The latest private sector business to open its doors on the island is Anguilla Property Consultants whose owner is Mr. Gifford Connor, a former Director of Lands and Surveys in the Anguilla Public Service. The eye-catching building, housing the business, is located at Swing High at the entrance to South Hill.
The ribbon was cut by Mr. Connor’s wife, Mrs. Kathryne Connor, and the building was blessed by the Right Rev. Errol Brooks. In attendance were a number of friends and neighbours including some of Mr. Connor’s past colleagues in the Ministry and Department of Lands.
Mr. Connor has had a long career in land surveying, demarcation and registration matters. According to him, he was one of the persons who started the conversion of land from a conveyance or deed system to a registered system. In 1972 he worked with the Cadastral Survey and Registration Project before assuming duties at the Government-run Lands and Surveys Department. He was trained as a Surveyor in Jamaica and underwent further training in England. He has had over thirty years in the public service.
“We are offering a variety of services,” Mr. Connor told The Anguillian about his private business. “Our main services will be surveys, evaluations and property construction management. Anything about surveying and property we will be doing. There is so much about property that people need to understand, and we will be providing all the information they require through consultations and other services.”
Mr. Connor said his new business was not just an extension or continuation of his previous services, but in fact an effort to give back to the Anguillian community.
He was grateful to a number of persons who assisted him with the establishment of Anguilla Property Services. Among them was Mr. Albert Lake, one of the island’s largest property owners, who wanted to see him succeed, and from whom he purchased the original building.
Mr. Connor, a Methodist, was also delighted to have Bishop Brooks blessing his office building. He explained that one of the reasons he had chosen the top Anglican Clergyman to perform that service was because he [the Bishop] was his role model in school; they were both on B House; and, as a fast runner, the Bishop was an inspiration to him. A second reason was that his [Mr. Connor’s] wife was an Anglican but she had become a Methodist. He thought he should “give back” to her by requesting the Anglican Bishop to bless the building, having previously blessed a villa they own at North Hill.
Mr. Connor took the opportunity of opening his new business to invite all property owners, and other stakeholders needing assistance, to visit his office to discuss how they could benefit from his professional services.
