Catrine’s brilliant balconies
Resident Frank Kehoe is very happy in his home – able to safely access his Catrine tenement flat over newly restored balconies, thanks to East Ayrshire Council.
Collaborative working for the common good has been a by-word in Catrine since the founding of Catrine Co-op in the former mill town in the mid-1840s. So it is very appropriate that one of its main buildings has now been rescued from dereliction thanks to funding from a new council grant scheme and the co-operation and dedication of its owners and East Ayrshire Council’s regeneration team.
A Dangerous Buildings notice was issued after it was condemned unsafe at Easter 2012. All occupants were temporarily evacuated while temporary propping was installed, and then the struggle to raise the funds necessary to make the extensive repairs required began.
The owners of most of the eight properties within the building got together, set up a trust and deposited funds in a bank account to contribute 50 per cent of the costs of the £62,000 project, with the remainder coming from the council’s new fund.
Frank Kehoe was instrumental in bringing together as many of the owners as possible to contribute their share.
He said:“We couldn’t get some of the owners to co-operate.
“In order to go ahead, those of us who have paid have had to contribute more than our shares to cover the cost but it’s been worth it to see the progress that’s been made.”