Duchy Brings Estate Management In-House

The Duchy of Lancaster has brought the management of all Rural Surveys in house with effect from 1st October 2018.

As part of this change, the Duchy has restructured its rural estate management teams. Two Regional Surveyors of Lands will lead on the Rural Surveys working out of the Duchy’s London HQ and recently established Lancaster Castle office. Each Regional Surveyor is supported by at least one Estates Surveyor charged with ensuring direct and regular contact with tenants. The team is led by Christopher Sparrow, as the Duchy’s Head of Rural.

Commenting on the move Duchy CEO Nathan Thompson said: “We have brought greater focus to the management of our rural portfolio with the introduction of new in-house teams across all Surveys. This is a tremendously exciting time for the Duchy and we are extremely positive about the future. The move will improve levels of communication and help in our ongoing drive to ensure first-class presentation of our assets.”

In the new structure Andrew Johnson is Regional Surveyor of Lands in the North and Jon Sellick Regional Surveyor of Lands in the South. The day-to-day management of the estates on each Survey will be undertaken by Naomi Browne in Staffordshire, Laura Airton in Lancashire and Rebecca Oddy in Yorkshire. Naomi Browne and Laura Airton will also look after farms and residential properties in Cheshire whilst the Southern Survey will continue to be managed by Jon Sellick.
Each of the teams is supported by the Duchy’s senior team, rural accountants and financial analysts, project managers and administrative staff.

Duchy Head of Rural Christopher Sparrow added: “We are increasingly looking at Duchy-wide initiatives on bio-diversity, environmental management and standards of presentation on our farms and rural residential properties. Bringing the estate management function back in hand allows us to deliver more consistent standards across our portfolio. I look forward to working with the new teams in the months ahead as we continue to improve the levels of service we offer to our tenants whilst building closer relationships with other key stakeholders across our estates.”

There are five Rural Surveys within the Duchy: Cheshire, Lancashire, Southern, Staffordshire and Yorkshire. The Cheshire and Staffordshire Surveys are centred around the core Crewe and Needwood Estates, whereas Lancashire and Yorkshire each includes four separate Estates and Southern combines land holdings and property assets in Derbyshire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire and South Wales.

For further information on the various estates which make up the Rural Surveys please visit our website: www.duchyoflancaster.co.uk.