A new council committee set up to oversee the use of £13 million of community funds heard its first application behind closed doors less than ten minutes after getting underway today.

East Lothian Council’s new Common Good Committee was approved by elected members in July and brings together four individual town funds which had seen grants approved by their local ward councillors into one group.

But while the committee itself was held in public and webcast live on the council’s website, members decided to move into private before discussing the only application on the agenda.

The application from The Pantry, in Musselburgh, for a grant of £1,051.66 towards opening a second base in Newbigging in the town was heard in private under part of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 which c

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