A stadium with humble beginnings

Before it became a world-renowned rugby venue, the site at Twickenham looked very different. In 1907, the Rugby Football Union purchased just over ten acres of local market gardens for £5,572 – a decision that split opinion at the time. William Williams, the committee member who fought hardest for the purchase, jokingly referred to the land as “Billy Williams’ Cabbage Patch” and the nickname stuck!

From these modest beginnings, over the decades, it has taken on a whole range of roles: cattle grazed it during the First World War, it was a civil defence depot in the Second, and then a construction project which was fraught with planning challenges. By 2005, with the opening of a major new South Stand, the stadium reached an 82,000 capacity – becoming the second-largest stadium in the UK and the biggest in world rugby.

A venue built for big moments

Today, Twickenham’s legacy stretches far beyond sports. It has hosted concerts by global icons, including the Rolling Stones and Lady Gaga. In 2024, the stadium underwent its first-ever rebrand, becoming the Allianz Stadium Twickenham. Yet despite the new name, its identity remains unchanged: a venue built for momentous occasions, making it the perfect home for our TSA AGM. 

Why does the setting matter?  It lifts the ambition.

Why this TSA AGM stands out

On 25 March, TSA members will gather not only to conduct the formal business of the association, but to take part in something much bigger.

This year’s AGM will include:

• Key discussions on the issues shaping the future of our profession
• Updates on TSA projects designed to support and benefit members
• Opportunities to connect with fellow geospatial professionals from across the country

Importantly, members will join invited geospatial leaders, influencers, and policy makers to help shape a major new national marketing campaign. This will be the first discovery phase of the project – and your ideas, experience, and perspective will play an essential role in what comes next.

An inspirational setting

Beyond the AGM itself, the stadium offers an experience that few other venues can match. With 34 flexible meeting spaces and more than 150 pitch-view executive boxes, it is one of the most versatile corporate venues in the country.

Attendees will also have the chance to take a stadium tour, giving you the opportunity to explore behind the scenes of this extraordinary place – from the rich history of the old “cabbage patch” to the modern home of English rugby. The World Rugby Museum, housed onsite, features jerseys from rugby’s earliest international fixtures, artefacts dating back to 1871, and the iconic Webb Ellis Cup.

Join us on 25 March

Allianz Stadium Twickenham has hosted more than a century of moments that mattered. On 25 March, we’re excited to add another.

We look forward to welcoming our members for a day of insight, collaboration, and forward-thinking conversation – all in one of the most inspiring venues in the UK. If you are keen to join this conversation and join a geospatial collective, please get in touch with us via email at office@tsa-uk.org.uk.

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We said farewell to Nick Hampson, who has completed his term of office as President after a three year term in the role, and serving a total of ten years on Council. Stuart Dimond has also stepped down from Council after having served 13 years and chaired the Membership & Internal Affairs Committee for seven of those years.  We thank them both for all their hard work, leadership and dedication to promoting the survey profession and improving TSA in so many ways.

Claire Fenwick, from Spatial Dimensions, is our new President, and Oliver Viney, from Atlantic Geomatics, is our new Vice President. The rest of the Council now comprises Ben Barnard, Maddy Lees, Polly Hopkins, Steve Hurp, Andy Roberts, Sam Roberts, Nick Spenceley, Nathan Spencer and new Council members Nick Blakeway and Mark White. The Council Election this year saw eight candidates stand for four places, showing the growing interest members have in getting involved at the heart of the association.

Following the formal business of the AGM, this year’s President’s Award, sponsored by Lockton, was awarded to Lucy Powers of Powers, for her outstanding and voluntary work as Chair of the Geospatial Apprenticeship Steering Committee (Level 3). 

The morning session was completed by a presentation on survey equipment theft from Kelly Barnes (Senior Intelligence Analyst) and Dave Lewis (Police Liaison Manager) of DeterTech. After lunch, members were divided into teams for some teambuilding activities, which encouraged new contacts to be made in a more relaxed environment. In keeping with the Silverstone setting, these team activities included giant Scalextric, F1 simulators, a pit stop tyre change and a Batak reaction time test.

Feedback from members regarding the day at Silverstone has been overwhelmingly positive. We are already starting planning for our next major event, TSA Conference & Awards Day in early November.  This will be a new format which includes a celebration of the students who have completed Courses 59, 61 and 61 of the TSA Surveying Course. The date will be circulated shortly.

