1. Introduction:
I was born in the Peak District of Derbyshire and attended New Mills Grammar School. On leaving school I had two quite different ambitions. One was to apply for a job at the Ordnance Survey in Surrey, the other, to be a professional cyclist. Surrey was a long way from home in those days and whilst I was a decent rider, a mate who was a professional cyclist eventually talked me into getting a career first. As a result, Plan C, and I applied for and got a surveying job in Manchester and with it, the company said they would support my professional development. True to their word and after 2 years at night school (3 hours a night for 3 days a week and lasting 6 months) plus a year on a College of Estate Management Correspondence Course, I sat and passed. The year was 1970. I moved to Cheshire and then Tyneside before joining Harrogate B.C. in 1979. I retired from there and full-time employment in 2006 but then after a further 16 years as a Consultant Surveyor, finally hung up my theodolite for good in 2022. However, that hasn’t stopped the ‘phone ringing bringing with it requests for “a bit of advice” or in terms of the APC, “trawling the memory banks,” having spent nearly 30 years undertaking assessments for the RICS.
I am married (wife Linda) and have one son who works in the commercial energy supply industry for a major French organisation and a daughter-in-law who enjoys life as a librarian. We have two grandchildren; one has just completed his first year at university and the younger one is starting 6th form college in September.
2. Skill Development:
Being a Commercial/Valuation surveyor, I never really specialised in one area of work, although I have always enjoyed Compulsory Purchase. There are fewer opportunities in that field nowadays but going back in time I worked on CPOs for the acquisition of land and buildings for Eldon Sq. development in Newcastle, along with the acquisition of large tracts of land for the initial Tyne and Wear Metro. I also was involved in a couple of Rule 5 Reinstatement Cases. More latterly, I spent time on Highway CPO work relating both to land taken and Part I claims where no land is taken but the scheme has an impact on daily life. My last commission was a Consultant Surveyor on a major waste management scheme. It involved site acquisition as well as valuing the organisation’s portfolio, where the values ranged from £1 for closed landfill site up to over £300m for an energy from waste facility.
Having spent a significant period of my working life in the public sector, I am only too aware of the wider issues that affect the public but how property and property assets can play quite a major part in delivering some of those needs and ambitions.
3. Career Milestone:
Professionally it is without doubt qualifying as a Chartered Surveyor and then later, acquiring the status of a Fellow. I have made many friendships along the way, both in the workplace and in my role assessing the APC for the RICS.
Workwise, there are many. In my first months in the job in Harrogate, I had to develop and deliver a structured asset disposal plan to fund the Harrogate International Centre which had come in way over budget. Given the funding pressures at the time, it could easily have
turned into a “fire sale” but with care, a structure to the programme and holding my nerve, the programme was successful and was the main reason the Council could eventually cover the funding and write down the debt in an organised manner. Others that stand out are things like granting the lease which allows the exploitation of Harrogate Water, now a worldwide brand operated by Nestle. I was also involved in the development of a derelict site in Ripon which eventually saw a new Booths supermarket open (now a Tesco). The “tricky bit” entailed relocating the local Girl Guides who had a hut on the site but no real compensatable interest. We managed to avoid any adverse publicity by working with the Guides and the Developer in securing funding to refurbish a new HQ providing bigger and better facilities that the ones in the old hut they had occupied. This included approaching a former guide who had “landed on her feet.” She has since appeared in the Channel 5 Grantley Hall Yorkshires Poshest Hotel, being the developer and owner.
4. Inspiring the Next Generation:
Without doubt one of the first things, I would do is obtain a qualification. Yes, it is no guarantee in the current jobs market, but it is certainly a tick in the plus column. Also, in the process of qualifying, often a trainee can be taken on, short term, by a firm or organisation whilst completing their studies. I have noticed, in looking at the employment record when assessing the APC, how many then get full time employment with that firm or organisation.
Also, and again it is getting more difficult I accept, but try and have a couple of strings to your bow, rather than specialise too soon in your career. As a career, the property industry and surveying throw up a wide range of opportunities. I have met/dealt with surveyors in what might be described as the “mainstream” but also those who have, in later life, become more specialist, like dealing with Petrol Filling Stations or in the Art and Antiques world. Most of all, it is still very much a “people related” industry. AI and related platforms will play a part, but “Mr Smith” will still want that personal attention when he asks you to look at how much rent he should be paying on his butcher’s shop, or how can he appeal the business rates on his shop. The range of examples where interpersonal skills are/will be required is endless.
5. What are some of the most exciting projects you've worked on?
My career started in an era when things were built to last and had little or no regard to the impact on the environment. I think it was the work I did as a Consultant Surveyor on the major waste contract and which I alluded to earlier, that really brought home the message that attitudes had to change. Yes, whilst it was specifically waste related, with initiatives like the move away from landfill to both recycling and energy from waste facilities made me think that similar initiatives applied to wider environmental issues and matters such as sustainability, energy efficiency in the built form and green leases etc., was the way forward. Old, historic building still have a significant place in the fabric of the country and long may it be so. That said, it is equally right to say with new buildings or converting existing ones to a high standard, there must be adaptability in terms of new initiatives, such as those I have mentioned, which need to be built and factored in.
