THE chairman of Gullane Area Community Council has announced he will retire from his position and not seek re-election next month.

The community council covers the villages of Gullane, Aberlady, Dirleton and Drem and the surrounding rural areas.

Tom Drysdale, who has been chairperson since July 2018, shared his decision with members at their meeting in July.

Tom, from Dirleton, was nominated as one of the two community councillors representing the village in 2012.

Before this, he was a committee member and secretary of Dirleton Village Association, a conservation charity preserving the character and amenity of Dirleton.

He will remain an active committee member in the association after he retires as community council chairperson in October.

Community councils operate on a four-year election cycle, though the present one, which will end with elections next month, was extended to five years on account of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Under East Lothian Council rules, a new chairperson should be elected at the first meeting after the election.

Tom said: “Although the commitments of chairperson are all voluntary, they take up a significant amount of time and involve attendance at frequent meetings.

“Having been so fully involved in them for 12 years or so, I feel it’s time to hand over to others.

“We have a strong team in the community council and I feel it’s a good time to go.

“I don’t know who’ll take over as chairperson – that will be for the new body to decide at its first meeting after the October elections.”

The community council’s main function is to liaise between the communities it serves and the local authority and other public bodies.

Tom added: “It is also an active member of North Berwick Coastal Area Partnership, which includes the whole of the North Berwick local authority ward.

“This also involves close liaison with the local authority in matters relating to the wider area over a whole range of issues.

“I have represented our community council on it since its inception seven or eight years ago.”

At the meeting in July, Martin White, of West Fenton, observed that a previous suggestion of a rotating chairperson – rotation around the villages – would cause too much confusion.

Tom suggested that some of the chair’s current duties could be delegated amongst members to reduce the overall workload of the position.