STAN GODSELL

On returning from a tour of the north my accumulated post included a newspaper cutting with a hand written note "I expect you already know all there is to know about Coin Street but I found this interesting Stan". Within the hour I received a call to say that Stan had died after a very short illness. The funeral, which was discreet, relevant and not without humour, was exactly as Stan might have prescribed! His surviving son spoke modestly of his distinguished father to a crowded congregation that reflected Stan's diverse friends and interests.

I came to know Stan when he joined Bristol Civic Society after retiring as director of Government Office South West; so this is a very limited personal memory of his invaluable contribution to our altruistic endeavours. He brought to us increased professional insight, withering wit and an ability to strip superfluous jargon to the bone. When I presented Stan's draft of Bristol Civic Society proposals for the realignment of Bristol's boundaries the City's Chief Executive said, "I wish my officers could deliver reports like this." It's a pity his "Greater Bristol" and urban equivalents of parish councils were not accepted by Government though we are now moving tentatively towards the latter.

For some years Stan convened the Society's Planning Policy Group which delivered professional responses to all levels of consultation and summarised our lunch time meetings on the back of postcards. Nothing of importance was overlooked. I was lucky enough as Vice Chairman, to follow him as Bristol Civic Society Chairman, so Stan and I were in joint harness for two years. It was an invaluable education in Planning Policy Guides and statutory legislation.

In later years Stan's hearing became even worse then mine so he no longer served as a convenor; but his advice was available "on demand" and his succinct interventions enlivened and enlightened committee meetings until the month of his death. It was Stan who suggested to the Local Agenda 21 Land Use Group that one way of making Sustainable Land Use intelligible to Local Communities and Planners would be to seek examples of good practice elsewhere. We're still working on it!

Despite his wariness about campaigns that seemed woolly and trendy he once said to me, "We know we're not going to live forever; but perhaps we should behave as if we might." That is probably the best definition of sustainability I've heard.

Thank you Stan for increasing the credibility of our Society's most ambitious campaigns, for your unique and witty humour and for your personal friendship.
Jerry Hicks


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