Thoughts from a new Trustee - TrustNews December 06
I have been involved with the Trust since I first came to Winchester in 1974 as an engineer with the City Council. Among my first jobs was paving the new High Street precinct. Of course the Trust had strong views on that. I also found myself drawing up designs for a dual carriageway along North Walls. The Trust had even stronger views about that! The High Street paving has survived 32 years but is now looking a bit ragged. (We gave it a design life of 25 years). The ring road proposals did not survive long and we must all be grateful to the Trust and many other objectors who killed that scheme. I spent a large part of my career fighting what often seemed a losing battle defending Winchester from the interminable growth of traffic. This brought me into frequent contact with the Trust and whilst we did not always agree we always had the same objective - to seek to protect and conserve the character of Winchester.
When I retired as City Engineer at the end of 2002 I immediately joined the Trust and was invited to advise on traffic and transport. My professional and local knowledge was soon in demand to help with comments on the South East Plan and the Silverhill development. Then this summer I was invited to stand for election to the Trust's Council.
The Trust has nearly 600 members, all of whom have the conservation of Winchester at heart. The trustees work extremely hard on your behalf and carry out the bulk of the work of the Trust. However you don't need to be a trustee to participate - all trust members are urged to contribute in any way they can and many do. At my first Trust meetings I have been impressed by the knowledge and professionalism of the trustees and somewhat daunted by the amount of time many of them spend on the work of the Trust. Its not all plain sailing either. The trustees are all strong minded people with individual opinions and points of view. Arriving at a consensus sometimes is no easier than it was in my days with the City Council. Nevertheless the Trust has a strong voice in Winchester. It is extremely well informed, well connected and well respected. The future of Winchester will be shaped by many factors but those in the driving seat will always do well to heed the views expressed in the City of Winchester Trust.