No, it’s not a typo! Hart District Council is well located in the north east corner of Hampshire and takes its name from the River Hart which flows through its centre. It is easy to get to, being just off the M3, just about half way between London and the south coast and enjoys fast train services from London Waterloo to Fleet. I have lived in Church Crookham, within Hart for 20 years now.
It is a semi-rural location, surrounded by beautiful Hampshire villages and countryside, we have the Basingstoke Canal close by, together with Fleet Ponds, Hartley Wintney with its pub overlooking the traditional cricket pitch, Odiham and RAF Odiham, a front line support helicopter base and home to three squadrons of Chinooks which are a familiar sight and sound as they fly overhead. There are numerous other smaller country parks and green spaces.
Having spent 25 years commuting into London, and then a further seven driving south to Southampton and Fareham, when the opportunity came along to move the office I was very keen at that it should be closer to home, so that I could reduce the time I spend commuting.
I have always wanted to challenge the concept that the most efficient way to work is to spend hours commuting to a very impersonal office, and then spend many, sometimes unproductive, hours there, before making a return journey. Technology has been helping, much of what we do involves keeping in touch with current affairs, business and corporate news, and now that information is available to us wherever we are and whenever we want it.
Raymond James have been hugely supportive of the move, and especially my aims to create a flexible working environment for our staff:
- Laura Jackson is still our administration guru! She works mainly from home, connecting into the office systems remotely, and coming to the office one or two days a week.
- Laila Kaddouri has joined us, I worked with Laila some years ago at Charles Stanley where she was a very accomplished Investment Manager. Laila has been living in Abu Dhabi but has now returned to the UK and is living in Exeter. She will be assisting us with investment research and reviews. Laila will also connect to the office remotely most of the time, but will meet with us on a monthly basis.
Initially the office will be based in Basingstoke (which is not technically within the Hart District Council) but we will ultimately be moving again to a purpose built office in Church Crookham which I’m really looking forward to sharing further news of when it happens.
Our telephone numbers and email addresses are unchanged, and you can follow us on Twitter at @RJUKHart.
I am certain that this move will mean that I can spend more time looking after my clients, more time at home with the family, which is important too, and less time on the road sitting in traffic jams and adding to climate change!