As part of the Scottish Government and Development Trust Association of Scotland Strengthening Communities Programme Kirknewton Community Development Trust has secured funding for two part time roles – a Community Gardener and a Community Fundraiser.

The intention is to raise funds to maintain jobs in the community beyond the ten month programme.

Application is by CV and covering letter.  The deadline for applications is 16th May at 5pm to tonykirknewton@gmail.com or by post to the Green Room, 12 Main Street, Kirknewton, EH27 8AH

Kirknewton Community Gardener

21 hours a week, £10,000, To March 2019

We are currently looking for a part time community gardener to help us move our projects into the next stage of its development and raise funds for the community. You will have experience, with some landscaping knowledge.  A proven track record of developing and managing projects is preferred as is experience of working with volunteers/community work.

Responsibilities:

• Working with our Board to develop and implement a number of projects designed to engage the local community. This includes consulting with local community groups, schools and local residents. This will include assisting with local groups.
• Improving the look and our standards of basic practice across the community, on projects such as the Charles Jencks artwork, housing for the elderly landscaping, Village Improvement Projects, Community Woodland.
• Working with the community to identify areas for improvement, for a factor fee
• Working with the community to look after local gardens who require it, for a fee.
• Identifying training needs of our volunteers in conjunction with our youth and volunteer co-ordinator, devising appropriate training sessions to fulfil these needs.
• Ensuring all relevant health and safety standards are met in relation to your personal safety, the safety of volunteers, visiting school or community groups and members of the public.
• Conducting and reviewing risk assessments as required.
• Being responsible for the proper use, maintenance and safe storage of all plant, machinery, tools and equipment.
• Reporting on all matters relating to the postholder’s activities
• Undertaking such additional duties commensurate with the post as may reasonably be requested from time to time.

Person specification

Experience

• Demonstrable experience of successful project planning from idea, through implementation to completion.
• Gardening experience with good knowledge of plants & tools
• Experience of working with and supervising volunteers including an ability to teach volunteers by example the principles of good practice.
• Am understanding of how community-based organisations work

Skills and attributes

In addition, the candidate should be 

• Genuinely excited by gardening keen to communicate this enthusiasm to as wide an audience as possible
• Able to work with people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities.
• Strongly committed to working as part of a team.
• Aware of all issues affecting personal safety and the safety of others, including volunteers.
• Sensitive to community issues, values and demographics.
• Reliable and organised
• Friendly and approachable.
• A confident and effective communicator both verbally and in writing
• Proactive and self-motivated
• Willing to work flexible hours including and weekends.
• Qualified First Aider or willing to acquire this qualification.

Hours

This is a part-time position 21 hours per week. Note that some weekend and evening work may be required.

Salary

£10,000 for 10 months, 21 hours a week

Job description and person spec for community gardener

Holiday entitlement

28 days pa pro rata

Pension

KCDT has an opt in pension plan.

Looking after volunteers

KCDT is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers interacting with these groups to share this commitment. This position will be subject to a satisfactory reference check

KIRKNEWTON COMMUNITY FUNDRAISER

The role of the Community Fundraiser is to raise funds to help assist the financial stability of the Kirknewton Community Development Trust and the work we do.

Job Description

• To stimulate, encourage and support fundraising activities in Kirknewton carried out by individuals, organisations and associations on behalf of the Trust.
• Develop our community lottery and fundraising raised through events.
• Identify and apply for funding that meets the aims and objectives of the Kirknewton Development Plan.
• Make links with individuals and groups, including companies, schools, churches and community organisations
• Identify and develop fundraising initiatives to engage individuals and groups including companies, schools, churches and community organisations.
• Encourage local participation in KCDT calendar of events
• Work with organisers of events taking place in Kirknewton to encourage participants to raise funds for the Trust and community projects specific to the Development Plan
• Produce resources such as posters, sponsorship forms, fundraising packs and thank you certificates to support and promote community fundraising events.
• Actively find new supporters to promote Kirknewton collection tins and merchandise across the area and grow income as a result
• Identify and maintain knowledge of all products offer, including lottery and events so that opportunities for cross-promotion can be utilised.
• Recruit volunteers to assist you with fundraising activities

Community Fundraising Administration

• Record all CF data and contact activity
• Respond to CF enquiries, sending agreements, fundraising packs and thank you letters.
• Add CF events to the website.
• Log and maintain collection boxes and community lottery funds
• Ensure risk assessments and agreements for CF events are sent and completed as and when needed.

Friends of Kirknewton / Supporter Groups

• To explore the potential and provide administrative support and general support to the Friends of Kirknewton legacy programme.
• To build effective relationships with Friends of Kirknewton.

Fundraising materials for Community Fundraising

• Order and distribute CF materials and merchandise.
• Monitor stock levels and carry out a regular stock take.

Other duties

• Regular reporting and evaluation on areas of responsibility
• Keep up to date with local government legislation, charity law, national fundraising guidelines and KCDT policies and procedures to ensure all fundraising activities comply.
• To undertake all other reasonable duties as required by the organisation.
• Provide support to the initiatives and events organised by other KCDT volunteer groups, including providing help and attendance as needed.
• Hours
• This is a part-time position 21 hours per week. Note that some weekend and evening work may be required.

Salary

• £10,000 for 10 months, 21 hours a week.

Holiday entitlement

• 28 days pa pro rata

Pension

• KCDT has an opt in pension plan.

