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Ted Johnson: First park authority chair was New Forest champion




Ted and Mary Johnson
Ted and Mary Johnson

THE former director of planning at New Forest District Council and the inaugural chairman of the national park authority, Ted Johnson OBE, has died at the age of 85.

A champion of the New Forest for many years, Ted was instrumental in persuading the government to confer special status on it in 1992 when the New Forest Heritage Area was created.

Ted was born in Cardiff in 1934, but later moved to Bristol with his parents where he secured a scholarship to attend Colston’s School.

He then studied geography at Bristol University where he met his future wife Mary. The couple were married in 1956 and Ted trained to become a land surveyor with the Colonial Survey Service in Tanganyika (now Tanzania), East Africa.

He and Mary initially lived in Dar es Salaam, where Ted joined a surveying team involved with mapping the country.

Soon after moving to Dar es Salaam, Ted and Mary became parents to David in 1957. The family later lived in Bukoba on the banks of Lake Victoria and then in Moshi at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro.

They returned to the UK when Tanzania gained independence in late 1961, initially living in Yeovil for around two-and-a-half years, and the family grew with the arrival of daughter Claire in 1962. Ted worked as a planning officer for Somerset County Council and became an active Fellow of both the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and the Royal Town Planning Institute.

They then moved to Pennington in the late 1960s when Ted joined New Forest Rural District Council as a planning officer. He progressed to become director of planning for New Forest District Council after that authority was created in 1974.

Ted was passionate about the special qualities of the New Forest, its ancient woodland and unspoilt coastline. He sought to conserve the area’s working landscape and was mindful of the historic commoning and grazing which preserves the unique biodiversity of the area.

Ted founded and chaired the New Forest Committee, which gathered the views and opinions of key stakeholders needed to secure an updated strategy for the Forest.

This involved innumerable meetings with a wide range of people and organisations, to provide a range of perspectives from local to international. Key partners included the Forestry Commission, verderers and harbour commissioners.

The area finally became a national park in March 2005 and the New Forest National Park Authority took on its full duties in April 2006.

In recognition of his sustained efforts to establish the national park, Ted was awarded an OBE in the 2005 New Year Honours List and made an honorary doctor of science by Southampton Solent University in 2006.

At its inception the NPA was the smallest English national park and it faced a huge challenge establishing a new local government organisation responsible for planning functions.

One of 10 government appointed members, Ted became chairman of the NPA’s board in April 2005 and remained a member until 2013.

His son David said: “My father enjoyed the New Forest enormously and was very much in tune with all aspects of it.”

Family holidays were spent visiting Croyde Bay in Devon, where Ted, a former lifeguard in his youth and a strong swimmer, once saved the life of a person who was drowning in the surf.

On weekends Ted would travel around the country supporting David as he played rugby for the Hampshire schools team.

Meanwhile, Claire played violin for the Hampshire Youth Orchestra, of which Ted became chairman. He and Mary were dedicated fundraisers for the orchestra and travelled to Australia for a month-long concert tour which saw the group become the first British orchestra to play at Sydney Opera House.

They later took part in a month-long tour of Canada and Alaska, with Ted and Mary entirely funding their own travel.

Ted was proud to represent UK National Parks during annual visits to European Federation of National Parks and Nature Parks (EUROPARC) conferences across Europe.

He was president of the New Forest group of the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England, serving on national and county committees.

Ted’s interest in geography and the natural world continued into retirement when he and Mary enjoyed cruising to exotic destinations. Ted was extremely proud of his grandchildren William, Henry, Charlotte and Oliver.

Claire is now a local GP and also first violin for the Winchester Camerata. David followed in his parents’ footsteps to study geography at Bristol University and is now a professor engaged in worldwide marine conservation projects.

Ted became ill with dementia around five years ago, and moved to Lyndon House in Lymington where he received excellent care. He died last Friday and is survived by Mary, their children and grandchildren.

His funeral will take place at St Marks Pennington on Monday 13th January at 2pm. Those wishing to donate in Ted’s memory can give to the Woodland Trust.



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