Find out about forthcoming TSA Member events here and learn more about becoming a TSA Member here.

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Networking opportunities

Our members always appreciate opportunities to network with each other and where we can, we like to choose venues for our events that are memorable for all the right reasons. The Anfield stadium in Liverpool was certainly a magnificent setting, whether members were football fans or not! Watch some abbreviated highlights of the video we made on the day, which convey the great atmosphere of this stunning location.

Networking at Geo Business 2023

We are looking forward to catching up with many of our members at next week’s Geo Business at Excel in London (17-18 May).https://www.tsa-uk.org.uk/five-reasons-to-visit-tsa-at-geo-business/. In the meantime, remember that access to live events, including our annual conference and our AGM, are just one of the perks of membership of TSA. To find out more about TSA membership, go to https://www.tsa-uk.org.uk/membership/ and don’t forget to keep an eye on our events page here https://www.tsa-uk.org.uk/events/ for news on our latest exclusive events for members.

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The actual business of the AGM was presided over by TSA President Adam Bradley, beginning his second year in office, along with Nick Hampson as Vice-President who was also re-elected.

The newly elected Council was announced: Adam Bradley, Nick Hampson, Graham Mills, Stuart Dimond, Olly Viney, Adrian Halliwell, Tony Rogers, David Watterston, Nathan Spencer, Sam Roberts, Mike Hopkins and newly elected Lucy Powers.  This year had seen an election for Council and Adam thanked Luke Steadman who had been unsuccessful this time around. The effort that the volunteers of Council put into TSA should not be underestimated and Adam thanked all concerned.

This year’s President’s Award was presented to Andrew Crumpler, Senior Tutor at The Survey School. Andrew has personally taught hundreds of students and given them a firm foundation in surveying, many of whom took to social media to express their delight at the announcement and gratitude to Andrew for the skills he had taught them so well. Lockton sponsored the glass trophy and have generously donated £100 to Andrew’s nominated charity – ‘Maggies’, which supports cancer patients and their families.

With the official business of the AGM finished quicker than an England innings in Australia, the day was devoted to topics that matter most to members.

As he did last year, Gordon Jenkins, Director of Operations at CSCS, gave an update on the changes to the CSCS Card scheme which is affecting TSA Members.  Gordon explained the background and also the way that TSA has worked closely with them to deal with any problems that have arisen.

TSA Vice-President, Nick Hampson, then provided the latest news on both TSA Level 3 Diploma in Engineering Surveying and the Geospatial Apprenticeships.  Almost 200 registrations have been received for the Level 3 Diploma qualification, with seven Assessors at various stages of training and 17 candidates actively going through the process. The Geospatial Apprenticeships (level 3 and Level 6) have now received Ministerial approval so employers can now use their Apprenticeship Levy payments or Government apprenticeship funding to pay for the development of new talent for their businesses. TSA is very proud to have funded all the development work. If anyone would like to know more on where the Apprenticeships are being delivered, please contact Christina Hirst directly (christina.hirst@chconsultancy.com)

Everyone’s favourite subject, GDPR, was then covered by Brett Taylor from QMS – giving Members the background to the regulation which has an implementation date of 25^th May 2018. A thorough explanation followed, taking Members through what the changes to data protection are and what steps they need to take.

We were then joined by Stephen Kyberd, Head of Engineering at the Oxford Robotics Institute (ORI) at Oxford University. Stephen spoke on Mapping and Localising for Autonomous Vehicles, showing examples of where their engineering teams deploy the ORI’s research across a range of robots in diverse environments.

A two course lunch was then served, with the opportunity for everyone to sit either at tables or enjoy the sunshine on the balcony, with the players having a net on the pitch below. Members also made the most of the opportunity to network.

The afternoon session was given over solely to the drastic rise in survey equipment theft over the last 12-18 months. Rachael Oakley from SmartWater gave members an overview of the new initiative launched with TSA in February, to collect all theft details and feed them into an Intelligence Portal. TSA Members are now receiving regular updates which include crime hot spots and analysis on trends and organised crime. Andy Barton from Jelf gave the insurers perspective and then a lively and thorough debate ensued. Members were able to quiz the panel, which included James Cooper of Survey Solutions and David Norris of Plowman Craven – sharing their experiences and also useful suggestions. The manufacturers also updated everyone present as to the various measures they are taking to help tackle the problem. TSA’s greatest strength was in evidence – providing a forum for all elements of the survey profession to come together and discuss issues that affect everyone.

