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 known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment, including air, water, ...

land use Land use involves the management and modification of natural environment or wilderness into built environment such as settlements and semi-natural habitats such as arable fields, pastures, and managed woods. Land use by humans has a long ...

, and environmental management. 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 priv ...

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

Duchy of Lancaster The Duchy of Lancaster is the private estate of the British sovereign as Duke of Lancaster. The principal purpose of the estate is to provide a source of independent income to the sovereign. The estate consists of a portfolio of lands, properti ...

and the Duchy of Cornwall.

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-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

, where he graduated

BSc A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...

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 surveyors, founded in London in 1868. It works at a cross-governmental level, and aims to promote and enforce the highest international standards in the va ...

in 1966 and graduated as a

master of philosophy The Master of Philosophy (MPhil; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. In the United States, an MPhil typically includes a taught portion and a significant research portion, during which a thesis project is conducted under supervision. An MPhil ...

at the

University of Reading The University of Reading is a public university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as University College, Reading, a University of Oxford extension college. The institution received the power to grant its own degrees in 192 ...

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

Norwich Cathedral Norwich Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Norwich, Norfolk, dedicated to the Holy and Undivided Trinity. It is the cathedral church for the Church of England Diocese of Norwich and is one of the Norwich 12 heritage sites. The cathedra ...

. 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 Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

. Also becoming a member of

Norwich City Council Norwich City Council is the city council for the city of Norwich, Norfolk, England. It consists of 39 councillors, elected to represent 13 wards, each with three councillors. It is currently under Labour control and led by Alan Waters. It for ...

, 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 , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

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

OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate e ...

'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). This was created by Edward Heath as a combination of the Ministry of Housing and Local Government, the Ministry of T ...

's Thames Advisory Board, and a Member of the Court of Advisers of St Paul's Cathedral. 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, 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 () 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. Barclays traces ...

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 St Paul's Cathedral; 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 schoo ...

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 (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 collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

*1974–1980: Visiting Lecturer,

*1982: Visiting Lecturer,

University of Aberdeen , mottoeng = The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom , established = , type = Public research universityAncient university , endowment = £58.4 million (2021) , budget ...

*1983: Visiting Lecturer,

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

and USC *1984 to 2001: Visiting Professor,

The Bartlett ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

School of Architecture and Planning, University College London . *1985: Visiting Lecturer,

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

*1985: Visiting Lecturer,

University of North Carolina Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

and

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, i ...

*1990 to date: Member of the Court of the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and 26 schools of study. The annual income of the institution f ...

Honours

* 1993: Companion of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

* 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 supp ...

* 1997: Commander of the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, or ...

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

DLitt Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Doctor ...

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