Actually the NT and its management has been one of my bugbears for a very long time. The NT is actually a registed charity with no democratic control or accountability.

The Governance Structure is or will be soon

A small Board of Trustees made up of about 12 members with the very best balance of skills and expertise. It will be responsible for the running of the charity and for making sure that the organisation works as well as possible to deliver its core purposes. The majority of the Board of Trustees will also be Council members.

A strong, representative Council which will appoint the trustees and make sure they discharge their responsibilities properly. As now, the Council will be made up of 52 members, 26 elected by the members of the National Trust and 26 appointed by organisations whose interests coincide in some way with those of the National Trust.

I feel such a huge organisation purporting to serve the public interest should have a more open and democratically accountable management structure.