Published: Thursday, 5th November, 2009 6:00am

Double financial blow for town's gala group

Tranent's annual gala has suffered a triple blow with the departure from the committee of a key member, plus two financial headaches.

Gala stalwart Jimmy Ross, who has played a key role in the town festival for the past 50 years, has decided to call time on his gala work.

His decision comes as the committee was issued with a "considerable" bill from East Lothian Council - and failed in a bid for a £5,000 grant from Tranent and Elphinstone Community Council.

Paying tribute to Mr Ross, gala committee chairman, Tom Logan, said: "Jimmy for most people in the town is the gala, his commitment over the years has been amazing and his presence on gala occasions will be missed, I am sure that many in the community will appreciate his hard work over the years.

"Jimmy will now become an honorary member of the gala committee."

Mr Ross, who turned 80 recently, decided to give up his position on the committee due to ill health at the group's recent annual general meeting - where it was also announced that the group owed a substantial bill, dating back to 2005, to the council for the erection of the gala decorations.

Mr Logan admitted that members were "shocked" to receive the hefty bill, but declined to divulge its size. The group already owes the local authority more than £1,500 for the costs of installing and removing this year's gala bunting.

"We are worried as this is quite a considerable amount out of our already tight budget," he said. "All in all it costs about £10,000 a year to run the gala and events like the annual old folks' reunion. If we can't get support from other organisations then it would be fair to say that the gala is facing big problems, if not next year then definitely in 2011."

The committee had applied to Tranent and Elphinstone Community Council (TECC) for £5,000 to assist with the costs of running the festival - however the local watchdog group was unable to oblige due to a lack of funds and rejected the application last Thursday.

Joan Ramsay, vice-chairman and treasurer of the community council, said: "We don't have anything in that range to give."

TECC chairman Raymond Strang praised the efforts made by the committee in staging the gala over the years.

"It would be fair to say they have performed a small feat every year," he said. "All applications that come from any local organisations will be treated equally and we will as a group consider the merits of each application before coming to a decision."

Community councillor Robert McNeill appealed to the group on behalf of the gala committee - of which he is also a member - to financially assist next year's celebrations in any way they could. The next gala committee meeting takes place on Wednesday at 7pm in Tranent Day Centre.