Family/Golf
I live with my Scottish wife (Liz) and our 18 year old (Issy who is studying in London) in Bissoe, near Truro and have been there since 2001 completely renovating and extending our property over many years.
Having joined Tehidy Park Golf Club around 1981/2 as a junior, I have been a member ever since bar some years away whilst I lived in Exeter from 1997 to 2001. I am not a great golfer but got down to 11 around the early 1990’s but never made single figures and currently play off 16. During my time at Tehidy I have played for The Cornish Bowl team around the early to mid 1990’s for a few years winning with Tehidy Park Golf Club in 1994 (I think) and getting to the final the year after. I also played again for them in 2022.
Currently my company is one of the sponsors of Cornwall Golf Union for their inter-county team events and have done so since 2017.
Career
I studied to honours degree level in Civil Engineering at Surrey University and then a further Masters degree in Mining Engineering at the “world famous” Camborne School of Mines, graduating in 1989 and 1990 respectively. Following that I began employment with Cornwall County Council (now Cornwall Council) in the Roads and Bridges Department. Initially I was a bridge designer and latterly was out on site on the construction side following an approved professional training course. I then sat further exams and interviews and became fully qualified as a Chartered Engineer (CEng) and a full Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers (MICE) in 1993.
In 1995 I decided to go abroad and worked in South Africa for a side company of Anglo American Corporation installing roads and drainage for townships amongst other schemes.
After returning to the UK in late 1996 I managed to get a job as a Subsidence Loss Adjuster for a large company dealing with buildings insurance claims based in Exeter and Southampton where I stayed until 2001 rising to become the Repair Manager for the south of the UK. At that point, the loss adjusting company was pioneering working from home and at that time as a result, myself and my wife decided we wanted to move back to Cornwall to start a family, which we managed in 2001. Later on I also dealt with many large insurance claims in the Boscastle floods of 2004 which was a national major incident.
I also ran my father’s company for a year (Larry Datson – who ran a chain of SPAR shops and is still a social member at Tehidy Park Golf Club) and then onto his building development company in the mid 2000’s.
In 2008 a deep recession meant development was not profitable so I decided to set up my own company Datson Consulting Ltd specialising in subsidence and mining remediation. This company has been my full time occupation for the last 15 years and has gone from strength to strength building a good reputation in the area.
Recently, during the early pandemic, I was asked to apply to become the highest grade of engineering membership, a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers (FICE) which was a great honour. This was awarded in mid 2020 for services to the public for identifying and remediating subsidence issues throughout the South West of England, and in particular Cornwall, because of the past mining legacy.
Job Experience/Skills
In my earlier jobs including my current role I have a practical skill set which would help the other Directors oversee surveys or problems with buildings and ground issues that may arise at the club. I am involved in the drainage improvements to the rear of the club house that are proposed to reduce risk and potentially prevent future flooding events.
As I run my own company in civil, structural and mining engineering and past other retail companies, plus having been an area manager of a large loss adjusting company, I have plenty of experience in running businesses, both day to day, and in long term planning. This skill set helps assist the other Directors and General Manager steer Tehidy Park Golf Club through the coming years.
I am used to attending and recording meetings and have written technical reports for over 30 years which would all contribute skills that could transfer and assist in the role in helping the other Directors at Tehidy Park Golf Club.
Finally, it is an honour to serve the club that I have had an association with for over 40 years.
