Land Focus: What Do Land Surveyors Do?

Surveyors working within the land area comprise a range of specialists who are experts in all aspects of assessment, monitoring and management of land and the related environment.

Their expertise enables them to work in a range of diverse areas for example, the planning and development of urban and rural locations, mapping and modelling, environmental management, waste management, land use and contaminated land, environmental auditing/assessment and management of natural and physical assets in the countryside.

Working within the land sector is extremely varied – surveyors working in the land sector could be advising landowners on a wind turbine scheme, working with a Local Authority or a developer on proposed and agreed development schemes, assessing the financial viability of a development scheme, mapping boundaries, managing or valuing rural assets including property and land, managing landlord and tenant relationships, advising a landowner on a diversification scheme or monitoring wildlife conservation areas.

And with an ever increasing focus on sustainability, planning and development surveyors, for example, can be found surveying and evaluating the longer-term social and environmental costs of developing in urban and rural locations, while balancing these factors against important market costs and values.

Furthermore environmental concerns such as climate change, changes in modern farming practices, and the expansion of towns and cities all pose challenges for people living and working in communities who look to surveyors to provide them with professional advice and expertise.

Many surveyors engaged with land will have an environmental dimension in their work. Surveyors in the land area can be also be found undertaking exciting and adventurous tasks, such as mapping the land with high-tech laser equipment, or assessing the safety of mines for extracting minerals. Equally important is the sensitive disposal of our waste and efficient use of our resources, and leaving the environment in a good condition for future generations.

The mapping aspect of surveying is referred to as Geomatics. Geomatics acts as the underpinning data of the land and property lifecycle but also retains a strong element of land law and boundary expertise.