 to the problems of tree diseases. Over the next 5 to 10 years we will see if we can get ourselves a better mark.
Do you fight against fracking but defend wind turbines?
We argue against fracking because it continues economic dependence on fossil fuels and some of the environmental impacts are still unknown, so we wouldn’t allow it on our land. We are great supporters of good renewable energy and on our land we have some wind turbines, solar panels and hydroelectric schemes because we want to get 50% of our energy from renewables by 2020. But we do object to inappropriate, large scale wind farms or solar farms near the properties we own if we believe they destroy the natural beauty of the place.
You come from long Government experience as a prominent civil servant, how do you feel now running a charity?
One thing about it is essentially the same. All the time the decisions I make have the consideration which is: How to serve the public good? Of course, when you are in government, determining the public good is what the democratic government does, and the civil servant is carrying out that decision. Whereas here I can play a much more active part in deciding how we should benefit the public and have a greater freedom of action. But the size of this organisation (10,000 staff and 60,000 part-time volunteers) is very similar to the size of a Government department and so it has a lot of the challenges that running any big organisation has.
What has really changed in the National Trust in the last ten years?
In the last decade or so we have grown and our membership has at least doubled; it was one million in 1995 and now it has grown immensely. Part of that is because it has followed the trend of how people like to spend their leisure time. There are of course more interesting heritage attractions, but a large part of it is that people see us as more welcoming than we were. The biggest progress has been among families with young children. They can make a noise and run around in the woods and we welcome them inside the houses with games.
In other words, the British people are very attached to their patrimony?
Yes, they are.
Has Downton Abbey helped?
We were already very successful before Downton Abbey.
Do you run campaigns and make publicity?
We use our campaigns to send unexpected messages. So for example last year we ran a campaign showing children engaging with the countryside and playing in mud and on beaches, because the image of the National Trust are our historic houses and our tea rooms and we want to change our image, be less stuffy perhaps.
How do you invest?
Our turnover is £500 million a year and we generally invest, from the profit we make and legacies and activities, £150 million a year on conservation and investment in our big campaigns.
And how do you decide which new properties to acquire and which properties not to take on?
When the Trust makes an acquisition, we are making a commitment to look after something for ever. In almost every case we declare the place that we’ve acquired inalienable and this means that we can never sell or mortgage it, so we take such decisions very seriously. We therefore have a set of guidelines to help us decide which acquisitions we can consider. The main criteria for taking on a place are whether that place is nationally important (outstanding for its natural beauty or natural or historic interest) and whether there is a tangible threat to its survival if the National Trust did not acquire it, but equally important are whether the property will be financially self-supporting and whether the Trust is the most appropriate owner.
October 8th, 2014.
All images ©National Trust Images.