Brian Salter, Forestry & Conservation Officer

Born in suburban North London, Brian graduated in forestry at Oxford. He then worked on the Lower Swansea Valley Project to combat industrial pollution of air and land. Success in this led to his recruitment to Runcorn New Town as forestry officer: the General Manager (Mr Banwell) wanted to plant lots of trees in what was, in Brian’s opinion, a ‘blighted’ place with a great deal of industrial pollution. Brian was there from 1965 to 1971 and got to know Fred Roche, chief architect and planner; Fred had recruited Neil Higson as landscape architect, and Neil and Brian built a strong working relationship. Brian notes that Fred ‘created a very stimulating working environment’.