Client-Side Estates Surveyor/Manager – Bath

Beach Baker are retained by Combe Grove which is the commercial organisation within The Elmhurst Foundation. Combe Grove is set within almost 70 acres of mature woodland and thriving grassland, based in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), and borders the UNESCO World Heritage City centre of Bath. Combe Grove provides guests with an opportunity to rest, restore and reset in a natural environment. Combe Grove has a wide range of facilities including swimming pools, tennis courts, spin and exercise classes, and a newly-refurbished nature inspired gym.

The Estate plans to become self-sufficient in food production whilst maintaining and improving the land and its biodiversity. With an established Kitchen Garden supplying vegetables to the rest of the business, Combe Grove plans to grow all its food on-site, add grazing animals, fruit and nut orchards, and British plants.

The buildings, including the nine-bedroom Georgian Manor House and the 31-bedroom Barn conversion on the Estate are a mixture of listed and more modern buildings. There is a commitment to maintain and improve all of these buildings wherever possible by working with local craftsmen.

The Estate Team uses permaculture practices including no-dig to help proliferate biodiversity in this extremely special part of the Bath countryside. This helps to conserve its ecological health for future generations. As guardians of the Combe Grove Estate environmental responsibility is at the heart of all decision making and the aim is to reduce Combe Grove’s environmental impact, becoming net-zero ahead of Bath and North East Somerset’s 2030 goal. Awarded the Silver Green Tourism award and working towards the Gold Green Tourism award.

Combe Grove is working hard to create a field of knowledge in Health and Wellbeing through a dedicated and high-quality apprenticeship scheme. Combe Grove offers up to degree-level apprenticeship positions in a range of disciplines.

Job Summary and Main Purpose

Reporting to the General Manager, you will have responsibility for:

• Their Land. Their aim is to enhance the grounds and look after the habitat. They practice ‘no till’ food production, permaculture and agroforestry and are committed to using renewable energy. They wish guests to be able to experience the natural environment on the Estate and to develop awareness of all that is the diverse habitat, wildlife, birds, insects, and whole eco-system of health, starting with the soil. Food production is an essential part of their work, and they expect to provide a high proportion of the nutritional needs of the Estate directly from the land, seeking organic accreditation and the ultimate plan of becoming self-sufficient.
• Their The Estate comprises Listed and modern buildings which require careful restoration, maintenance and improvement in accordance with Listing and environmental standards. We expect to develop craftsmanship on-site and to train apprentices in these skills. Utility usage must be minimised and be sustainable wherever possible.

• Their Estate Team. The Team comprises of a Land Manager, 5 Team Leaders and 20 Apprentices working with them in all aspects of the Estate. The Estate Team Apprenticeships are three year courses with each fully qualified apprentice leaving at the end of their studies. This model creates the opportunity for the next year to move up and so ensuring the continuous flow of apprenticeships. The Estate Team of 27 is a significant part of our total workforce of 120. Their experience and passion for the land, the environment and the buildings is an essential and integral part of our future. Their purpose is to provide high quality training and development enabling our apprentices to fulfil their potential and develop a sound foundation from which to embark on a successful career.
• Their compliance. It is a must to maintain the monitoring, compliance and delivery of all Health and Safety and other legal and statutory requirements.
• Their Estate budgets. As a charity, value for money is always uppermost in our mind and all works and contracts must be evaluated to ensure that we are paying the appropriate price and no more. We use local, family based private business contractors, who support our aims and methods and who are contracted to deliver excellence at the best possible rates.
• Their environmental responsibility. The Elmhurst Foundation is the guardian of the Combe Grove Estate for the future, and it is vitally important that we impact the land as little as possible and improve the biodiversity of the Estate. This is an overarching responsibility of this role.

The successful candidate will ideally be RICS qualified with 10+ years PQE. If you are interested in applying for this opportunity please send your CV to [email protected] in the first instance. No third party applications, introductions, or enquiries will be recognised and forwarded to Beach Baker for review.

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