Kirknewton Community Development Trust
The Kirknewton Community Development Trust (KCDT) is your local member-led charity for the community. Our aim is to improve the lives of everyone in Kirknewton by investing in the community, maintaining facilities and open spaces, and organising activities.
The KCDT was founded in 2006 with the money won in a court case against a local quarry who was found by the Scottish Executive to have been illegally dumping materials. Since then we have been involved in the building of the Green Room, the Pavilion, housing for seniors at Jencks View, installing public defibrilators, purchasing e-bikes for hire, the art-installation 'A Stone's Progress', and more.
The KCDT is a member-led charity, and therefore depends on our members. Why not sign up today? It's FREE! Members have a voice and vote in our general meetings to guide our activities, and can stand for election to become Director on the Board. As a member you receive a monthly newsletter, and you can opt in for the weekly community draw. The day-to-day running of the KCDT is done by our staff.
Details about membership eligibility, benefits, updating your account, and the community draw can be found on the FAQ page.
The KCDT is an OSCR registered charity (SC037895) and we receive funding from the National Lottery.
Staff
KCDT currently provides local employment to three members of staff. Our staff members are essential for the maintanence of our amazing community facilities, organisation of events, and the day-to-day running of the charity.
Ailsa
Charity Community Development Officer
ailsakirknewton1@gmail.com
I have lived in the village for over 20 years. I have recently taken on the role of Community Development Officer and I am also a qualified counsellor. I am excited to be back working in the community after leaving in 2019 to pursue my career as a counsellor. I'm looking forward to seeing how I can help develop existing and new projects.
Steph
Senior Project Officer
stephkirknewton@gmail.com
I joined the Trust in January 2018 as the finance officer. Although I had lived in Kirknewton for 8 years at that point I was very much in my own bubble and didn’t know a lot of people. Since being employed by the trust I have met loads of wonderful people and can honestly say that I do enjoy being part of such a great village. My role is predominantly finance but over the years I have found myself getting more involved in delivery projects and helping out in any areas that I can.
Graeme
Charity Operations Assistant
graemekirknewton@gmail.com
I joined the Trust in November 2021 after working in the steel trade for almost 40 years. The job came along for me at the right time as I felt it was time for a change. I am proud to be part of this team and enjoy meeting new people through work. I assist with organising events for the Seniors of the Community and delivering the Christmas bags to them. I set up the café for opening every week, ensuring that it is a safe and friendly environment for all ages of visitors. I communicate with the volunteers and bakers ensuring that they feel valued and know they play an important role to keep the café running. I look after and take care of the Village Hall, Green Room and the Pavilion as well as the outside areas of these buildings. I ensure the Defibrillator is properly maintained. I keep all notice boards around the village updated as well as look after the stone snake and planted area at Meadowbank. Every day is different, and I am enjoying the various aspects of this role.
Board of Directors
KCDT has a volunteer Board of Directors which are ultimately responsible for running the charity. Any member can stand to be elected as Director. The Board of Directors can be reached by contacting us or emailing infokirknewton@gmail.com. You can reach Danielle for communication/website/newsletter queries at kirky.krew@protonmail.com.
Stewart
Stewart McKenna
My wife and I have lived in Kirknewton since building our house here in 1983 although I knew of Kirknewton through friends living here in the seventies. I am a graduate Pharmacist from Heriot Watt University School of Pharmacy and have owned my own businesses since university days. Our two children were born here and attended Kirknewton Primary and Balerno High before spreading their wings to London and Zurich. In the late 90's I fought a campaign against an illegal landfill at the former Kaimes Quarry site. This was decided a day before the case was to be heard in the Court of Sessions. City of Edinburgh Council and Hanson Waste Management caved in and granted all 13 points of our petition against them. Subsequently I was able to win considerable compensation for the people of Kirknewton and that was the basis of Kirknewton Community Development Trust (KCDT) of which I have been Chairman for far too long. Kirknewton suffered considerable change following the departure of our armed forces when many activities that had been supported or sponsored by the forces disappeared. It pleases me to witness a Kirknewton Revival and the reactivation of many aspects of village life that were withering. I am pleased to live in this pleasant village and also pleased that KCDT has been able to help make subtle changes to the lives of many of this village. The strength of KCDT lies in the hands of all those who volunteer to undertake the many and varied projects driven by the results of our Community Consultations. Keep up the good work and help make this village one of the best to live and work in.
Hugh
Hugh Hunter Gordon
Born during 2nd World War, son of a Royal Engineer, brought up mostly in Inverness-shire, educated in Edinburgh and Dundee. Apprenticeship in Edinburgh. Degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Business Administration. Career in business development in computer-aided design and manufacture, in offshore and subsea oilfield automation, in EU investment management, in start-up, early-stage, innovative enterprises. Skier, Curler, Golfer. Came to Kirknewton in 1976; all 3 children passed through village primary school ; 2 grand-children at Edinburgh University. Director of KCDT since start-up. Past Chair of KCC.
Caroline
Caroline Hamilton
...
Martin
Martin Hall
...
Susan
Susan Campbell
...
Tony
Tony Foster
...
Danielle
Danielle Prins-de Jonge
I joined KCDT board in 2026 to help with the website and communication. You can reach me directly at kirky.krew@protonmail.com. I've been happily living in Kirknewton with my husband and son since 2021. In my professional life I am a marine scientist and policy advisor, working on conservation of the marine environment in deep offshore waters in the UK and the high seas by advising the UK Government and working with UN bodies. I revived the community newsletter as the Kirky Kourier, and started the monthly Kirky Klub stay & play for local families. I hope to help KCDT become future-proof and involve more families and young people in what's happening in the village.
Management
The KCDT was founded in 2006 with the money won in a court case against a local quarry who was found by the Scottish Executive to have been illegally dumping materials. The Trust started with about £300K, with £200K spent on Jencks View housing, and about £70K spent on the Green Room and the Jenks art work. At the moment about £30K is left in the Trust, and the KCDT also actively applies for funding for specific projects.
The KCDT is a registered charity (SC037895) and therefore we have a constitution and annual reports and financial accounts. In an effort to update the website and improve our communications, we will be uploading more management documents here soon. In the mean time, if you have any queries regarding the (financial) management of the Trust, please feel free to reach out. Furthermore, please consider signing up as a member of the Trust, giving you a voice and a vote in our general meetings including on funds allocation.
We receive funding from the National Lottery, helping us to fund our staff.
