Welcome to Craig McInnes

What a difference an earthquake makes.  While the seismic events over the last 14 months have caused lots of visible damage to buildings, roads and the surface of the earth, they can also cause shifts in peoples’ futures.  This was the case for me, particularly after the devastating February 2011 earthquake, as I pondered what sort of environment I wanted to be working in 5 years from now.  After numerous talks and coffees and lists of pro’s and con’s, I accepted an opportunity here at Fox and Associates for me to take the next step in my career.  I am excited about becoming part of a team of like-minded professionals with a strong sense of where they are going.

I was born and raised in the North Island, Warkworth to be exact, and I continue to support North Harbour rugby teams through thick and thin (mostly thin).  However, I have married a Christchurch girl called Donna and together we are raising three more Cantabrians, which should help my application to become a local.  When I am not running a taxi service for the kids you can find me plotting ways to get the boat out and go fishing, or to get the family out of the city for some tramping and camping.

My career over the last 20 years has taken a different path to the rest of the team at Fox and Associates, so I look forward to bringing some complementary skills and experiences.  My working life started with a government department that morphed into a state-owned enterprise, which involved undertaking work to support government agency interests, Crown asset sales and Treaty settlements.  This sort of work continued over the last 12 years in a local private firm, but my experience has expanded to include a variety of projects in the rural sector.  This included rural lifestyle block subdivisions, partitioning for estate planning or defining conservation covenants over special areas of land.  I like resolving tricky planning or legal boundary issues in the rural area, especially where claims to dry river beds are involved.  I have undertaken this work right throughout the Canterbury region, although I am particularly fond of the Banks Peninsula and it’s unique qualities.

I look forward to settling into the team at Fox and Associates and meeting new and existing clients.  For many people, engaging a surveyor will be after a weighty decision to alter their greatest asset – their land.  This cannot be taken lightly, which is why I enjoy charting a pathway to help people realise their aspirations for their land and their futures.  I only hope the earthquakes are done with disrupting our plans!