Planning and Design

plan' n. way of proceeding
design' v.t. make working drawings for; sketch

Good environmental design balances form and function. Its satisfying returning to a site a few years after our designs have been implemented and seeing the changes. We've prepared environmental designs for sites ranging from a 5 km2 internationally important coastline to a 0.5 ha car park. Sometimes we work directly with the client, other times we are part of a team involving engineers, architects, planners, community developers and the like. The ability to work collectively, to find the common ground, is critical.

Project: Coatham and South Gare Development and Management Plan
Client: Tees Valley Wildlife Trust, in association with Corus, Tees and Hartlepool Port Authority and Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council

"We stood on the end of the South Gare, watching the huge transporters steaming up the Tees, the steel works brooding over the sands, trying to work out a future for this hugely atmospheric area. The various landowners wanted us to find a way forward which protected the international wildlife value of the site, whilst also meeting recreational demand; all this within funding, engineering and operational constraints".