The National Trust has a new chairman. Tim Parker, a former Treasury economist, will succeed Simon Jenkins, who steps down after six years in the post, after the Trust's AGM on November 8. Mr Parker, 58, has been a member of the Trust for 30 years and is chairman of its Commercial Panel.
An experienced businessman, he is chief executive of the luggage firm Samsonite and has been involved with such well-known names as Kwik-Fit, the AA, Legal & General and Alliance Boots. He owns the British Pathé Film Archive and is a patron of the National Theatre and a friend of the Royal Opera.
The National Trust has expressed disappointment that it has been unsuccessful in its bid to buy Bantham Beach and the Avon Estuary in Dorset.
It was sold, for in excess of its £11 million asking price, to a ‘family who will continue to manage and conserve the estate,' said James Baker of selling agents Strutt and Parker.
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You can’t always rely on the Great British summer — but you can rely on its watchesBritish watchmakers have excelled themselves in recent months — releasing bright and beautiful timepieces that you'll want on your wrist through summer, and beyond.
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Simon Jenkins: 50 years of saving Britain's buildings, from triumphs and disasters to the great country house we bought for £1In 1975, a new organisation was set up with the express aim of saving Britain's most beautiful and historic buildings from the wrecking ball. How has SAVE fared in the 50 years since then far? Simon Jenkins — who was involved as a trustee right from the very start — looks back on half a century of successes... and one or two painful failures.
