10/06/2026
Statement by Directors of Catrine Community Trust
The Trust’s AGM will be taking place on Tuesday 30 June 2026 @ 7pm in the AM Brown Institute.
Currently, three Directors are registered at Companies House – Jimmy Kleboe, Sharon Nelson, and Stuart Nelson (out of a possible maximum of 12). On this occasion, two of the directors, Sharon and Stuart, have decided not to put themselves forward for re-election. This is not due to lack of passion for the various projects the Trust is involved in but mainly down to personal circumstances (work and family) dictating not quite enough spare time available to do full justice to the commitment needed to progress the Trust to a situation where the village of Catrine can see even more benefits coming on stream.
As folks will be aware, the Trust has a management agreement in place at the moment for the AM Brown Institute and has ownership not only of its trading subsidiary, Catrine Community Renewables, but also of the infrastructure necessary for the hydro system to operate successfully, this being the Weir, the Voes and other remaining parts of the historic water system. It’s a big and complex project, which requires a fair skill set over a range of operating areas and needs a considerable input from those involved. As already mentioned, the two Directors not seeking re-election feel for the time being, they have taken the project as far as they are able, and believe that now is the time to pass over to others in the community who may be in a better position to move things on to the next stages. In short, it is a case of needing “new blood”. This was something that was clearly expressed during an informal discussion which took place in lieu of the inquorate AGM in October last year. It will, therefore, now be for those who were of such a view, and/or others, to become Directors and take up the challenge for moving the overall project forward from here.
It is sincerely hoped this can happen, otherwise the different projects could suffer a terminal decline, and much would be lost to the village. It should be noted that serious problems could arise immediately following the AGM on 30 June, if at least the minimum number of three Directors cannot be achieved. In effect, everything which CCT has a responsibility to operate would be suspended following the 30 June AGM, including operation of AMBI.
Given that the above worst-case scenario doesn’t occur, what then are the next stages the Trust hopes to achieve and how healthy are the finances of both Catrine Community Trust and Catrine Community Renewables to facilitate such ambitions? In his report for the 2024/25 period, the sadly late Ken McCracken effectively said that the finances were as good as they ever been since their incorporation as companies - CCT (previously named Catrine Voes Trust) in 1992 and CCR in 2016. The 2025/26 accounts will show further improvement. At the time of writing CCT has a bank balance of £149,521 and CCR £141,816. A high proportion of this is made up of profits from the hydro with a lot of credit for this going to longstanding employee, Lyle Todd. Plans to increase profits could come from CCR looking at the viability of installing solar panel arrays. What is also in the CCT accounts is money ringfenced to employ at least two project assistants. Once these are taken on, the hope is that operational pressure on Directors might be lessened.
Considering the level of current and potential long-term funds available, there should not, therefore, be too much of an issue when it comes to taking a long lease of the AM Brown Institute from East Ayrshire Council as owners of the building, per their asset transfer arrangements. The clock, however, is ticking and East Ayrshire Council have set a six-month deadline (November) for the submission of the Community Asset Transfer paperwork to allow potential continued use of a building much loved by most people in the village - many surveys over the years have highlighted this.
Fortunately, much of the background work for the asset transfer is in place, with the next stage being to move forward with preparation of a detailed programme of works with costs, funding programme and associated business/financial planning to support the process. All of that will be informed by the updated condition survey with costs, prepared at the back end of last year for the AMBI by Gilbert Architects, a professional heritage architect, which was funded by Architectural Heritage Fund Scotland, and facilitated by Community Enterprise Scotland. The Trust has had initial discussions with a consultant in terms of developing a “road map” through that process.
Basically, what EAC is looking for is a business plan that demonstrates that CCT does have the capacity to take on the AMBI well into the future and ensure it is well used. This, of course, involves the whole community. The bottom line, is that this is a project which is on as sound a footing as it has ever been and there is a real opportunity to move forward and develop in a meaningful way from here for the real and tangible benefit of the village….it just needs commitment from the community to take it on, love it, nurture it. And not to forget, a CCT Board of committed Directors!
CCT Board
8 June 2026
