Becoming a community councillor unexpectedly led to a life-changing experience for Martin White.
Since joining Gullane Area Community Council a decade ago, Martin has worked hard alongside others on a variety of local issues, with a particular focus on putting processes in place to co-ordinate responses on development planning matters effectively.
But it was the opportunity, as a community council representative, to get involved with the Coastal Communities Museum in nearby North Berwick which opened up the door for Martin to learn new skills and take a leading role in work to celebrate the life of the acclaimed Scottish writer, Robert Louis Stevenson.
As nominations open for elections to East Lothian’s community councils, Martin has encouraged local residents to grasp the opportunity and consider getting involved.
Interesting and fulfilling
“Initially, I was helping somebody out because they had a change of circumstances and needed to stop, so I took over,” he explains. “I’ve very much enjoyed my time on the community council ever since.
“For me, there is an absolute highlight of my time on the community council. The museum in North Berwick was reopening with representation to be added from the other community councils in the area. I volunteered to be our representative and that’s proved to be quite life-changing for me.
“I joined the board of the museum and met Lady June Douglas-Hamilton. We became quite friendly and it transpired she was a huge fan of Robert Louis Stevenson. The museum had no display about him. When she sadly died, I took the opportunity to create an exhibition about him which was intended as temporary but has turned out to be pretty much permanent.
“Because of that, I have gone on to do other things which have been interesting and fulfilling. I became President of the European Cultural Route In the Footsteps of Robert louis Stevenson, the bulk of which is in France. It has led to a set of opportunities which would have never happened without me joining the community council. I have learned how to design exhibitions and had the opportunity to study French.
“It just shows that, while people can bring their experience to benefit a community council, it can also lead to new opportunities for people to do things which they might find similarly interesting. Another example would be working on the local place plan – that gave people the opportunity to get involved in something which they might not have expected.”
Planning matters are amongst those most frequently discussed as part of community council meetings. After joining, Martin put his previous professional experience to good use to help the group consider and respond to applications in the most effective way possible.
“My previous career was in technology and involved creating processes and practices,” he explains. “I created a good routine for the community council to deal with planning applications, which goes very smoothly.
“There is a lot of faith in the central function in East Lothian Council, but there is always local knowledge which community councillors might have on these matters which helps keep score on things overall and creates confidence that the right things are being done.”
Rewarding experiences
Martin is now standing down as a community councillor but believes those who serve in the years ahead can enjoy similarly rewarding experiences.
“My message would be to give it a go – you just don’t know what other opportunity it might give you.
“Being a community councillor is a positive experience and it always satisfying to see the outcomes of things you have been working on.”
Nominations
Nominations for community councillors across East Lothian opened on Monday, 1 September.
Anyone who is at least 16 years of age and is interested in getting involved has until Thursday 18 September to lodge nomination papers.
Depending on the number of nominations received for the places available per community council, elections will be held on Thursday, 9 October. Residents living in the corresponding community council area will be able to vote.