Sir Christopher Kingston Howes (born 30 January 1942) is a British Chartered Surveyor. A specialist in the study of land and buildings, with careers in the public, private, and academic sectors, he has worked in

city planning Urban planning (also called city planning in some contexts) is the process of developing and designing land use and the built environment, including air, water, and the infrastructure passing into and out of urban areas, such as transportatio ...

land use Land use is an umbrella term to describe what happens on a parcel of land. It concerns the benefits derived from using the land, and also the land management actions that humans carry out there. The following categories are used for land use: fo ...

, and

environmental management Environmental resource management or environmental management is the management of the interaction and impact of human societies on the environment. It is not, as the phrase might suggest, the management of the environment itself. Environment ...

. After ten years as Director of Land and Property at the Department of the Environment, Howes was Chief Executive of the

Crown Estate The Crown Estate is a collection of lands and holdings in the United Kingdom belonging to the British monarch as a corporation sole, making it "the sovereign's public estate", which is neither government property nor part of the monarch's priva ...

from 1989 to 2001. He was a member of the councils of the

Duchy of Lancaster The Duchy of Lancaster is an estate of the British sovereign. The estate has its origins in the lands held by the medieval Dukes of Lancaster, which came under the direct control of the monarch when Henry Bolingbroke, the then duke of Lancast ...

and the

Duchy of Cornwall A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a country, territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or queen in Western European tradition. There once existed an important difference between "sovereign ...

Early life

The younger son of Leonard Howes OBE and Marion Howes (née Bussey), he was educated at Gresham's School, Holt, and the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

, where he graduated BSc in estate management in 1965. His father was Lord Mayor of Norwich for 1963–1964. He became an Associate of the

Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) is a global professional body for those working in the Built Environment, Construction, Land, Property and Real Estate. The RICS was founded in London in 1868. It works at a cross-governmental ...

in 1966 and graduated as a

master of philosophy A Master of Philosophy (MPhil or PhM; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. The name of the degree is most often abbreviated MPhil (or, at times, as PhM in other countries). MPhil are awarded to postgraduate students after completing at leas ...

at the

University of Reading The University of Reading is a public research university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as the University Extension College, Reading, an extension college of Christchurch College, Oxford, and became University College, ...

in 1975.

Career

Howes's career has spanned the public and private sectors. In 1965 to 1967 he worked in the Valuation and Planning Department of the

Greater London Council The Greater London Council (GLC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council (LCC) which had covered a much smaller area. The GLC was dissolved in 198 ...

, then from 1967 to 1978 he was Steward and Honorary Surveyor to the Dean and Chapter of

Norwich Cathedral Norwich Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, is a Church of England cathedral in the city of Norwich, Norfolk, England. The cathedral is the seat of the bishop of Norwich and the mother church of the dioc ...

. At the beginning of 1969 he joined the family firm of Percy Howes & Co., Surveyors and Valuers, of Cathedral Close,

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

. Also becoming a member of

Norwich City Council Norwich City Council is the local authority for Norwich, a non-metropolitan district with city status in Norfolk, England. It consists of 39 councillors, elected to represent 13 wards, each with three councillors. It forms the lower tier of l ...

, by 1974 he was a Justice of the Peace for Norfolk. In Norwich he was a founding member of the Theatre Royal Trust, the Cotman Housing Association, and the Third World Centre. From 1979 to 1989, Howes was Deputy Director of Land Economy and then Director of the Land and Property Division at the

Department of the Environment An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment, ...

. He was also a visiting professor at

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

from 1983 to 2001; Chairman of the World Land Policy Conference 1984, and the

OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; , OCDE) is an international organization, intergovernmental organization with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and international trade, wor ...

's Urban Policy Group 1985. From 1992 to 1999, Howes was a trustee of the Prince of Wales's Institute of Architecture; from 1995 to 1998 a Member of the

Secretary of State for the Environment The secretary of state for the environment was a UK cabinet position, responsible for the Department of the Environment (DoE). Today, its responsibilities are carried out by the secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs and the ...

's Thames Advisory Board, and a Member of the Court of Advisers of

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...

. From 1989 to 2001, he was the Second Commissioner and Chief Executive of the Crown Estate. This owns large area of Central London including

Regent Street Regent Street is a major shopping street in the West End of London. It is named after George IV of the United Kingdom, George, the Prince Regent (later George IV) and was laid out under the direction of the architect John Nash (architect), J ...

