Royal Naval College transition update

New chief of Greenwich trust is named

Greenwich, 30 September 1996

The transition of the Royal Naval College in Greenwich from military establishment to civilian use will be overseen by Sir Angus Stirling, former director general of the National Trust, it was announced yesterday.

He will chair a nine-member trust responsible for the college, which includes some of London's finest 17th-century buildings, as it is taken over by Greenwich University and the National Maritime Museum. "I am delighted that someone of Sir Angus's experience and stature will oversee the formation of the new trust," Michael Portillo, the Defence Secretary, said. "I know that he will take this forward with verve and imagination."

Sir Angus said: "I am honoured to have been invited to set up and lead the trust. It is vital to ensure that the future of these magnificent buildings is fully worthy of their splendour and their place in our history. There is much to do to fulfil their potential and that of the proposed World Heritage Site to which they are central." 

Local campaigners remain concerned that public access to some of the buildings, designed partly by Sir Christopher Wren and Nicholas Hawksmoor with contributions from Ripley, Webb, Thornhill and Stuart, will be restricted.

The Ministry of Defence announced three years ago that it no longer had a use for the college when it was decided to replace the three Service staff colleges with one combined centre. Greenwich was judged to be too small and too expensive to convert into such a centre. The location of the tri-Service college has still not been settled. As a short-term solution, RAF Bracknell will house students arriving for the academic year beginning in September 1997.

The ministries of Defence and National Heritage have a lot to do to get it ready in time for the Millennium. A government report accepted that the site would go to Greenwich University, but it was not clear how the university would pay for its upkeep.

Before the university can negotiate a lease on the Royal Naval College, the trust must be established to administer the buildings. A chairman, vice-chairman and generously paid chief executive have yet to be appointed.

"The precise terms of the arrangements, and the scope for other imaginative and appropriate uses of the buildings will be a matter for the trust to determine."

The National Maritime Museum is keen for a bigger role in running the college. About UKP2 million (c US$ 3 million) was recently spent on maintenance by the UK Government, but much more will be needed shortly.