You’re in Charge

Josh, Water Main Cross Connection Works
Richmond Park, Twickenham

Working under my clients instruction, I negotiated access to the Crown Estate owned Richmond Park to enable the installation of a cross connection pipe. The pipe is required to provide a boost to the distribution water main for Richmond in periods of drought and subsequent low pressure. Access was agreed by licence with the Crown Estate as they are exempt from the statutory Water Industry Act 1991 powers meaning statutory notification would not be suitable. I maintained stakeholder engagement (contractor and landowner) throughout the project to ensure the scheme was completed on time and to the satisfaction of both parties. Working as a rural surveyor in the utilities sector provides various unique challenges that may not be found in general practice but the constant variation definitely helps keep me occupied and on my toes!!

Tash, Securing Rights to Drinking Water Systems
Oxford

During my placement year from Harper Adams I have worked for a national firm of chartered surveyors acting for a clean water company. One of my projects has involved securing planning permission for security upgrades on my clients existing water sites to meet their requirements under a national directive. My understanding of the planning process has widened, and I have been responsible for preparing the specific documents required such as planning statements, plans and the application form. I have also liaised with my geomatics colleagues and learnt about the importance of site elevations and planning drawings. Planning legislation has also played a key part in the work I have produced and my understanding of the General Permitted Development Order has grown. 

Niall
Moving Concorde, Scotland

In 2004 I was responsible for negotiating  a section of the route and agreeing compensation for the mammoth task of moving G-BOAA Concorde, the first of its kind to go into service with British Airways in 1976.  Having landed for the last time at Heathrow (after an incredible working life of 22,768 hours flight time and going through 6,842 supersonic cycles) she was taken apart and moved by road to the Thames port of Isleworth  and loaded onto a barge. From there she sailed up the Thames and along the east coast of Britain, arriving on Scottish Soil at Torness. From there, it was my job to ensure it safely crossed a mile of farmland to reach the Museum of Flight in East Lothian. I had negotiated with every affected party along the way and many obstacles had to be overcome, including building bridges over ditches, felling trees and dropping power lines.  This really was a fascinating project to be involved with, and really demonstrates the variety of projects rural surveyors get involved with!

Alex
Management of Aviation Fuel Lines, Knutsford

During my placement year from University, I acted for a Spanish company who own a network of high pressure aviation fuel pipelines, which are located all across Britain. These pipelines supply some of the major airports in Britain with fuel, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. My role included the organisation of excavation works to expose these pipes to repair defects on the line, installation of cathodic protection (which helps to reduce corrosion and general day-to-day matters with the network). Despite not knowing anything about this niche form of work before, i thoroughly enjoyed it and would now always encourage people to embrace all opportunities offered. 

Andrew
Sale of a farm, Herefordshire

In the gloriously hot summer of 2007, I was the lead Agent responsible for the marketing and sale of a stunning 430 acre farm in North Hereford. After many a happy day showing potential purchasers around the rows of cider apple orchards, prime arable land and the comprehensive range of buildings, the deadline was set for offers to be made. I had to open the sealed bids in front of my colleagues and peers; thankfully a superb offer was received and the sale concluded without any issues. Today, this farm is known as Chase Farm and is home to Chase Distillery. I have to say I am very partial to their gins and vodkas, so every time I pour myself one I think of the fun I had in managing this sale and how delighted I am to see the company thrive.

Mark, Livestock Auctioneering
Leek

Working in the livestock market presented an excellent opportunity to meet my clients on a regular basis not just to talk about their livestock but also to assist them with other business issues that they had.  The work involved visiting farms prior to the market day to advise them on the sale of their livestock whilst also liaising with potential purchasers before the sale to ensure that there were sufficient bidders around the sale ring.  Market day involved taking receipt of their livestock, checking all the appropriate paperwork before climbing into the rostrum to offer my clients’ livestock for sale to the highest bidder.  There was always a tremendous buzz around the sale ring as everyone was there to see what the prices for their livestock were like.

Roderick
Project Management, Warwickshire

After years of planning negotiations, including a successful appeal, I have been involved in two large energy generation projects. One, an anaerobic digestion plant producing over 2Mw of electricity, and the second, an 8Mw Biomass plant which is currently being built.  I have been involved in many aspects of these projects, including GPS site measurements, mapping and assisting in the planning process, through to site access preparations, compound licences and digestate spreading agreements. Assisting in projects from initial concepts to the final outcome is the most satisfying part of my work.

Olivia
Managing a Large Estate, Shropshire

During my placement year working on a large private estate, I was involved with the application for a Higher Tier Countryside Stewardship Scheme. This included everything from understanding the management requirements for the various options, meeting with farm contractors to identify any unproductive agricultural land, going out and assessing the landscape to see which stewardship options would work, and measuring the estate's hedgerows, with GPS mapping equipment and a quad bike. All the chosen areas were then mapped out in detail and sent through to Natural England where they will be checked.

