Restore Trust’s letter to the Daily Telegraph

On 2 July 2021 the Daily Telegraph published this letter from Restore Trust:

Sir – In May, Tim Parker, the chairman of the National Trust, announced that he was stepping down after we declared our intention to submit a motion of no confidence in him to the trust’s annual general meeting. The trust said it was commencing a search for his successor.

Since then, however, there has been silence. There has been no announcement of how his replacement will be selected. The post has not been advertised and there is no apparent application procedure.

The trust is at a critical point in its history. It has lost the confidence of many of its members and volunteers, staff morale has sunk to a new low, and both the quality of its work and its finances have suffered grievously.

This is a vitally important appointment, which requires the very best candidate. The criteria by which this post is to be filled should be a matter for discussion with members and heritage professionals. The National Trust needs someone at the helm who understands and cares about the conservation of buildings and landscapes and who will not allow political campaigning to distract the charity from its purpose.

We call on the National Trust’s trustees and members of the council to make this an open appointment process, advertise the post widely and make their selection criteria clear. Only in this way will the best candidate emerge. As the trust is a membership organisation, we also call for the board and council to make their appointment conditional on a confirmatory vote at the next annual meeting.

Cornelia van der Poll, Jack Hayward, Neil Bennett, Neil Record

Restore Trust London W1

Join Us

Want to get involved?

Find out how you can support our work here.