Chairman's Remarks - Trust Annual Report 1992
As usual there are some changes to report amongst the Council and the Officers of the Trust.
Miss G. M. Collymore has been co-opted onto the Council and her election will be proposed at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting. Gill Collymore, who worked for many years for the Architectural Press, needs no introduction and already makes a valuable contribution to the Trust. She is editor of the Newsletter, organised the very successful 1991 Awards Scheme, and sits on one of our Development Control Panels.
Jeffrey Smith stood down as Chairman of the Development Control Committee earlier in the year and was succeeded by Mrs. Shione Carden. He has also decided to retire from the Chairmanship of the Heritage Centre Management Committee at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting and his place will be taken by Chris Webb. Jeffrey Smith has made a great contribution to the Trust over the years. A founder member of the Trust, he has served as Chairman and Vice Chairman and latterly has played a key role in the Development Control Committee and at the Heritage Centre during a difficult transition period. We are all delighted that his experience and unrivalled knowledge of Winchester will not be lost to us since he will remain on the Council.
Ernie Witts, who has been Hon. Treasurer of the Trust for five years, would like to stand down but has agreed, generously, to remain on until a successor can be found. This is a key appointment and we shall be very glad to hear from anyone, whether a member of the Trust at present or not, who would be interested in succeeding him.
Mr. D. G. Dine has retired and we are most grateful to him for looking after our archives at the County Library for many years. The archives are now lodged at the Heritage Centre.
At the Heritage Centre the Hon. Manager, Alan Cooke, has been succeeded by Tony Hunter. Alan has done sterling work. No-one could have shown more dedication and we are indeed grateful to him. We are also indebted to Mrs. Erika Micklem who has been responsible for distributing the Newsletter and Annual Report which in future will be the responsibility of the Membership Secretary.
Finally on the subject of Officers, after six years as Chairman I shall stand down at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting at which Antony Skinner will be proposed as incoming Chairman. With his great enthusiasm and over fifteen years experience as a member of the Council of the Trust, most of them as a Vice Chairman, it would be difficult to visualise anyone more suitable. Indeed, but for business commitments, he would have become Chairman years ago.
The activities of the Trust are described in the body of this report but there are one or two aspects which perhaps I should mention.
?The Treasurer's Report draws attention to a reorganisation of the investment portfolio. This, together with the modest increase in subscriptions which came into effect this year, was designed to increase the Trust's income and also, by investing a proportion of our funds (some 30%) in equities through the medium of investment trusts, to aim for some degree of capital appreciation over the longer term.
From time to time in the past the Trust has made ad hoc financial contributions to projects and causes which we believe to be for the benefit of Winchester, particularly when they involve buildings or landscape (recent examples were the restoration of the balustrade of a house in East gate Street and of the weathervane at St. John's Church). We believe that the Trust should pursue a more active policy towards projects of this nature, and we hope that the increase in revenue will enable us to do this and indeed gradually to build up a Projects Reserve.
During the year we were glad to be able to make a donation of £2,500 to the successful Winchester Cathedral Restoration Appeal.
The Winchester Preservation Trust 1991 Design Awards Scheme, organised by Gill Collymore, was an outstanding success. Judged by an independent panel chaired by Gordon Michell, RIBA, it attracted 32 entries, a record, and 9 Awards and 7 Commendations were made. The 1991 Scheme was the fifth since it was launched in 1983 and the scheme, which is now biennial, has become a prestigious and well established event.
There has been no change of heart on the part of the Government as regards the M3 and no intervention by the EEC. Work has commenced on the cutting at Twyford Down which will be at least as much of an eyesore as predicted. Surprisingly little information has been made publicly available on the details of the proposed landscaping and at the time of writing the Trust is pressing the Department for a presentation.
Currently the Winchester District Local Plan is under consideration by the City and is being studied by the Trust with a view to commenting particularly on the sections dealing with Environment and Transport.
Also of current concern are proposals (which have not yet reached the stage of planning applications) to build another supermarket in Winchester. Tesco are considering the development of a 75,000 sq. ft. store at Bar End, Waitrose are considering a 25,000 sq. ft. store on the site of the Cattle Market and other groups are believed also to be looking for sites. The Trust, together with the Consumer Group and the Residents Association, recently convened a public meeting at which the City's Chief Planning Officer was present, aimed to explore the situation. The Trust is not opposed in principle to the development of another supermarket in Winchester, though it is opposed to development of any kind on the playing fields at Bar End, and it continues to watch the position vigilantly.
Whilst it is usual to make specific reference in this report to members of the Council and Officers of the Trust, it is worth mentioning that there are many members of the Trust who help us in various ways and who it is all too easy to overlook. We sometimes feel that we are remote from our membership, but if one includes the Council of the Trust, the various Committees, the voluntary stewards who man the Heritage Centre, and members who contribute in other ways such as distributing the Newsletter, there are probably at least sixty members of the Trust who to a greater or lesser extent play an active part. This is an encouraging figure and with an enthusiastic membership, a sound financial position, and new leadership I believe that the Trust can look forward to the future with confidence.