Chris Beney, a dedicated campaigner for accessible public paths and a key figure in setting British Standards for gates and stiles, has died at the age of 93. His work ensured that paths are wide and welcoming for all users.
Role in Path Accessibility
Beney served as a trustee of the Open Spaces Society for 30 years from 1996 and was its chair from 2018 to 2020. Representing the society, he was a member of the British Standards Institution’s panel on structures on public paths from 1999 to 2020, chairing it from 2005. He guided three revisions of the standard, winning agreement for the least restrictive option: gap, gate, and stile, in that order.
In 2018, with Natural England, he helped establish the Centre for Outdoor Accessibility Training at Aston Rowant, Oxfordshire, for testing accessible gates and mobility equipment.
Early Life and Career
Born in London to Charles Beney, an ear, nose, and throat surgeon, and Dorothea (née Pridden), a pharmacist, Chris enjoyed a rural childhood in Kent, Surrey, and Somerset. His first memory of injustice was the Crystal Palace fire in 1936, shortly before a planned visit.
After a student apprenticeship with General Electric Company, he studied at Jesus College, Cambridge, where he met Hazel Goodman, an art student. They married in 1957, a year after his graduation.
Engineering Work
With an MA in electrical engineering, Beney worked on air-to-air missile computers at GEC Stanmore. At Boscombe Down, he helped build an airborne digital navigation system for the De Havilland Comet, later used on Concorde, and was project manager for the Concorde flight-test-replay system. He led flight trials of Meteor and Canberra planes, once surviving a snowstorm landing where the pilot lost control. 'The past does flash before you,' he said.
In 1977, he founded Yeneb Pattinson Ltd to build and repair computers, retiring at 55. In 1986, he established the Pittecroft Trust to support projects like an unsegregated school in Northern Ireland and many access initiatives.
Local Campaigning
Living in Bushey, Hertfordshire, he campaigned against noise at Elstree Aerodrome, founding the Association for the Containment of Elstree Aerodrome. His path activism began in the late 1980s when spectators were challenged for watching the Elstree airshow from a public footpath. He researched the law, found they had done no wrong, and established the Bushey and District Footpaths Association in 1991.
Beney was generous to those wanting to learn about paths, a stickler for grammar, and had a lovely sense of humour. His legacy includes many Hertfordshire paths that are open, welcoming, and free from clutter.
Family
He is survived by Hazel, their three children Joanna, Charles, and Grace, and four grandchildren. A fifth grandchild predeceased him.
