Election statement - Mark Benzie
I am a candidate with the ARB Reform Group, firmly resolved to restore ARB to its originally intended statutory function; and to reduce its bureaucracy and fees accordingly.
Please vote for all seven of us.
As a profession, architecture has an enviable record. Excluding the fishing exercises conducted by the ARB, there remains a low level of complaints upheld against architects. This is an indication of a healthy profession and one that can be ‘regulated’ with a light touch.
Excessive retention fee increases, the implementation of aggressive policies and threats of legal action against elected Board members and the procuring of expensive legal opinion to support an expansionist Board agenda are all recent complaints against the excesses of the ARB.
Proposals to introduce yet more box ticking as a panacea to the imagined problem of ‘regulation’ threaten the fundamental nature of professional responsibility and integrity. Allowing a largely unelected quango to be involved in architectural education, professional development and public relations was not the aim of the Architects Act. Parliament did not intend this. We should not allow it.
I am proud of my profession and our unique ability to use the title ‘architect’. However, there may come a time when the price we pay becomes too high. We must act now and elect a Board that undertakes its responsibilities with restraint and not seek to undermine a centuries old profession. With your support I hope to be a part of such a Board.
tel: 07961 154431
Oxfordshire
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