One of the country’s largest landowners, The Crown Estate, is maintaining its relationship with engineering and environmental consultants Wardell Armstrong LLP by appointing another of its Directors, John Pears as the new Crown Estate Mineral Agent responsible for managing its minerals interests in the UK.

John, who has been with Wardell Armstrong since 1989, has acted as Deputy Crown Estate Mineral Agent for the last five years. With effect from 1 October he succeeds Ken Bate, a Wardell Armstrong consultant and former Senior Partner of the firm.

A Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors since 1999, John is also a Chartered Engineer, Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining, and the Institute of Quarrying. His leisure interests include cricket, in which he is a qualified coach, and outdoor pursuits.

John said he was delighted with his new appointment and looked forward to taking responsibility for mineral interests stretching from Speyside near Inverness to Portland on the south coast. The quarries include deposits of sand and gravel, limestone used for both dimension stone and aggregate, clay and granite.

"These minerals play an integral part in the economic development of the country," said John. "For example the refurbishment of the West Coast Mainline used ballast from one of The Crown Estate’s quarries and its Portland dimension stone is used extensively in prestigious construction and restoration projects in London."

As Crown Estate Mineral Agent he will be responsible for the letting of Crown Estate quarries to mineral companies, monitoring their activities, collecting rents and ensuring that operations are carried out in accordance with lease terms, planning permissions and environmental regulations.

"Working in partnership with The Crown Estate, one of Wardell Armstrong’s responsibilities is to continue to develop existing assets or to take steps to acquire new ones. On our recommendation The Crown Estate recently acquired two more quarries," John added.