A few words from David Dallimore, Chair of the Board of Trustees

As Chair of Building Communities Trust I would like to welcome you, and thank you for your interest in our work.

One of Wales’s real strengths has always been our sense of community but in recent years this has been tested as never before through the forces of austerity, the Covid pandemic and the cost of living crisis. At BCT we believe that place-based communities are an important bulwark to these challenges, and that communities contain local experts capable of making decisions on what is best for their area. We believe that with the right support, all communities can be dynamic, asset-rich and resilient, and able to make a real difference to resident’s lives.

We are lucky to have a strong Board of Trustees at BCT who bring a huge range of skills and experience. Our job is to help communities achieve their full potential and we do this not only through guiding and supporting BCT staff in their work, but also by having close ties with the individual communities and groups supported by our programmes.

My role as Chair is to be an encouraging, constructive support to our Chief Executive; to be a challenging, listening ear; to ensure that all Trustees have the opportunity to express their opinions; and to reflect back the breadth of views when it comes to decision-making.

I am very privileged to be part of an organisation whose social and spatial justice aims align with my own beliefs and grateful for the opportunity to play a small part in building stronger communities across Wales.