, over half of Britain's forests, hundreds of farms and other rural estates, and the whole of the British seabed between the coast and the twelve-mile international limit. In 2006, the annual income of the Crown Estate was around £200 million. He also served as a member of the Prince’s Council, the Duchy of Cornwall, and as a Council member of the Duchy of Lancaster. From 2001 to 2017 Howes was an adviser to

Barclays Capital Barclays PLC (, occasionally ) is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services ...

and a member of the advisory board and Senior Adviser to Barclays Private Bank. He is a member of the Council of the Duchy of Cornwall; Deputy Chairman of Howard de Walden Estates; adviser to the Marcol Group; a member of the Investment Committee of

; a board member of the British Architectural Trust; a trustee of the Suffolk Historic Churches Trust; a trustee of the Norfolk Archaeological Trust, and patron of the

Heatherley School of Fine Art The Heatherley School of Fine Art is an independent art school in London. The school was named after Thomas Heatherley who took over as the school's principal from James Mathews Leigh (when it was named "Leigh's"). Founded in 1845, the school ...

Career outline

*1965 to 1967: The Greater London Council *1967 to 1979: Professional practice in Norwich and London *1979 to 1989: Director of Land and Property Division of the

*1982 to 1989: Second Commissioner of the Crown EstateHowes, Sir Christopher (Kingston), (born 30 Jan. 1942)

Who's Who A Who's Who (or Who Is Who) is a reference work consisting of biographical entries of notable people in a particular field. The oldest and best-known is the annual publication ''Who's Who (UK), Who's Who'', a reference work on contemporary promin ...

(online edition), 01 December 2007, accessed 30 November 2021 *1989 to 2000: Chief Executive of the Crown Estate *1993 to 2005: Member of Council of the Duchy of Lancaster *1998 to 2004: Non-executive director of the Norwich and Peterborough Building Society *2005 to 2007: Non-executive Chairman of the Barclays Bank Property Finance Team *1990 to 2011: Member of the Prince’s Council of the Duchy of Cornwall *2001 to 2013: Member Advisory Board Barclays Private Bank *2001 to 2017: Advisor Barclays Property Finance Team *2001 to date: Director of the Howard de Walden Estate *2010 to date: Deputy Chairman of the Howard de Walden Estate *2002 to 2016: Director of the Colville Estate Ltd *2001 to 2016: Director of Compco PLC *2013 to 2017: Senior Adviser Barclays Wealth and Investment Management *2016 to date: Trustee Britten Pears Foundation *2018 to date: Director the Britten Estate Limited

Academic appointments

*1975: Senior Visiting Fellow, School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia *1976-1981: part-time lecturer, Department of Land Economy, the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

*1974–1980: Visiting Lecturer,

*1982: Visiting Lecturer,

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen (abbreviated ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; ) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1495 when William Elphinstone, Bis ...

*1983: Visiting Lecturer,

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

and

USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

*1984 to 2001: Visiting Professor, The Bartlett School of Architecture and Planning, University College London . *1985: Visiting Lecturer,

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

*1985: Visiting Lecturer, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

*1990 to date: Member of the Court of the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a Public university, public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus university, campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and twenty-six schools of ...

Honours

* 1993: Companion of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

* 1995: Honorary Fellow of the

Royal Institute of British Architects The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three suppl ...

* 1997: Commander of the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the m ...

* 1999: Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order * 2000: Honorary DLitt degree,

* 2002: College of Estate Management Property Award

Publications

* ''Acquiring Office Space'' (1975) (joint author) *''Value Maps: A Survey Into the Production and Use of Land and Property Value Maps'' (University of Reading Department of Land Management and Development, 1976) * ''Value Maps: aspects of land and property values'' (Geo Books, 1979) *''Innovations in Urban Revitalization: Papers Presented to the World Congress on Land Policy, 1986'' (Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, 1987) * "Urban regeneration initiatives in England" in ''Land Development Studies'', Vol. 5, No. 1, January 1988, pp. 57-65 * ''Economic Regeneration'' (monograph, 1988) * ''Urban Revitalization'' (monograph, 1988) * Papers in learned journals

References

External links

Christopher Howes Pictures

Christopher Howes news

Institute of Continuing Professional Development

Norwich & Peterborough Building Society
{{DEFAULTSORT:Howes, Christopher 1942 births Academics of University College London Academics of the University of Aberdeen Alumni of the University of London Companions of the Order of the Bath Councillors in Norfolk Fellows of the Royal Institute of British Architects Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Living people People educated at Gresham's School People associated with the University of East Anglia