Tim Woodward to retire from CLA duty

CLA East Surveyor Tim Woodward is retiring from the CLA today following a long career with the organisation. Tim has supported members with their enquires for more than a decade on all matters of land management and regularly represented their interests with key stakeholders across the region.

He trained at the Royal Agricultural College (RAC) and has practised as a rural practice surveyor for over 35 years, specialising in estate management and advising institutional, charitable and private landowners across southern and eastern England. He is a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (FRICS) and has a MSc in Advanced Farm Management.

For six months before joining the CLA, Tim was Interim Chief Surveyor for the CLA on a consultancy basis at Belgrave Square in London.

Speaking of his retirement, Tim said:

“When I first went to work at Belgrave Square, I was told that I’d probably only be needed for a couple of months, pending the appointment of a new permanent Chief Surveyor. Thirteen years later, I’ve only just decided that enough’s enough!

“I was pleased to come to work for the CLA, having represented the National Trust on the Institutional Landowners’ Group for several years beforehand, and having made use of its advisory services when I was a Resident Agent on a family-owned estate in Hampshire before that,” comments Tim.

“I have really valued and enjoyed working with my colleagues in the East office, in the other regions, and in London; everyone has been friendly, always approachable, incredibly helpful, and very professional.

“As well as working alongside a first-class team of colleagues, the most enjoyable parts of my role have involved meeting with members. They have had to cope with all the legislative, planning, and farm support changes that have been brought about during my time with the CLA, and most have been very grateful for our help and representation.

Tim adds: “They are all hard-working and trying to safeguard their business and property interests for the future as best they can.”

On his future plans, Tim says: “I’m now looking forward to indulging my perhaps ill-matched pursuits, including fly-fishing for wild trout, making a lot of noise and smoke with my collection of Victorian black powder firearms, and catching up on reading, history podcasts, politics podcasts and the daily newspapers.

“I enjoy cooking and travelling, and my Border terrier, Wilf, who has been a member of the East team, will be resuming his favourite role as my daily personal trainer, when not dealing with rats round our hen coop! I’m also Chair of the Suffolk Wildlife Trust and will be able to devote more time to helping it.

“I shall of course remain a CLA member, and so I look forward to keeping in touch with colleagues and meeting members at CLA events and at the county shows for the foreseeable future, and watching the organisation continue to evolve.”

Following Tim's retirement the CLA will soon be recruiting for a new regional surveyor to join the team.