|
Back to HOMEPAGE
Mike Russell ready to intervene in
National Trust for Scotland row
Mike Wade
Columnist: The Times
Filed 24 Aug 09
©Mike Wade
This article was originally published in The TInes on 22nd August 2009.
It is reproduced here with the kind permission of its author and of the newspaper.
The Scottish government is ready to intervene in the crisis at the National Trust for Scotland, which has led to the tabling of a no confidence motion in the board and its chairman, Shonaig Macpherson.
Mike Russell, the Culture Minister, confirmed last night that talks had taken place between the government and senior staff at the trust, which could lead to the modernisation of the organisation. It would be an attempt to rationalise the trust’s unwieldy structure and to begin to address the charity’s mounting debts.
Mr Russell told The Times: “The Scottish government and the National Trust for Scotland have agreed there needs to be a modernisation. I have indicated to the present chairman that I would like them to treat this as a priority as changes in governance will make the organisation more capable of moving forward.”
The minister was speaking after a trust official confirmed that a review of its governance would begin in the autumn. Any significant changes would require legislation.
Mr Russell’s intervention highlights a growing disquiet about the stewardship of the trust, with many former employees, committee members and volunteers expressing their dismay about the management of the organisation.
The Times revealed yesterday that a no-confidence motion in the chairman and board had been tabled for the AGM next month by members who said that they were “dismayed by the traumas” of the past few months. These include the mothballing of four properties and 65 redundancies.
Charles Barrington, the proposer of the no-confidence motion, insisted that the council remained the supreme governing body of the trust. It delegated its powers to the board but was required to monitor their efforts.
“My fear is that the chairman may be directing rather than enabling the rather large and cumbersome council who, being elected persons, effectively are the membership and indeed have a fiduciary duty toward the nation at large,” he said. “The proposed sale of Charlotte Square would be a momentous and irreversible decision. It may be right or wrong, but the membership expect their council to call it in for proper discussion.”
For many outraged members, the worst proposal is a plan to sell off the trust’s magnificent headquarters building in Charlotte Square. The Robert Adam-designed Wemyss House was converted in 2000, in a £12.6 million refurbishment project that was acclaimed as a model of good conservation practice. If a plan to move to an out-of-town business park comes to fruition, the trust would have to return a large part of a £6.9 million grant, awarded for the building’s refurbishment, to the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Concerns have also been raised that two valuable collections — the Hutchison bequest, 33 paintings by the Scottish Colourists, and neo-classical furniture, on permanent loan from the estate of Sir James Stirling — would be lost if the move went ahead.
At the heart of Mr Russell’s statement — and at issue for many of the disaffected members — is the trust’s management structure, with its chair, a small board and a council of 95.
The trust declined to comment on the issues raised by Mr Barrington, though senior insiders maintain that their most vocal critics do not represent the majority of its membership. There was also irritation that the trust’s good news is not reported.
Meanwhile, the actor Alan Cumming has agreed to become the trust’s first “celebrity ambassador” and help with a membership drive.
“I’ve always thought that the trust is a great organisation and, growing up in rural Scotland, it was revered for the way it was a lifeline for the protection of the countryside and history around me,” said Mr Cumming. “I want to make sure that our collective past is in safe hands for the future.”
©Mike Wade
Further reading recommended by Land-Care
Linklater, Magnus (2006). Linklater's Scotland.The new executive chairman of the National Trust for Scotland. Poisoned chalice or holy grail?
This article, which was originally published in the Spectrum Magazine of
Scotland on Sunday on 26th March 2006, is reproduced on Land-Care
with the kind permission of the author and the newspaper
See ENVIRONMENT HOMEPAGE, filed 27 Mar 06, www.land-care.org.uk Click Here to View
Linklater, Magnus (2009).Absurd. Crazy. But it could save the NTS. The National Trust for Scotland is in trouble. But take a deep breath and consider this solution...).
This article, which was originally published in The Times on 22nd April 2009, is reproduced on Land-Care with the kind permission of the author and the newspaper
See HOMEPAGE, filed 26 Apr 09, www.land-care.org.uk Click Here to View
Irvine, James (2005). Fury with the National Trust as it plans to break up historic farm in the Lake District
See ENVIRONMENT HOMEPAGE, filed 29 Jan 05, www.land-care.org.uk Click Here to View
Finis
|