A further session on this subject will be held at GEO Business, on 23^rd May at 10.30am – please do come along, details are HERE.

The feedback has been excellent:

“TSA organised a very good event, very impressed with debate over stolen instruments.”

“This was my first conference and it was a pleasure to be in the company of like-minded professionals who are all going through the same business related issues.”

“The event was very well organised and the speakers were all interesting and relevant. The stolen equipment forum was particularly good with many valid points raised. Well done TSA”

“This was the first one I have attended. It was fantastic.”

“Excellent day. Good agenda. Lively discussions.”

What are you waiting for? Get involved!

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Members gathered on the Balcony overlooking the vast array of engines and carriages, enjoying a coffee and Danish pastry before the meeting began.  The AGM was completed fairly quickly, under the chairmanship of Graham Mills of Technics Group.  Graham continues as TSA President, with Stuart Dimond of MK Surveys as the new Vice-President.  Huge thanks go to John Witherden of Aworth Land Surveys who has been an excellent VP for TSA for the last five years.  John continues on Council and the full list for 2013 can be found on the ‘About Us’ page.

Graham Mills then announced that the President’s Award, kindly sponsored by Lockton, for 2013 was to be given to Alison Watson, from Class of Your Own, “For encouraging and enabling young people to discover surveying, engineering, design and construction.” 

Andrew Evans from Topcon, Alison’s main sponsor, accepted the award on her behalf.

(Andrew Evans (L) receives the Award from Adam Axtell-Powell of Lockton)

One of the supreme and unmatched benefits of TSA Membership is the opportunity to discuss issues, concerns and new ideas openly and honestly.  Members enjoyed a 75-minute session discussing topics such as education, recruitment, low fees and licensing.  Some new suggestions and approaches to all of these things were noted by Council.

A magnificent buffet spread was then provided, down in the Great Hall and surrounded by breathtaking examples of engineering and motion. 

Enough time was built in to allow members to explore the museum.

The afternoon session was totally dedicated to BIM (Building Information Modelling) with comprehensive and wide-ranging presentations from:

 – Andy Rhoades (BAA) – the client’s perspective
 – Martin Penney and Peter Folwell – talking on behalf of TSA
 – Ian Bush on behalf of Chartered ICES – the Institution’s view on BIM
 – Tracey Stone for AutoDesk – their approach to BIM and the future
 – Paul Bryan for English Heritage – the client’s perspective

The meeting concluded with an explanation about TSA’s new BIM Special Interest Group and then tea and scones on the Balcony.  A fitting ending to a day rich in content!  The feedback has been first class:

“An excellent day, most informative and well worth the journey.”
“As a new comer to the TSA I believe the day has shown me that membership will be very worthwhile.”
“I had a great day!”

To TSA Members who missed out, don’t worry – we are already busy planning a great programme for the Discussion Group meeting on 30th October at the Imperial War Museum at Duxford.  If you are not yet a Member, then why not ask for an Application Form today so you can join us?

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Following the AGM, there were three speakers talking under the general heading of ‘Teach Your Children Well’. Ken Lacey from OS spoke on the work that they are doing in getting mapping resources to children and teachers. Alison Watson from ‘Class of Your Own’ followed this up with a passionate explanation of her vision to have surveying and engineering as part of the National Curriculum. Stuart Edwards of Newcastle University then rounded off the educational process by talking about what the University offers to undergraduates and postgraduates.

After lunch and a chance to network, the afternoon session began with Danny Hyam of OS giving an update on OS products. Peter Clarke and Nigel Penna of Newcastle University then took attendees through the background to the original Network RTK report and the subsequent update to include GPS/GLONASS Network RTK. This new Report and Best Practice Guide were commissioned by TSA, in collaboration with OS, Leica, Trimble, Topcon and RICS. The new Report and Best Practice Guide are now available in the Guidance Notes section of the website.

Presentations from Alison Watson, Stuart Edwards, Peter Clarke and Nigel Penna are available as pdf files in the Members Area of TSA’s website. Impressively – a few days after the AGM, Alison Watson flew to the States, where her Highfield Humanities College came second in the School of the Future competition in Washington DC!

Some feedback from attendees:

“This has to have been one of the most important, vital and useful as well as enjoyable AGMs in the history of TSA”

“A very good day with an interesting and balanced line-up of speakers.”

“I thought it was a great day and a terrific opportunity to network.”

“Superb location and a great variety of enthusiastic speakers.”

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