The Central Association of Agricultural Valuers (CAAV) has appointed its new presidential team, headed up by Shropshire chartered surveyor Mike Taylor. Supporting Mr Taylor will be the new vice president, Lincolnshire-based Josh Pollock and junior vice president, Yorkshire-based David Steel.
Mr Taylor is a highly experienced rural chartered surveyor, having built a career spanning more than four decades. He is senior partner at Barbers Rural in Market Drayton, which he established with his wife Louise in 2008.
His professional expertise covers farm agency, valuations, compulsory purchase and landlord and tenant matters. In addition, he regularly acts as an expert witness in courts, tribunals, arbitrations and public inquiries, as well as undertaking mediation and facilitation work.
He previously held senior roles with the CAAV and the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), acting as an examiner and contributing to professional guidance on rural valuations. More recently, he was a member of the working party responsible for producing the Agricultural Landlord and Tenant Code of Practice.
With farming facing an uncertain future due to climate change and reduced support from government, producers need the best professional advice available, says Mr Taylor. “Expert advice is needed now more than ever with funding for agri-environment schemes being cut and input costs rising rapidly,” he says.
Vice president Mr Pollock specialises in renewable energy and property consultancy and has been a Fellow of the CAAV since 2000. Since establishing Pollock Associates in 2007, he has advised landowners, farmers and the renewable energy industry in the UK and internationally, from initial project development through to completion including developing the UK’s first post-subsidy solar farm. His previous roles at Savills and Fisher German included developing specialist renewable energy advisory teams.
“Alongside its advice on wider rural property matters, the CAAV’s guidance and leadership on renewable energy, the transition to cleaner energy and the infrastructure needed to support it have become increasingly invaluable to those working in the sector,” says Mr Pollock. “I aim to help grow the association and champion members’ interests whilst in post.”
Meanwhile, Mr Steel, chief executive at Dawnay Estates, North Yorkshire, is the first resident agent to be a member of the CAAV’s presidential team. Previously with Smiths Gore and Savills, he spent more than 25 years managing major rural estates, including those of the Church Commissioners for England and the Duchy of Lancaster. His current role oversees two diverse rural estates, encompassing farming, let property, leisure and commercial businesses.
A longstanding CAAV member, he has held several senior positions, including Chair of its Education and Examinations Committee, Northern Group examiner and Chair of the National Written Board.
“I hold the CAAV in such high regard,” he says. “My principal tenure ambition will be to promote all the incredible work the CAAV is involved with, and to encourage those graduating from relevant courses to join the rural surveying profession. There are so many exciting opportunities to grasp at a time of unprecedented change in our sector.”
- For more information visit www.caav.org.uk
