FBHVC 25th anniversary celebrated

To round off a highly successful 25th Anniversary year, the Federation of British Historic Vehicles Clubs celebrated its considerable achievements with a special Anniversary Dinner, held in the House of Commons on 4 December.

Invited guests for the heavily oversubscribed celebration included Trade Members, members of the All Party Parliamentary Historic Vehicle Group, the new FIVA president, Patrick Rollet and motoring journalists including CM's editor Gary Stretton. The evening's key speeches, given by the Rt Hon Sir Greg Knight MP, Chairman of the APPHVG, and David Whale, FBHVC Chairman, focused on the Federation's consistent and dedicated campaigning and research since 1988.

The past 25 years has seen many changes in legislation affecting historic vehicle use, including unleaded to ethanoladded fuels to roadworthiness issues, vehicle testing and taxation. The Federation's highly respected economic surveys have provided detail and context to the worth of historic vehicles to the UK economy. This was shown as £4.3 billion in December 2011's Research Report, a figure CM commented on at the time as being conservative due to its exclusion of areas of our hobby such as eBay and other related online sales.

By demonstrating this financial muscle the movement represents, the Federation has successfully lobbied to "uphold the freedom to use historic vehicles on the road." Through its membership of FIVA ( Federation Internationale des Véhicules Anciens) it has represented members' views in Europe, highlighting concerns and ensuring participation in policy-making decisions whenever possible.

So what of 2014 and beyond? Key areas of concern for all enthusiasts and would-be enthusiasts is the continued loss of experienced, trained and skilled personnel to look after and provide for historic vehicles. To this end, the FBHVC recently announced apprentice initiatives designed to reverse the trend. Other areas of concern include the proposed ban of chromium in 2017 as part of the Europeanderived REACH legislation. You can join the Federation as a trade member or as a club. Classics Monthly congratulates the FBHVC for its watchful determination over the past 25 years.