Former CPRE London Chair Donald Mitchell has died

Donald Mitchell, former Chair of CPRE London, died on 20th September.

Richard Bourne, a previous director, who worked closely with Donald has said, “It is sad to relay the news of the death of Donald Mitchell.  Donald’s involvement in the London branch of CPRE began in the early to mid 1990s and continued in various capacities, committee member, secretary, chair and vice-president, until at least the early 2010s.  He played a central role in guiding the branch through various periods, good and bad, but he was always good company.

Donald led the organisation’s research work on big-city urban design, looking towards good high density housing and mixed developments on brownfield sites.  The slogan for this work was ‘to save the countryside we must save the city’.  He particularly championed working closely with the Urban Design Group and 20th Century Society – celebrating the value of small and medium sized brownfield developments – revitalising run down and neglected urban spaces.

He was always reasonable, and charming, in engaging in difficult debates.  His twenty years of skilled support for CPRE London stood alongside other contributions he made to policy discussion and action on green issues.

He will be sadly missed by those who worked alongside him.

A funeral service is to be held in Havant, Hampshire on 26 October. More information from rdbourn@btinternet.com