- What inspired you to get into the property industry?
I am geographer at heart and loved the subject at school, especially learning about the interaction of people with their environment. I went on to study geography at University and knew I wanted to have a career that had a geography background. This led me to take study for the Master of Civic Design at Liverpool University and to go on to qualify as a Chartered Town Planner which I worked as for 15 years before joining Cheshire Surveys.
- What is the most inspiring part of your job?
All the different people we work for and their stories. So many of our clients have very interesting backgrounds and journeys to get to the point of where they need our services. It is always great to make a difference for our clients and to be part of making their property projects become a reality.
- What do you see to be the biggest challenge facing your industry at the moment?
Recruitment to the industry is a real challenge. Finding staff with the right skills and then more crucially retaining staff for many businesses is challenging. We all need to encourage the evolution of the geo-spatial profession to integrate even more with the wider design, construction, and regulatory process we get involved in to make land surveying an attractive profession to join and to demonstrate that role is so much more than just those that measure accurately!
- What makes the perfect property project for you?
A project where we work with the client from start to finish and we become part of their development team. This would begin with us providing the measured surveys at the beginning (topographical, floor plans and elevations) right through to setting out the new building once ready to build. We love to work for established construction and design companies or individuals (developers, architects, garden designers, house builders and groundworkers) looking for retained survey services for their work. This means we get to know how they work, and they can trust us to deliver what they need every time.
- After a long working week, can you describe your perfect weekend?
Spending time with my family. I often get asked what it is like to work your husband and one of the things we try to do is separate business life from home life, although I’d be lying if I said this was easy. Weekends are usually busy in a different way taking our 2 teenage daughters to dancing and their social events (!) and walking Willow our Golden Retriever the dog. When I can I love to catch up with my friends with a coffee or a meal out.
- What is your property prediction for the coming year?
I think Land Surveying is going to continue to the busy, particularly with the Government’s push for bring forward new homes. However, we are going to have to work hard to demonstrate our value to the development process. Costs are continuing to rise, and the geospatial industry is not alone in having to communicate effectively why our role is so important and why it shouldn’t be an area to cut back on when times are tough. I am hoping that by the end of next year there will be more stability in the economy and small business like ours begin to feel more optimistic about the next few years after a turbulent few years that began with the Covid Pandemic.