‘Dithering’ National Trust leaving homes too empty

THE National Trust has been “handicapping” its own properties because of an “excessive respect” for heritage and dithering over the future, its former chairman has suggested.

Simon Jenkins, chairman of the Trust until 2014, said too many rooms have been left empty, giving great houses a feeling of “gaunt emptiness”.

Arguing that old houses should be renewed, he said a “swift decision” must now be made on the future of Clandon Park, the Grade I-listed Palladian mansion in Surrey which burned down two years ago.

Mr Jenkins accused the Trust of allowing one of its properties, Barrington Court in Somerset, to be “trapped by indecision for a decade, left to boast only its empty ‘atmosphere’, whatever that is”.

Writing in Country Life magazine, Mr Jenkins said: “The National Trust has a vast number of empty rooms in its properties, many handicapped by an excessive respect for buildings’ archaeology.

“Old houses should renew themselves, provided it is appropriate to their original purpose and in a style that does not clash with or diminish their visual integrity.”

Explaining that “every restoration requires a decision”, he called on the Trust to stop dithering on the question of Clandon’s redevelopment, which is currently still in consultation.

The Trust will exhibit six concept designs at Clandon from August to September, inviting the public to share their opinion.

A Trust spokesman said: “We have undertaken numerous investigations and surveys as appropriate for a building [Clandon] of this scale. This knowledge has fed into our clear design brief to the shortlisted teams.”