Lucy
Placement Student, Northampton

I acted as the lead agent for the sale of a country cottage with 5 acres of land. I drew up the particulars, launched the property, took all enquiries, completed 27 viewings in 3 weeks and dealt with all offers. I liaised with the solicitors and concluded a sale which was above the guide price. Being involved in rural agency is great fun as you are constantly out and about and dealing with a huge range of people on a daily basis.

Harriet
Network Rail Claim, Hereford

During my placement year I was involved with a large compensation claim against Network Rail on a small sheep farm in Wales. This constituted of several years of evidence collecting to form the final claim. It was all caused by a collapsed culvert under the railway which caused the land to be badly flooded year on year. This led to loss of crops and the line being shut several times in bad conditions when water was lying on the tracks. I was involved in meeting contractors, recording evidence and submitting the final claim. It was extremely rewarding to see this project complete, with a claim way over £300,000 for the damage done.

Iain, Planning Permission for Military
Heathland

A military training area in the South of England required a facility to practice using their tank bridging equipment over. This required a very deep, very long and very wide trench being dug into an area of Heathland that was highly protected under both UK and EU legislation. I was tasked with getting planning permission for the works. This wasn't the normal application to the local authority, but involved preparing a full paper outlining the works, the mitigation proposed and why this was of over-riding national importance. These papers were then debated by the Secretary of State for Defence and the Secretary of State for the Environment Food and Rural Affairs. The Bridging Site has now been operational for 20 years and has become an important conservation feature in its own right.

Claire, Change of Farm Buildings

Working for a membership organisation as a Chartered Surveyor offers a range of different opportunities to get involved with work at the cutting edge of land management. I worked with a client based in Hertfordshire to secure a change of use from agricultural to residential under Permitted Development Rights (just at the time when the law had changed, which was of benefit to my client). The application proved to be extremely complex and was far from plain sailing with the local authority, however we were eventually successful on appeal. It was a real buzz to see two very ordinary barns transform into three residential dwellings. Since then the client has secured consent for three further conversions from commercial to residential and has created a thriving rural community.

Charlotte, Installation of New Gas Main
Tywyn

Caryss, Keeping Tenant's Happy
Sutton

During my industrial placement year, I completed a range of projects some of which included the organisation of land drainage being installed for a tenant, completed clearance works to allow paddocks to be returned to full use. Estate management is a really interesting area as you can see progress whilst keeping both the landlord and tenant happy. Another interest of mine includes the valuation of machinery, locally to where I completed my placement I regularly attended machinery sales to gain an understanding of how machinery is valued. I believe having a good understanding of machinery really helps when meeting tenants, clients and contractors.

Kate, Water Main Installation
Gloucestershire

During placement, I was very involved with a scheme comprising the renewal of 8km of large water main in Gloucestershire. This involved consultation and liaison with all stakeholders, site meetings, arranging accommodation works to minimise impacts on farms/homes, negotiating compensation with landowners and Agents, travelling to site to take photographic records of condition and so much more. The scheme also involved tunnelling part of the main under the M5 which involved heavy consultation and negotiation and was amazing to be involved with. This job was an amazing way to broaden knowledge and skills and feel the rewards of hard work. 

Rosie, Rural Redundant Barn Renovation
King's Lynn

Over my placement year, I was involved with the development of a complex of redundant farm buildings to office lets. Converting unused buildings can be a good way to gain additional income on a farm or rural Estate. Throughout the process I became involved in discussing the feasibility of the project, consulting architects, landscape design and following the project through to gaining planning permission. This process was very rewarding and allowed me to gain experiences in a variety of competencies and also enabled me to  have practical experiences with industry professionals as well as having a high level of responsibility.

Andrew, Creation of new grazing licence
Thornhill

As a trainee Land Agent on a beautiful Scottish Estate I was involved with putting in place an agreement for the grazing of sheep by a new tenant. I had sole responsibility for managing the grassland on the estate so took control of identifying and allocating the correct parcel of land, and meeting with the new tenant on site where we discussed the rent to be charged and any maintenance work that needed to be done. From here a record of condition was carried out and any defects in the field boundaries were addressed. With maintenance work complete, an annual  rental figure was agreed and I drew up the agreement plan using a GIS system. Once this was completed I sent out all of the documents to the tenant for signature. This was an interesting project as it was one of the first I was responsible for from start to finish and resulted in the estate gaining a competent new tenant.

Andrew, Managing the delivery of security upgrade
Dounreay

I was the project manager responsible for delivering property services and acquisitions to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority at the Dounreay Nuclear Power facility which shut down officially in 1994 and entered a long period of decommissioning.As part of a multi-billion pound national project to increase both physical and non-physical security measures across all nuclear facilities such as this site, I was required to provide advice and professional services to compliment the in-house property teams. One of these projects involved purchasing land from a private landowner to allow for the installation of new security fencing and another project required the completion of a lease for a carpark extension for the firearms training facility used by the Civil Nuclear Constabulary.These projects really demonstrate the variety of projects Rural Chartered Surveyors get involved with!