Trust wants to adapt for future
CDT announces plans for increase in board membership
Major changes are planned to Comrie Development Trust’s (CDT) board in a bid to give more people a voice on the organisation.
A special general meeting next month will consider plans to increase the number of board members from 12 to 21, with 16 representatives elected by interest groups who support the Trust’s aims.
These will include representatives from groups such as Comrie in Colour and the Allotments Association, plus commercial organisations who use the CDT’s main asset – community-owned Cultybraggan Camp.
CDT secretary Andrew Reid told the Herald the proposed changes will go before a special general meeting on Tuesday, October 25, to be discussed by members.
He said: “This is a considerable change which we hope will be approved and which, going forward, will give more people a voice on the board.
“The board has a heavy workload at the moment so it’s partly to do with spreading the load, but also with increasing the breadth of representation.
“There are lots of different interests at the camp – from the Brownies to the allotments – and it feels important to give them all a stake and to harness their commitment and energy.
“There are also businesses who work out of the camp and who could bring a lot to the table in terms of enterprise to help the Trust move forward and generate income.”
Meanwhile, CDT may need to make its two remaining part-time staff members – the Environments & Estates Manager and Finance Officer – redundant in a bid to balance the books.
Mr Reid said the staff redundancies would be “a last resort” which the board hopes to avoid if grant funding applications are successful.
He said: “We’ve been working hard to ensure redundancies are not the case but they remain a possibility and the next few weeks will be crucial as we wait to hear about two funding applications.
“We’ve already been in extensive discussions with the funding sources and are hopeful our applications will be successful and the staff will remain.
“Going forward, we are pushing on with developments which will generate income so we don’t have to be dependent on grant funding to maintain staff.”
The CDT is asset rich but cash poor, with net assets of £600,000 and a projected annual deficit of £40,000 for five years.
Action has already been taken to deal with budget problems including staff reductions, closure of the village office, administration savings and loan rescheduling.
The organisation has also made numerous grant funding applications and had a meeting last month with major funders who might be able to offer support and financial assistance.
A recently-released CDT bulletin notes the main areas of yearly expenditure – £103,000 – for site maintenance, security and energy costs are essential and cannot be further reduced.
It adds: “The need to remain in credit with a balanced budget this financial year against cash flow problems means, without additional income in the immediate future, the board will have to make the two remaining part-time staff redundant.”
An earlier loss of administration support has already resulted in poorer communications with members and less updating of information on the website and the board is looking for volunteers who can help with office work.
Estates manager Naomi Clarke said: “We really need volunteers who could staff the phones or help with the website so we can communicate better and inform people more.”
Anyone who can help should call 01764 670769 or sign up via the CDT website.