I retired in 2018 from Birmingham City University and prior to that the University of Birmingham where I was academic director of a postgraduate course in the Conservation of the Historic Environment.

In 2014 I was awarded an MBE for services to Heritage and the Historic Environment.

In 2005 11 Fellowships were awarded in the theme of Conservation of the Built Environment. I was granted a Fellowship to study European Initiatives in Preventative Maintenance for Historic Buildings. In the previous ten years I had compiled directories of buildings at risk in Northern Ireland and England, directories of conservation craftsmen and funding directories. I had also, through grant aid, restored a number of buildings to new uses, and I had come to the conclusion that our current system of grants and awards actually rewards neglect.

The Fellowship enabled me to visit The Netherlands and Belgium, Hungary and Romania, and Norway, Sweden and Denmark, and compare their respective systems of encouraging preventative maintenance to owners of historic buildings. As a result of the Fellowship I was able to influence many owners and institutions about the importance of regular maintenance, so there is now an annual Maintenance Week.