Artist Luke Jerram with Helios, a work co-commissioned by the National Trust, in Bath Assembly Rooms
©National Trust Images, James Dobson
The National Trust has announced its ten-year strategy (2025-35) which includes a new partnership with the mental health charity Mind, aimed at ending “unequal access to nature, beauty and history”.
The UK heritage organisation, which has looked after historic buildings and landscapes across Britain since 1895, launched the ten-year plan following a public consultation that involved more than 70,000 people, including trust members, volunteers and industry partners.
A spokesperson for the National Trust says that multiple studies demonstrate the benefits of time spent in nature. “The impacts of the UK’s mental health crisis are far-reaching, with 17 million working days a year now lost to mental health-related issues. We hope this partnership will support people with mental health issues to enjoy the benefits National Trust places can bring,” says a statement.
According to the trust, local, small-scale partnerships have already had positive results, including “Hope Walks” organised by Cornwall Mind for those affected by suicide. The walks, which take place at Lanhydrock country estate near Bodmin, are led by a Recovery Support Worker from Mind who has the professional skills to talk about suicide and to signpost additional support.
Under the ten-year strategy, the National Trust will also manage its first site in the city of Coventry, working in partnership with Historic Coventry Trust to care for The Charterhouse, a 14th-century former monastery.
Meanwhile, the charity has co-commissioned a new work by artist Luke Jerram. Entitled Helios, the work has been unveiled at the Assembly Rooms in Bath (18-19 January, then 30 January-23 February), an 18th-century building undergoing a £17m redevelopment.
Helios, a seven-metre model of the sun, will be installed at some of the National Trust’s other locations later this year, including Seaton Delaval Hall in Northumberland, Fountains Abbey in North Yorkshire and Kedleston Hall in Derbyshire. The cost of the piece, which was co-commissioned by a number of organisations including National Trust and University College London, is undisclosed.
The ten-year plan gives direction to the National Trust following a period of turbulence. In November 2023, the trust’s members rejected all five of the nominees put forward for its council by the pressure group Restore Trust. The Restore Trust website says that its aim nonetheless is to “get the National Trust back to its real mission”.
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