National heritage; time to heed John Major’s example – The Yorkshire Post says

IT was plans to demolish the wartime codebreaking huts at Bletchley Park, and turn the site into a housing development, that prompted John Major, the then premier, to create the original Department of National Heritage, now the DCMS, in 1992, and also the National Lottery, to help preserve Britain’s history.
By YP Comment
Published 16th Apr 2021, 11:40 BST
Sir John Major created the Department for National Heritage in 1992.Sir John Major created the Department for National Heritage in 1992.
Sir John Major created the Department for National Heritage in 1992.

Mocked at the time, Sir John did, in fact, perform a great service and helped raise new-found awareness about their societal importance of landmark sites and their role in helping to better inform the wider public about the past.

Britain is certainly more enriched as a result of this foresight, hence the need for a similar national effort now to ensure that urgent work to preserve stately homes doesn’t become a forgotten casualty of the lockdown and lost visitor income.

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Accepting that the Government has limited money, a national task force now needs to be launched to explore options, and how to generate money, to preserve our priceless past. Once it’s gone, it is lost forever.

Bletchley Park's waretime codebreaking huts have been saved for the nation after being threatened with demolition in the early 1990s.Bletchley Park's waretime codebreaking huts have been saved for the nation after being threatened with demolition in the early 1990s.
Bletchley Park's waretime codebreaking huts have been saved for the nation after being threatened with demolition in the early 1990s.

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Related topics:Yorkshire PostBletchley ParkBritain

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