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New Village Hall Committee
At the AGM on 14 October 2009, a new village hall committee was voted in. The new Chair is Carrie Bennett, vice-chair is David Muirhead, secretary is Rhona Holland, and Fiona Ross kindly agreed to remain as treasurer for another year. Many thanks to the new members for taking the plunge and thanks also to the outgoing members for their hard work. Susan Owenson agreed to carry on as editor of the Village Mode and Alan Pemberton to continue keeping this website up to date. (14/10/09)
AGM postponed
Due to unforeseen circumstances, the AGM has been postponed. Please check back for a revised date, which we hope will be as soon as possible. The committee apologises for any inconvenience caused. (26/05/09)
More Funding for Youth Club
We can now announce that the Big Lottery Fund’s “Awards For All” has awarded the Youth Club a grant of £3525 for setting up costs. The funds will be used to buy computer games equipment and a range of other games for use by members. In addition, £600 has been set aside for training of adult volunteers and the youth committee. Well done Gillian and the Youth Club members for getting this off the ground in such a successful way! (15/05/09)
Funding for Middleton Youth Club
The members of Middleton Youth Club would like to thank all those who supported the fundraising dance on the 21st February. Between tickets sales, the raffle and bar takings we raised a massive £700.00, ever penny will be used to get the youth club up and running.
We have also been approached by Moorfoot Community Council who has very generously offered to purchase sports equipment for the club which is absolutely fantastic.
Finally we are awaiting the imminent press release from the Big Lottery Fund following our application for funding to purchase IT equipment and other games equipment for the club. Watch this space…
Thanks again to everyone who has so generously supported the Youth Club.
Gillian Lithgow (16/04/09)
Homecoming Scotland 2009
Throughout Scotland, a year of events to mark the 250th anniversary of Robert Burns is planned. We are holding our own Scots night later this year, but we are keen for the hall to be used in any way to promote Homecoming 2009. The themes supported are Robert Burns, whisky, golf, great Scottish minds and innovations, and ancestry. Local government grants are available to support Homecoming Scotland events. The hall committee would welcome ideas for events at the hall based on the above themes, and will help with applying for grants. See the Homecoming Scotland 2009 website for more details.
Youth Club Revival
An open evening to consider re-establishing the youth club took place on Thursday 27 November. A small number of young people and some willing adult volunteers turned out on a rather cold evening to share their thoughts and ideas about the future of the club. Lots of ideas came forth about possible activities and fundraising. It was agreed that the young people present would form a youth committee and begin the process of recruiting members, and taking forward their ideas so that the youth club could re-open its doors early in 2009. Watch this space for further details after Christmas… Gillian Lithgow (01/12/08)
Village Hall Update
The extension work is now complete, with only some minor snagging to be finished off. On top of that, we have now cracked the problem with the heating, so the hall should be warm and welcoming year round. Huge thanks to all who contributed. (01/12/08)
Village fete a great success
The fete on 23rd August was very well attended and lots of fun was had. The fun continued into the evening with Ignition providing live music for our post-fete dance. Many thanks to all who helped and everyone who took part. For a photo report, follow this link. (31/08/08)
Extension work nearly complete
The main hall and storage extensions are nearing completion, and will definitely be ready for the fete on the 23rd (or else heads will roll!!!). Already it is looking really good and it will make such a difference to how we can use the hall. You will also have noticed that the park area outside has been improved, with all the big stones removed from the grass. From now on, the grass will be kept under control by the council, who are also in the process of installing children’s play equipment in the park. (09/08/08)
New chair and vice chair for the committee
MVCHA’s previous chairperson, Fiona Lowsley, has resigned her position due to other commitments. Alan Pemberton was voted in as the new chair at the committee meeting of Thursday 5 May. Jim Veitch was then voted in as the new vice-chair. The committee would like to thank Fiona for her service and she is certainly most welcome to attend any future committee meetings, as time allows. (08/06/08)
Work on Phase 2 commences
You may have noticed building work at the front and back of the hall. This is the “Phase 2” extension work, to bring more storage and hall floor space. This will have no impact on the running of the hall until the very final stages, when hall users may be inconvenienced for up to a week. Please contact a committee member if you think this may be a problem to you. (17/05/08)
Planning for the summer fete - volunteers required
This year the summer fete will be returning, and we hope to make it bigger and better than ever. We have already booked Ignition to play at the evening dance, but the daytime events are still to be arranged. There is quite a lot that must be organised well in advance, and that’s where we need your help. We would like as many ideas and offers of help as possible so we can make this fete a success. We have organised a special fete meeting for Thursday 31 January at 7.30pm in the hall and everyone in the village is invited, whether it is to offer help or just suggestions. If you can’t attend but would still like to get involved, then please contact one of the committee.
