The Necessity for Preservation - Trust Annual Report 1962
There are now many towns up and down the country which look exactly alike, although they may be several hundred miles distant from one another. They have the same shops, the same paving stones, street lamps and characterless buildings. Modern transport and mass production of building materials have succeeded in obliterating local characteristics and destroying essential harmony with the surrounding landscape. Ownership of important property is often no longer in the hands of local residents, and may be designed or altered by people who are unaware of local traditions or history. It can be argued with complete justification that modern business organisation, which is the cause of these changes, brings much cheaper and better service to the residents. On the other hand the Preservation Trust holds that these desirable results can be achieved without destroying the unique character which history has imprinted on the city. This character is something which cannot be re-created and should be preserved for the benefit of tradesmen, residents and visitors alike.