The NT’s agenda doesn’t include members’ views

Dear Editor,

I totally agree with all your points. I'm so disappointed in the Trust at the moment that if I hadn't already held life membership (for over 20 years) I would have stopped supporting them. As a non-car owner I sent a very well thought-through suggestion a couple of years ago for re-opening a pedestrian entrance to Kingston Lacy which already exists and is permanently locked. This would have enabled people without transport to access the estate in safety rather than having to risk life and limb by walking alongside a busy road with high, non-cut edges to it and then down the drive to reach the entrance. But despite several attempts to explain my plan (including a telephone conversation with a staff member) I was constantly told that they couldn't open up the estate to non-payers (even though my plan would not have entailed this). Basically, they had their own agenda and it didn't include members' views.

Similarly, we recently went to visit Montacute House and were shocked at the sorry state of the building - it looked like it had not been maintained for years and was looking distinctly sorry for itself. Yet at Kingston Lacy they have built not one but two children's play areas in the grounds (including one in the Kitchen Garden) and my heart could hardly have sunk much further when I read about the 'children's mansion' and 'mansion experiences' in the magazine and emails.  They must be costing a lot of money that could better be spent on the basics, like keeping their properties dry and in reasonable order. Perhaps they don't care that some of us go to Trust properties for peace and quiet enjoyment. Sadly, all we seem to be heading for is noisy out-of-control children that the rest of us have to put up with, and woke, under-nuanced 'history'.

Many thanks for your efforts!

Yours faithfully,

Jane Church (NT Life Member)
Weymouth, Dorset