AGM 2007 report (a tale of two Fionas)
The Chairperson’s and treasurer’s reports were presented at the AGM, and the community members present gave an overwhelming endorsement to carry on with Phase 2 of the new hall build. The new committee was then voted in, consisting of Fiona Lowsley (Chairperson), Fiona Ross (Treasurer), Susan Owenson (Secretary) and Alan Pemberton (Vice-chairperson). Many thanks to the previous committee for their service to the community. Jim Veitch reassured the new committee that he would stay on as an ordinary committee member to give whatever help he can during the transition and the forthcoming Phase 2 build. (27/11/07)
Broadband provision in Middleton - worse than a postcode lottery
The results of the survey are here, and make interesting reading. (10/11/07)
Out of School Club provision discussed
Committee members met with representatives of the council, community and parents on 24th October to discuss whether the Out of School club should be held in the village hall. The committee’s view is that holding the Club at the new Moorfoot Primary School would be preferable in all respects. There was unanimous agreement with this among the community and parents. Councillor Colin Beattie will discuss with the Education Department whether a way can be found to hold the OSC at the new school. If necessary, a further meeting will be held at the village hall - check back for more info. (25/10/07)
AGM to be held on Tuesday 27 November; 7pm
The present committee has served it maximum period of office and the chair, vice-chair, treasurer and secretary positions will be up for election. Please come along to this meeting if you are interested in taking on one of these positions, and preferably contact a committee member in advance. Of course we are always looking for ordinary committee members too!
Please send any amendments to the constitution to Alan Pemberton before 27th October, to allow them to be published on this website prior to the meeting.
There will also be an opportunity to put your views on the proposed extension to the village hall. (07/10/07)
Proposed extension to Middleton Village Hall
We always knew space was going to be at a premium in the new hall, and as we have ended up with more equipment to store than we had originally anticipated, an extension to the storage space would be highly desirable. In addition, having run several dances, an extension of the main hall would be highly desirable to allow more seating for events requiring a significant amount of dance floor space. Plans for both extensions have been drawn up, and if we act quickly, these extensions could be carried out as part of the “original build”, with huge cost savings compared to doing it a few years down the line. Plans are shown here, and an opportunity to voice opinions on this proposal will come at the AGM. The committee is confident that funding should not be a problem, and that the extensions could be built with minimal disturbance to the running of the hall.. (07/10/07)
Keep off the grass!
The play area adjoining the new village hall was seeded this week, so we can all look out for the appearance of “baby grass” in a week or two. Hopefully it will be well established by the end of the growing season. Work is ongoing to procure new equipment for the play area - more details when we have it. (05/09/07)
Village hall now officially open!
