LATEST NEWS
LATEST
Happy New Year
Many thanks to Ian Dorothy for choosing NVCT as recipient of funds raised from his New Year's Day party in the Village Hall.
Due to the generosity of all those who attended a welcome £290 has been added to our funds which will help us to continue to deliver Newstead's Community Action Plan!
Village Green Planting Plan FINAL.pdfVillage Green Update
Thanks to a successful bid for funding to Fife Environment Trust we are able to proceed with our plans to improve the Village Green space to include a new bespoke carved bench (to replace the Jubilee commemorative bench), two wheelchair accessible picnic benches and a circular bench under our cherry tree. In addition the funding will enable us to refurbish the well in the woodland and to install an interpretation board to enable us to share what is special about Newstead with residents and visitors.
Watch this space for more news as the project progresses.
Thinking Outside of the Box
Newstead’s iconic phone box has now been saved from removal thanks to Melrose and District Community Council and Newstead Village Community Trust. The Community Council were able to buy the phone box for £1 through BT’s Adopt a Kiosk scheme on the understanding that NVCT would ensure it was put to the good use for our community.
This is an exciting opportunity, so we have been doing some research into how other communities have made the most of their tiny spaces. Here are a few ideas that we thought were worth considering: Library in a Phone Box for a second-hand book swap venue; Garden in a Phone Box to add some colour and interest next to our Village streetscape; Tourist Information Box to let visitors know more about Newstead’s heritage and history;
Defibrillator in a phone box as our nearest is currently in Melrose; Pop up Café to open for Village events; Art Gallery in a phone box which could celebrate the work of local artists and visiting installations.
Or perhaps a combination of several of these ideas on a rotating basis. Tony Player, Artist in Alverton, Nottinghamshire said ‘In the village l started off using redundant box as a gallery. Then at Christmas we used it for nativity. Summer used for excess veg we grew to share and so on. In a hamlet it became our focal point.’
We have recently had conversations with Connecting Threads, a creative project linked to Destination Tweed and Trimontium Trust who are both interested in collaborating with NVCT to develop some of these ideas.
To have your say please complete the survey here
Garden Party on the Village Green
The Prosecco and Strawberries fundraiser on 21st July was an outstanding success.
Tickets were sold out prior to the event and the rain held off just long enough for over 50 adults and children to gather, sip Prosecco and partake of some lovely strawberries and cream.
We were able to raise over £400 towards the bespoke carved bench we are planning to add to the Village Green.
Thankyou to all the volunteers who made it happen and to all the folk who attended and made it a great social event!
A big thankyou to Martin Baird, Butcher, Melrose; The Fabric Shop, Melrose; Jacks Cafe, Melrose and Purple Plum Fruit Shop, Melrose along with kind donations from our community of raffle prizes.
Posted on 26th July 2024
Men at Work
A big thankyou to Jonny, Andrew (and his Dad) for taking the time to lift a kerb stone at the Village Green to improve accessibility for wheelchair users!
Posted on 20th July 2024
NVCT Annual Fundraising Walk 28th April '24
A group of around 20 people walked from Newstead to Melrose where we were greeted by staff and volunteers from Trimontium Trust.
Rob Longworth treated us to a fascinating talk about the discovery and excavation of Trimontium Fort and a tour of the new Halo Centre where we were able to test out the new VR tech which brings the Roman occupation to life! A cream tea was also enjoyed.
Many thanks to Trimontium Trust, to Isobel King for organising the walk and to Susan Young for leading the walk to Melrose.
Bingo Night in the Village Hall 20th Jan '24
Eyes Down for a Full House! - Bingo Night in the Village Hall
A huge thankyou to NVCT Director, Meri Taylor for organising a fantastic BINGO evening in the Village Hall on 20th Jan. The event was sold out and around 40 people, young and old, joined together for a fun and entertaining evening. There were some impressive picnics brought along by some attendees and the 'rookie' Bingo Caller got everyone into the spirit, encouraging chants of 'check that card, check that card'.
Prizes were donated by local businesses and individuals and were much appreciated by the lucky winners. A special thankyou to Joshua for sharing his birthday cake with us all and a big thankyou to the army of helpers on the night too!
Feedback from the evening was really positive and there were requests for similar future events so this may well become a regular feature of the NVCT calendar!
Posted on 2.2.24
Golden Eagle Project Presentation
A huge thankyou to Philip Munro for a fascinating presentation about the South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project which took place in the Village Hall on 15th October.
The event was attended by 33 people from Newstead and beyond.
And thankyou to Ross Laurie for updating us all on the Village Green Bioblitz and encouraging us all to take part in this fascinating Citizen Science Project.
Posted on 23.10.23
Newstead Traffic Survey
Updated on 21.12.23
FIND THE RESULTS OF THE TRAFFIC SUREVY BELOW - THANKYOU TO ALL WHO CONTRIBUTED
Newstead News Traffic Survey Article (1).docx🚗🚕🚛🚐 Calling all Newstead pedestrians, cyclists, drivers, and horse riders! Share your thoughts on traffic in the village via a quick survey. SBC have agreed to add an additional digital speed sign, similar to the one on Dean Road. Let's capture your feedback to determine the best location
📣 Your voice will help influence where SBC locates the new sign! Take the survey to help shape road safety measures in our village. Please help spread the word and encourage others to resident and visitors to participate. Survey open until September 3rd, 2023.
Thank you.
Picnic on the Green
Posted on 27.06.23
Picnic on the Green
The rain held off for our Picnic on the Green on 25th June (Isobel was right when she said "if we put up the gazebos it won't rain"!)
It was a great opportunity to celebrate bringing the Green into community ownership, catch up with one another and to get to know a few new faces in the Village.
Thankyou to all who attended and to the team who worked hard to rake the grass, dispose of the cuttings and set up on the day.
Raffle
The lucky winner of the original painting by Shona Lenaghan was Val Miller.
Second prize of a signed copy went to Jan Barwick.
Third prize of an Edinburgh map print, kindly donated by The Picture Framer, 1 Lawyers Brae, Galashiels, went to Eileen Johnson.
Thanks to the Gallery, Melrose and Butterfly, Melrose for helping us to sell tickets.
A special thanks to Shona Lenaghan for giving up her time to draw the raffle.