Looking after volunteers

• KCDT is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers interacting with these groups to share this commitment. This position will be subject to a satisfactory reference check

Local parent and Community Counsellor Fiona Halliday wished to start a support group in Kirknewton for parents and carers of children with additional support needs.  She recognised that parents and carers can experience high levels of isolation, and thought that a regular group would help people to meet and share experiences.  She noticed that Thursday 1st Feb is also “Time to Talk Day”, a day that encourages open exchange and talking to reduce isolation for people suffering mental health issues.

The Kirknewton Christmas Family Fair and BBQ was a great success, raising over £1500 for local community organisations.

The Kirknewton Community Development Trust wanted to do something slightly different with the annual event, making it less about craft stalls and more about family friendly Christmas activities.  They also put less into publicity and more into entertainment with an additional marquee, a magician (three shows), snow machine, BookBugs, Mini and Me, Scout games, face painters, balloon makers, local choirs and the Kirknewton Primary School Brass band.  Santa was also there for the whole duration, giving out 100 books to young people.

The Gala Committee are running their own whisky night for Burn’s Night.  It takes place in the Kirknewton Pub on Friday 26th January from 7.30pm

Tickets are £10 for 6 x 25ml measures of whisky.

Tickets are available from the Inn, Kirknewton or contact the Gala through their facebook page.

Michael Crosbie, who runs the Boxcir group in the village, will be starting a running group on Satuday 27th January.
It will be , primarily , aimed at beginner to intermediate runners.
The initial plan is to run, jog, walk or power walk 5 full laps of Kirknewton park on Saturday, Monday and Thursday mornings at approximately 9am.
If interested , just turn up on morning or check out his facebook here

The first set of minutes for the new Kirknewton Community Council are now available here.

Minutes will be made available once they are approved – these minutes are from the December meeting that took place on Tuesday 12th December, agreed at the January meeting which took place at the Green Room on Tuesday 9th January

The list of the new Kirknewton Community Council members can be found here..  This is the page you can see all Council minutes in the future.  You can approach them individually or e mail infokirknewton@gmail.com

The December minutes cover PC Alan Murrays crime report and a variety of items the new Community Council hope to get up to speed on in this new year.

West Lothian Councillors Stuart Borrowman (Independent), Willie Boyle (SNP), Harry Cartmill (Labour), Pauline Clark (SNP), Tom Kerr (Conservative), Dom McGuire (Labour) and David Tait (SNP) on the West Lothian Council Development Management Committee have all voted against the Fauch Hill windfarm development based on landscape and visual objection put forward by the West Lothian Council planners.  The only major objector was Edinburgh Airport, potentially concerned it may affect their flightpaths over the area.  

This decision, in light of devastating Council cuts, also means Kirknewton loses £80,000 a year in a “best in Scotland” Community Ownership model, West Calder and Harburn lose the same and the wider West Lothian lose a similar amount of community benefit.  In Kirknewton alone the minimum socio-economic impact could mean the loss of three full time equivalent jobs in the community and support for several businesses and volunteer groups.  This also puts staff support for supporting the Community Development Plan, running events such as Fireworks and the Christmas Family Fair, our youth projects/youth club and the housing for the elderly all in jeopardy unless funding is found beyond July 2018.

West Lothian Council Planning had commissioned their own independent report on visual impact, as Scottish National Heritage did not raise an objection, but they had not conducted a report on socio-economic impact for the communities to help balance the Development Committees decision.  Indeed some members of the Committee didn’t seem to fully understand that socio-economic impact is now important at Council level when deciding such matters, nor the unique best deal in Scotland investment package that was on the table for the communities of West Lothian.

In an independent survey, which asked about the location of the windfarm, 43% of the total sample of respondents from the Kirknewton Community Council area expressed some measure of support for the proposal compared to 9% that expressed some measure of opposition.  The rest were ‘neutral’.  Results were similar in West Calder.  The elected Kirknewton Community Council put that view forward to councillors in support of the wind farm. The West Calder Community Council seem to have ignored the results of the community survey nor seem to have discussed the findings at their meeting.  Despite that, planners deemed the survey presented by Kirknewton as evidence of majority community support to be ‘inconclusive’ – despite the methodology being a key part of West Lothian Council’s own adopted Community Engagement Toolkit and their own recent consultation on council cuts.

This is the second time West Lothian councillors have voted against the majority community view on the Fauch Hill windfarm, community empowerment and direct community funds to help support the work of community groups in Kirknewton and West Calder.  It’s also led to Kirknewton staff having to withdraw their time to support West Lothian bodies in tourism, social enterprise and European funding for community groups and rural business so they can concentrate on looking for alternative funding steams for the Kirknewton community.

Tony Foster, CEO of Kirknewton Community Development Trust, said, “It’s not an unexpected decision but a sad one, seeing as some of the Councillors have visited Kirknewton to see the good work we have done and want to do similar things in their own area.  They know it’s impossible and potentially devastating for our community to continue without core funding.  Also some of the Councillors and objectors already benefit from windfarms, some guided by initial advice from members of the Kirknewton Community Development Trust.  We’ve also done quite a bit of work on infrastructure and promoting the outskirts of the Pentland Park as it is largely unexplored, so more people can enjoy the view and maintain businesses there or create additional employment.  That support will not be there without ongoing core funding.”

“This windfarm was without government subsidy, promoted Scottish Government targets on  carbon reduction, community ownership of renewables, engagement and empowerment and was for the needs of the many, not the few.”