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Board of Trustees

The Community Benefit Fund is overseen by an independent Board of Trustees, appointed to ensure the fund delivers meaningful, fair, and lasting benefits for communities across Wales.

The Board provides strategic leadership and governance for the charity that manages the fund, making sure grant funding is inclusive, transparent, and shaped by the needs and aspirations of local people.

Role of the Board of Trustees

The Board of Trustees is responsible for the overall governance and direction of the Community Benefit Fund.

Their role includes:

  • Providing leadership and strategic oversight for the charity
  • Ensuring funding decisions are fair, transparent, and inclusive
  • Overseeing compliance with charity law and regulation
  • Making sure funding delivers measurable, long‑term impact
  • Supporting a grants process informed by local insight and evidence

The charity is structured as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) and is regulated by the Charity Commission for England and Wales.

Meet the Trustees

The Board brings together deep experience from across the voluntary, community, cultural, environmental, education, and sport sectors in Wales.

Catryn Newton

Corporate Trustee

Catryn Newton

Corporate Trustee

Rhondda Cynon Taf

Catryn represents the Corporate Trustee on behalf of Bute Energy. She has over 15 years’ experience in community investment and social regeneration, including leadership roles in the charity and social housing sectors. Under her leadership, Bute Energy has built the largest community engagement team among UK energy developers. Catryn is a Welsh‑speaking mum of two and is committed to ensuring community investment creates genuine legacy.

Tom Jones

Trustee

Tom Jones

Trustee

Powys

Tom brings extensive leadership and governance experience across Wales’ voluntary, cultural, and environmental sectors. He has chaired major national organisations, including the National Lottery Board in Wales and the Millennium Stadium Charitable Trust, overseeing the distribution of tens of millions of pounds in charitable funding. A fluent Welsh speaker, Tom has a long‑standing commitment to strengthening rural communities.

Catherine Miller

Trustee

Catherine Miller

Trustee

Conwy

Catherine is Assistant Director of Grants and Income at WCVA, with over a decade of experience designing and managing major grant programmes across Wales. She has overseen multi‑million‑pound funding schemes and brings strong expertise in governance, charity law, transparency, and inclusive grant‑making. Catherine combines professional expertise with lived experience of North Wales communities.

Aled Lewis

Trustee

Aled Lewis

Trustee

Cardiff

Aled is Director of the Cymru Football Foundation and a sector leader in sport, health, recreation, and community development. He has overseen more than £40 million of investment into community facilities across Wales and brings strong governance and financial oversight experience. Aled is a Welsh speaker and brings a strategic perspective on how community assets can drive long‑term regeneration.

Chris Johnes

Trustee

Chris Johnes

Trustee

Cardiff

Chris is CEO of Building Communities Trust and has spent his career working with community and voluntary organisations as a leader, funder, and adviser. He brings deep experience in community‑led development, long‑term funding models, and tackling poverty and inequality. His expertise spans governance, impact assessment, and strategic planning across multiple social themes.

How funding decisions are informed

Funding decisions are shaped by a combination of local insight and national oversight.

  • Each energy park has a local community grants panel, bringing knowledge of local priorities, challenges, and opportunities
  • The Board of Trustees uses robust data and insight gathered through extensive community engagement
  • Bute Energy’s Community Investment team supports this work by mapping local needs and aspirations

Together, this approach ensures funding responds to the unique character of each community, while maintaining consistency, fairness, and accountability at a national level.

More information

How will funding decisions be made?

Funding will be informed by extensive local engagement, robust community data, and guidance from local community grants panels to ensure decisions reflect local needs and priorities. 

How will Bute Energy be involved?

We said we’d be here for the long-term, wanting be part of a wider legacy for Welsh communities. Therefore, as well as independent individuals from across the nation, a member of the Bute Energy team also has a seat at the Trustee table, providing insights and live social mapping data to assist in the long-term opportunities that are applied for.

How much funding will be available?

Each energy park has its own dedicated community funding pot, calculated at £7,500 per megawatt of installed capacity.

If all proposed energy parks progress, the Community Benefit Fund could distribute up to £20 million per year, amounting to up to £800 million over the lifespan of our energy parks.

How will the Board work with each energy park's community grants panel?

A panel of local people will be set up for each energy park. These people will be passionate community leaders who will know their community and how best to support to ensure local priorities and projects are put forward and supported.

Trustees will look for community-led direction from the local panels as to where funds should be invested.

Who manages the fund?

The fund is managed by an independent charity, structured as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) and regulated by the Charity Commission for England and Wales. While the fund has been developed by Bute Energy, it is governed independently by a Board of Trustees.

Who decides which grant applications receive funding?

Funding decisions are informed by both local and national insight:

  • Local community grants panels bring knowledge of local priorities and opportunities
  • The Board of Trustees provides governance, oversight, and consistency
  • Decisions are supported by data and insight gathered through extensive community engagement

This approach ensures funding reflects local needs while remaining fair and transparent across Wales.

Community Benefit Fund

Learn more about our grant funding offer linked with each of our energy parks.

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