I was invited to join the committee of TANT after recently completing with their help an extension to my lease. I am a long leaseholder of an historic 16th century property on National Trust land in the Teign Valley, Devon. My wife and I acquired the house in poor condition in 2010, and some years later, when I had retired from a career in banking and fund management, we embarked on a major project to repair and improve it. For that project we won an award from the Devon Historic Buildings Trust in 2019.

This experience of managing a major renovation and dealing subsequently with the process of leasehold extension led me to believe that both the National Trust and their long leaseholders can benefit from shared help and information such as TANT can provide. This is especially true since leasehold reform is on the Government’s agenda for a future session of Parliament. My focus will be on working with TANT to help provide a forum for discussion among National Trust tenants who are concerned to be able to continue living in properties they love with the benefit of long leases. This also ensures that those often historic properties are well maintained and cared for, in accordance with the conservation aims of the National Trust.