The search is on to find the North East’s top young surveyors, following the launch of the 2016 RICS Matrics Young Surveyor of the Year Awards.
Chartered surveyors work across all land, property and construction sectors and are essential in key areas such as housing, commercial property and infrastructure. The RICS Matrics Young Surveyor of the Year Awards launched two years ago, in a bid to raise awareness of the diverse range of young talented RICS professionals – aged 35 and under – helping to shape the world we live in.
There are 10 categories across a range of sectors – including residential, construction and rural – and last year, 7 out of the 12 winners were from the North & Midlands, with the overall ‘Surveyor of the Year’ title going to Leeds based quantity surveyor, Leanne Owen (nee Kitson) of Faithful+Gould.
Leanne led a national delivery programme of 2,553 unique care homes – many of which were for dementia sufferers – for Sanctuary Housing. But what really made Leanne stand out from hundreds of others shortlisted, was her willingness to better understand her clients’ needs. Prior to the development of the homes, Leanne became a Dementia Friend of the Alzheimer’s Society to understand what it’s really like to live with dementia. This enabled her to create quality homes that allow those with dementia to live as independently as possible.
Victoria Hampson, RICS Regional Director, North & Midlands said: “Surveyors measure, value and protect all our physical assets across the region – from airports, shopping centers, sports stadiums to our road and rail systems. The North East has some of the brightest young talent who help deliver such state-of-the-art property schemes to keep our towns and cities vibrant and attractive to locals and visitors. These awards celebrate such inspirational talent, so we’re looking forward to recognising and rewarding these role models.”
The 10 categories are: Asset and Facilities Management, Commercial Agency, Quantity Surveying, Residential, Rural, Public Sector/Academia, Valuation, Project Management, Building Surveying, Planning and Development. Each winner is selected based on their achievements around client satisfaction, innovation, successful collaboration and acting as an ambassador for the profession.
RICS Matrics Chairman Elect, Amy Leader MRICS of Pick Everard, is heading up this year’s judging panel. She commented: “This is a fantastic opportunity for companies in the North East to showcase the achievements of their young talent and recognise those that have demonstrated excellence, having gone that extra mile for their clients and shown leadership or an element of entrepreneurship.
Entry forms are now available for the 2016 RICS Matrics Young Surveyor of the Year Awards atwww.rics.org/youngsurveyor and the deadline for entries is 08 July. For further information e: kbailey@rics.org t: (0)1924 229 303.
The winners will be announced at a black tie ceremony on 18 November 2016 at the Hilton Bankside, London.