I am Harry Mount and I am aghast at the National Trust's plans to leave Clandon House as a ruin with modern interventions. Anya Lucas of the Georgian Group said, 

These proposals offer little real public benefit at great cost to a Grade I listed building which occupies an important place in British architectural history. 

Clandon Park House, an eighteenth-century building of international importance, was devastated by fire in 2015. The National Trust has ignored the concerns of local people and heritage professionals and is pressing ahead with plans to spend what remains of the £66 million insurance payout on a dismal scheme to leave the interiors ruined with unsympathetic additions in steel, glass and concrete. Members of the Guildford Borough Council have nodded through the planning application which will do irreversible damage to one of Britain’s most significant buildings, despite admitting that they barely understood it. I need your help to stop this damaging scheme from going ahead.

 After the fire, the National Trust said that the £66 million insurance payout would be used to restore the magnificent baroque interiors to their former glory, but they have now obtained permission for a proposal which will see the exterior view of the house marred by an unsympathetic modern roof with large blocky kiosks and a lift shaft which towers over the old chimneys. Inside, the proportions will be disrupted by intrusive walkways. The insurance money intended for restoration will be wasted on this pointless scheme while craft practitioners will be denied the chance to train the next generation of apprentices. This should have been an ambitious project to rival the triumphant restoration of Windsor Castle or Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Instead, it is to remain a sad ruin with charmless additions which will quickly show their age.

There are serious concerns about the integrity of the process which led to the approval of this damaging proposal. Restore Trust hopes to bring a legal challenge against the approval. They will need to raise at least £55,000 to begin the process. Please support them by contributing and please share this page. Go to www.saveourclandon.co.uk to find out more about Clandon Park and the planning application.

We cannot stand by as the National Trust wrecks this special place. With your help we can make them think again.

I really appreciate it that you are helping us stand up for our heritage. Thank you.