AROUND the time that John Duff was appointed chairman of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors in Scotland the parent body in London published a survey showing that after the lowest level of demand for commercial property in a decade, chartered surveyors were pessimistic about the future.
No pressure, then, for the man who took over in June as cheerleader for chartered surveyors in Scotland.
He says there is no hiding from the fact that it is a difficult time in the property sector but points out that it is all part of an economic
cycle. His hope is that in the relatively near future the sector will return to a sense of normality and some of the problems of financial liquidity will be resolved.
But, he says, there are some positives around and while journalists have rightly focused on the negatives he would like to see more balance and more coverage of the good things going on.
Duff says: "In some respects what I have done is what I want others to do – to see that chartered surveying is a career and people should not hesitate to make a career change in their twenties, thirties or forties and become a chartered surveyor."
He knows what he is talking about, having made a career change in his forties.
He started out as a town planner but felt that in that role he did not have the broader view of what was going on so took a distance learning course with the College of Estate Management and qualified as a chartered surveyor.
"So I have not been a chartered surveyor for a long time. To be chairman of the RICS in Scotland as somebody who changed his career late on is a great honour. I was gobsmacked when appointed."
As a town planner and chartered surveyor, Duff has amassed more than 30 years' experience, having worked for Dundee, Renfrew and West Lothian District Councils, the Scottish Development Agency, Scottish Enterprise, Bell Ingram and Graham and Sibbald before, in 2003, starting his own business, the Linlithgow-based John Duff Planning.
At the moment he is involved in the planning and development of the Dalmarnock area of Glasgow – the site of the 2014 Commonwealth Games Village, the National Indoor Stadium and the Velodrome.
He wants to see RICS Scotland having closer dialogues with organisations such as the Royal Town Planning Institute, the Law Society of Scotland and the Scottish Property Federation.
He says: "The accessibility of the Scottish Parliament gives us a tremendous opportunity to be heard on matters such as new legislation. There are benefits for all of us working closer together – our objectives are all mutually compatible.
"I also want to see more people join the RICS. In Scotland we have 10,000 members and a long history. There are 140,000 chartered surveyors around the world in 142 different countries."
Is a year enough to make an impact as chairman of the RICS?
"Twelve months is not enough but the flipside is it could adversely impact on your business. It is all about balancing."
Outside work Duff is an enthusiast about old cars, golf and Dundee United FC. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
The full article contains 545 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
