My dad, Terry Robinson, who has died aged 77, orchestrated a number of government projects that improved opportunities for people to connect with the British countryside. Having started out in his career as a ranger on the Wirral Way, he went on to give 38 years’ service to the Countryside Commission (later Natural England).
He forged progressive approaches to common land, built new policies to improve access to open space, and promoted the value of a high-quality green environment in urban locations.
Born in Penzance, Cornwall, to Joan (nee Smith) and Arthur Robinson, an auctioneer and estate agent, Terry was sent to board at King’s college, Taunton. However, it was among the granite and gorse of West Penwith’s ancient settlements that he first recognised the sense of freedom that comes from being in the countryside. It was this same feeling he so passionately wanted everyone to be able to experience and that he later dedicated the rest of his career to.
He studied botany, psychology and zoology at the University of London, graduating in 1971, then worked as a VSO teacher in Fiji. While visiting his brother Peter in Tanzania, he met Annemarie Kunzel, also a VSO teacher, and they married in 1974.
Terry worked as a countryside ranger on the Wirral Way (1973-75), then for Exmoor national park. He joined the Countryside Commission in 1978 as an interpretive planner, retiring in 2011 as head of people, engagement, outreach and access. During his time there he worked on successful projects such as the Tarka Trail in Devon, sites on the Jurassic Coast (which subsequently became a world heritage site), national park status for the New Forest and South Downs, and networks of green space in the Manchester river valleys and Milton Keynes.
He also worked on policy and political deals that paved the way for legislation to preserve the future of common land in England and Wales.
Our family lived in Minchinhampton, near Stroud, in rural Gloucestershire, and Terry instilled in us all a deep appreciation for the outdoors, and encouraged us to make meaningful contributions to society and others. Kind and generous, he was full of boundless enthusiasm and brilliant ideas, and had an irresistible sense of fun and silliness.
Throughout his life, Terry’s love of music saw him singing in choirs and listening to live classical music whenever he could. Latterly, he performed with his local amateur dramatics society. At 6ft 2in, he had a remarkable stage presence; one year he played a particularly cherubic Angel Gabriel in a Mystery Play, much to his family’s mirth. He served as an elder at Painswick Quaker Meeting, and continued to use his professional experience to help others – serving on boards for the National Trust Commons Committee, Cotswold Water Park, International Council on Monuments and Sites, and Cornish Mining World Heritage.
Terry is survived by Annemarie, their children, Sophie, Ben, Tolly and me, by eight grandchildren, and his brother Pete.
