. If it works I should have wild flower plugs that I can transplant at my leisure. Will it work?

Finally just to add a picture from the past. The Gazebo. This photo taken from the tower. Interesting isn't it!

Have a look at the proximity of the Gazebo to the tree on the RHS. That's the same tree that the new Eco house is next to. Which proves that the Eco House and the Gazebo projected to the West by the same distance. Something we have always known but others have wanted to question. Considering individuals at Midlothian Council carried out a survey in year 2000 when the Gazebo was already built, it's quite surprising that the Council don't have their own survey report. That survey has been requested many times. It doesn't exist. There's just an "NT" reference map that anyone can get. No Gazebo shows up on the map because its just that - a map - not a survey. Yet we paid for it........... shy of £1,000 no less in year 2000. Interesting isn't it. I have a theory that the local noise created at the time of the land sale probably contributed to the lack of attention to detail by Midlothian Council at the time. The local noise was all to do with rights of way - where none existed - and that "extra" work to check for rights of way contributed to the cost. But all at the expense of the survey. Shame is too small a word for it.

Treehouses and Stagebank

Arrived in the post this morning. G what are you up to my lad......

Treehouses aside, yesterday I had such a great day in the woodland. I moved the last remaining felled trees of years gone by from the slope under the power line and used them to strengthen my fall barrier at the bottom of the slope. They make great wildlife piles and I apologies to the mouse that has had to move home. I'm sure it will find its slightly remodelled abode just a little farther down the hill. It was a chainsaw day as well and I find myself more and more adept at using it. The wood piles have been "let down" by sawing into them and trampling them. It makes the barrier look more attractive since it is on view to the passing public. There's more to do......there always is. I went to bed exhausted. I will probably plant just uphill of the wood piles next and my sleepy thoughts were about what to plant and where. Holly - takes for ever but its evergreen. Beech - always good. Golden Yew??? maybe. Expect the ground will dictate and grow what it wants.

Speaking of passing public, a very lovely couple came to chat and found me at the wood piles. They had found the tower after speaking to someone from a group I had taken into the garden last week who were walking the old rail lines. Turns out this couple looked up this blog and realised that my grandmother lived at Stagebank near Heriot. Well they lived in the 2 storey houses behind my grans cottage. How amazing. We shared stories. Particularly about Dod - my uncle George who never married and lived with his mum (my gran) until she died. Dod was a shepherd (sadly he has also passed away) and his dogs were his pride and joy - probably his "children". The story about taking one of his dogs to the vet in Edinburgh was relayed and I remember Uncle George being very upset one day when one of his older dogs never returned home. Apparently they go off into the hills to die when they know their time has come but George wanted to try to find the dog to do a decent burial. He never did. George kept his dogs outside in kennels. Their "intelligence" was measured he said by the width of their head (sounds like a tall story to me) and of course they rounded the sheep and responded to his every word and gesticulation. I don't think he used a whistle? not sure though. Uncle George had a "Garrard" record player and liked The Clancy Brothers and Jim Reeves. OK it's wrist slashing music but hey ho - I was too young to be bothered by the sentiment of it. I still like the Clancy Brothers. Was it Tommy Makem and the CB? He was in India during the war and a good looking soldier in his day. Youngest of my mums siblings he was such good fun. Used to sing "Muckin O Geordies Byre" to me as a hint that the hen house was coming up for a clean out. I didn't mind getting the eggs but muckin out the hen house was not a pleasure. My gran used to feed them from the fence and Uncle George hung dead animals on the fence to ward off the fox. How did that work? 

So my day sawing and moving wood took a little respite but what a joy to chat to this couple. Especially since G and I went to Stagebank only last week to walk the rail line just in case the borders trains start running again before we get the chance. There's a story about a set of gates at the railway crossing, but I'll keep that for another day.

Back to the woodland today - what great Spring weather for outdoor working.

Start Of The Local Election Leaflets

This one struck a chord for me - taken from a very professional looking circulation put together by a new candidate for Midlothian - Peter De Vink
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What do you see as the main failures of Midlothian council over the past decade?
When you enter Midlothian you immediately notice the difference compared to other council areas. West and East Lothian have better school results, planning is less influenced by councillors’ hunches. Communities interests there are not ignored as in Midlothian. Midlothian is a local authority that clearly has lost its way. The worst thing the council has done, and Councillor Peter Boyes was very much behind this, is without doubt the rash closure of the rural schools. The council railroaded that through in 2005 despite fierce opposition from parents and constituents and even though the schools were highly successful