Message from Chairman - TrustNews Spring 1993
As your new Chairman I am sure you would like me to thank my predecessor, David Middleditch, for all his dedicated work for the Trust during the past seven years. It has been seven years of great activity for our City, during which David has guided the Trust to take a view on all important matters. True to form we have won some - we have lost some, but in each case our views were considered by the decision-makers and respect for the Trust's opinion has continued throughout David's time as Chairman.
This being the first newsletter since you elected me at the 1992 Annual General Meeting, I think it appropriate if I take this opportunity to tell you how I see the work of the Trust.
Primarily, I see the Trust's top priority as exerting a constructive and co-operative pressure on those responsible for the appearance and ambience of our City in order to maintain its historic character, but at the same time to ensure that the City functions efficiently and is a pleasant place in which to live.
Those responsible are the elected Members and the appointed Officers of the Winchester City Council and the Hampshire County Council, and the maintenance of the City's historic character does not preclude radical changes to existing buildings, however old, provided that the changes are in keeping with what exists already. Neither does it insist on new buildings necessarily copying the external designs of bygone ages.
"Preservation” refers to preserving the character of the City, but not necessarily hanging on to bad buildings just because they were built in previous centuries.
The rehabilitation of existing buildings of historic interest and keeping them in good repair must have the highest priority, but there can be certain cases where the demolition of a bad old building may be a sensible course of action.
The efficient functioning of the City almost always leads back to traffic management, car parking and shopping, including out-of-town shops. Traffic has a major influence on street design, street furniture and street lighting, and similarly the location and type of shopping has a major effect on traffic.
The organisation of the Trust should reflect these demands, and to this end much of our work is, and should continue to be, devoted to them.
We must continue our close contacts with the Winchester City Council, and we should strengthen our contacts with the County Council since their influence on Winchester affairs can be surprisingly significant.
The excellent work of our Development Control Panels continues, and is being increasingly balanced by the rapidly increasing workload of the Landscape Committee which is being enlarged and the emphasis being moved towards street design and all that that entails.
The Trust's other important tasks and activities are moving ahead, including the Urban Studies projects of lectures in January, March and May 1993 and the educational Chippindale Venture IV. We also hope to publish a pamphlet on appropriate and non-appropriate doors and windows which is being prepared by the Special Projects team whose job it is to see where minor improvements can be made in the City by repairing walls, replacing lamp standards, erecting commemorative plaques, improving a door or window, and so on.
The Trust has recently embarked on a campaign to not only catalogue and house existing photographic archives held by the Trust, but is also investigating the proposal to set up photographic records of Winchester as it is today, which will themselves become archives in years to come.
We are very fortunate in having the Heritage Centre in Upper Brook Street as our home. This provides us with exhibition space, meeting facilities, an office and storage for archives.
Finally, I am convinced of the need for the varying activities of the Trust and confident that where we must influence events we are capable of doing so. Like any voluntary organisation, we rely entirely on the expertise, availability and energy of our members, and it is most encouraging that we have today a very balanced and enthusiastic team working together for the benefit of the Trust.