Don’t write off the National Trust. It’s right to focus less on the countryside

By bringing historic urban buildings back into use, saving them from demolition, this sort of conservation work helps to enhance the beauty of our built environment

The National Trust has had a hard time. It finds itself besieged by critics on all sides, partly due to its recent reports on aspects of our colonial past, but also because of its stated intention to “dial down” its focus on the English country house. I have some sympathy with these concerns, but it would be a shame to write off our national charity without looking more carefully at why this is happening. We all like to associate the National Trust with the countryside, but is this really all it’s about? Maybe this shift towards cities is precisely what it needs.

The National Trust was never just about the countryside. At the time of its founding in the wake of the Industrial Revolution, our cities were growing at an alarming rate, prompting concerns from conservationists about the impact on the surrounding countryside. The trust was created to preserve access to these green spaces for – to paraphrase its co-founder, Octavia Hill – the enjoyment, refreshment and rest of the whole nation.

That was 125 years ago, and our cities have grown quite a bit more since then. Now 83 per cent of England’s population reside in urban areas. And so, as cities have grown, and as more of us live apart from the surrounding countryside, it seems only right that the Trust should make more of an effort to consider those urbanites, the 83 per cent, and their access to the nation’s green spaces.

One way in which it’s already doing this is by helping town and city parks. Birmingham is one of eight areas selected by the charity for its Future Parks programme, and admirable work has already been done to reintroduce nature to the city.

As Mayor of the UK’s second largest urban area, we recently worked with the New Economics Foundation to map access to green space across the West Midlands. The results were shocking, indicating a strong correlation between deprivation and the population pressure on green space. If the lockdowns have taught us anything positive, it’s to appreciate those green lungs among the grey, and realise that our relationship with nature shouldn’t just be limited to trips to the countryside.

But let’s not forget the National Trust’s second major focus – that of preserving our heritage. And as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, home to the likes of Matthew Boulton and James Watt, the West Midlands has a lot of it to preserve.

The Birmingham Back to Backs are a fine example, owned and managed by the Trust and situated in the bustling cultural district of “Southside”. Brummies and tourists alike love to visit these old workers’ houses and see for themselves how Birmingham became the “city of a thousand trades”. And just over a mile away along the Birmingham Old Line Canal, the Trust is working in partnership with the Canal & River Trust to transform an old Victorian stable building, the “Roundhouse”, into a historic hub from which people can explore the city by boat and bike.

By bringing these historic buildings back into use, saving them from demolition, this sort of conservation work helps to enhance the beauty of our built environment.

In bustling, fast-growing areas, the tendency to put usefulness first is sometimes understandable. But city dwellers do care greatly about beauty and heritage. You can see it in their support for conservation areas, their widespread advocacy of the protection of listed buildings, and their strong attachment to the surrounding green belt. I think the National Trust gets this.

I can think of no better proof point than that of the Moseley Road Baths in Balsall Heath, where a community organisation has partnered with the Trust and others to breathe new life into the Edwardian-era Grade II* listed swimming baths. I’m a regular at the baths myself, and I’ve seen how the project has galvanised community spirit, helping to restore the pride and dignity of a place ranked among the top one per cent of England’s most deprived areas.

So, think what you like about the National Trust’s recent forays into the controversial, but don’t forget the bigger picture. The press has been consumed with the debate around aspects of our colonial past, but the renewed focus on our towns and cities has been quietly making a real difference.

We should not mistake this for “wokeness”, but instead as part of a timely and necessary recalibrating that stands to benefit the vast majority of us. From my perspective, the work that our national charity is doing to restore nature, pride and meaning to our urban areas is welcome and deserves to be properly recognised.