Mr Whittaker was appointed the first director of the North East Civic Trust in 1966. An architect by profession, his record as a brilliant student at Barnsley Grammar School and Newcastle University and twice winner of the Royal Institute of British Architects silver medal, made him the ideal choice.

Congenial, articulate and persuasive with a dry sardonic wit, he held the post for 30 years seeing as his task to educate, encourage and cajole, to act as fundraiser whenever required and to be the catalyst in schemes for tackling the region's eyesores and restoring its sense of pride.

Whittaker once said: "If an organisation has a lot of money it can get complacent. We do things with our money and that has meant getting in where many others would not go."

A prime example of this was his initiative in saving and restoring Belford Hall, near Bamburgh, Northumberland. The house appeared past recall but with the help of the Sainsbury family's Monument Trust and after four years' restoration work, the hall was successfully converted to 17 houses and flats whilst retaining its architectural splendour.

A close second to Belford was the saving of the medieval church of St Mary's, Gateshead. One of Gateshead's few surviving old buildings, it had stood for 700 years in a dominant position overlooking the Tyne. By 1980 it had been declared redundant.

Having fiercely and successfully opposed its destruction, he eventually got the Church Commissioners to hand it over to the Trust and by 1990 St Mary's was not only restored but sold and given new use. Further properties at Alnwick, Glanton and on the harbour side at Whitby were saved by the Trust.

Mr Whittaker also served on the architectural panel of the National Trust. An important part of his armoury were his books and publications and the series of lectures he instigated. With Ursula Clark he wrote Historic Architecture of County Durham. He also wrote a booklet on the design of modern shop fronts. His most popular work was The House and Cottage Handbook.

On his retirement, in 1996, Mr Whittaker was awarded the OBE.

He is survived by his wife, Rosemary, also an architect, along with their daughter and two sons.