On Saturday 25 August, Bob Jenkins cut the ribbon to officially open the new hall. There followed a champagne reception to thank all those who helped in the funding, planning and building of the new hall. The hall had been specially enlarged by adding a marquee for the day which allowed us to host a celebration for the whole village later in the evening, featuring the wonderful band Ignition. We had a fantastic turnout from old and new faces, and all ages. Thank you all for coming and making it such a great occasion. It makes all that effort worthwhile. (27/08/07)
Massive response for Opening Celebration tickets
A total of 160 flyers were distributed through letterboxes in the Middleton / Borthwick area. Apologies if we missed yours or you were on holiday. A week later and all of the tickets have been taken up. We are sorry that there will be some who miss out on tickets, but it is very heartening that we have had such a great response from the community and it totally justifies the effort and expense of building the new hall. (04/08/07)
Out of school club postponed
The committee met with Hayley Miln to go over the details of the OSC. A major stumbling block is that it appears to contravene the terms of our lease. There was also concern that it might limit availability of the hall to other users. Therefore the OSC will not be using the hall in the short term at least, but we do not rule it out completely in the future if the above problems can be addressed. (04/08/07)
Proposed Out of School Club for Moorfoot Primary School
An out of school club is being organised for when the new primary school opens in North Middleton (expected some way into the autumn term). It is proposed that the club will be run at the village hall by Hayley Miln, who already runs the out of school club at Heriot. If you are interested, there will be an open day at the hall on 22nd June (11am - 2pm) when Hayley will be promoting the new OSC. Contact Hayley on 835718. (07/06/07)
Celebration for Borthwick Primary School
The festivities of the 26th May to celebrate the life and times of Borthwick Primary School were a great success. The hall was packed with pupils, teachers and parents linked with the school both past and present. A great time was had by all. Many thanks to the PTA for organising the event. (29/05/07)
First events take place
Following the WRI meeting on the 8th, there was a Church sale of work on the 12th May. The latter gave the first opportunity for most of the village to come in and have a look. The hall was looking fairly complete inside apart from the lack of carpet in the foyer. Most people seemed to be pleased with the (nearly) finished product. (13/05/07)
Hall nearly ready to open
There is a frenzy of activity as work is completed on the hall in time for the first booking on 8th May. We hope that all will be ready on time! (08/05/07)
Good news on electricity front
At the committee meeting of 18th April, Jim Veitch announced that an agreement has been reached to supply the hall with a permanent electricity supply very soon, and it should be fully up and running before the end of the month. This is apparently due to us using the spare capacity allocated to the new houses, as yet unoccupied. The new transformer should be in place well before the new houses are placing a demand on the local supply. (18/04/07)
Hall completion target: 1st May
We are working towards a completion date of 1st May. This will give ample time for the exterior work and internal decorating to be completed. Our new furniture is due to be delivered during the first week of May and we would like to open up soon afterwards. However, although the electricity situation is resolved, the issue of when it will be connected is still in dispute. This may well delay the opening into the summer or beyond. This would play havoc with the advance bookings we have already taken. Because of this, we could not guarantee the village hall as being available for polling on 3rd May, and alternative arrangements have been made. This is a great shame, as it would be the ideal way to introduce the whole community to the new hall. (01/04/07)
Electricity situation transformed
After some detailed negotiations, an entirely reasonable deal has been struck with Core / Scottish Power for the provision of an electricity supply for the new hall. Our contribution will be in the region of £2,500, in line with our original expectations. Many thanks to all who participated in the discussions to resolve the situation. (06/02/07)
Core Utilities deliver a shock!
Core Utility Solutions, the utility provider backed by Scottish Power, has informed our project managers that the local transformer is not sufficient to supply the new hall on top of the requirements for the new housing development and providing a temporary supply for the building of the new school. A £40,000 upgrade may be required, for which we are told the village hall may be held solely liable. Detailed energy calculations still need to be completed and Core’s final position will depend on that. If that does result in us being liable to fund the upgrade, we will fight the decision as far as it takes. The fact that we are a small charity who have been using Scottish Power for the last 20 years and are only moving location by a few hundred yards, still served by the same transformer, makes the suggestion that we should pay simply outrageous. Thankfully, we have found support for our situation wherever we have turned, so we have no fear of taking our protest further if needs be. (10/12/06)
Grant awarded by SCHRI for green energy initiative
We have just learned that the Scottish Community and Householder Renewables Initiative (SCHRI) has agreed to part-fund our ground source heat pump installation, to make the new village hall more eco-friendly. Final figures have not been released, but we expect this to be in the region of £9,000. (02/12/06)
Work begins on new hall!
Our contractor Eddie Fraser of Walkerburn has begun moving on site and will begin construction in earnest during October. Construction is due to take 20 working weeks. Look out for updates on how the build is progressing and photos... (01/10/06)
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