Permitting, consents and stakeholder engagement
It is critical to integrate environmental, social and economic requirements when making decisions about land use, urban design and infrastructure planning.
Handled well, the planning process can facilitate faster and more efficient delivery, better societal and environmental outcomes, and reputational and commercial advantage. Effective relationships with project stakeholders can build support and understanding, while reducing delivery risks and avoiding costly delays. Delivering excellence in planning results in better places and outcomes for clients, people and planet
To achieve planning success, a diversity of minds and experience is essential. To deliver better outcomes for major infrastructure projects, it’s necessary to harness the expertise of environmental planners, engineers, climate and sustainability experts, land referencing and consultancy, social value practitioners, stakeholder engagement professionals, and others.
What can we do for you?
We work across multiple markets in many different territories. This enables us to transfer the best of our global experience and excellence to clients all over the world.
Integrated expertise and delivery
Our collaborative and integrated teams shape sustainable and holistic client outcomes. We combine core planning expertise, including master planning, land advisory, stakeholder engagement and consultancy and impact assessment. We integrate this, working with our leading expertise across sectors, including energy, health, transport, buildings, defence and security, and water.
Understanding places, people and planning requirements
We support clients to understand stakeholder requirements and expectations throughout the planning process. Harnessing this, we deliver effective engagement that empowers successful projects to enhance reputations and contribute to prosperous, healthy and sustainable places and communities.
Managing client risk and improving certainty
Supporting major infrastructure projects, we work with clients from the earliest stages to improve project outcomes. We help clients to identify and manage project and programme planning risks. We provide advice and support that mitigates challenges, improves certainty, achieves consents and approvals, and the long-term outcomes achieved as a result.
Shoreham Harbour flood alleviation, Sussex, UK. In this project to provide flood protection over 7.2km of river frontage, we developed planning applications and managed the contractor.
Navigating planning, permitting, and consents successfully
Planning begins at a project’s earliest stages. We help you map the risks and considerations to smoothly obtain planning consent and progress projects. Our planning experts identify opportunities to increase the certainty of approval, reduce costs and risks, accelerate development timetables and deliver on your business case.
Meet the team
Our experience
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A303 Sparkford to Ilchester improvements, UKOur joint venture with Sweco provided planning, design and environmental assessment input to support the development of a nationally significant infrastructure project to construct a dual carriageway on the A303 between Sparkford and Ilchester, to alleviate congestion and queuing. We provided extensive support for this complex project, including stakeholder engagement and public consultation along with robust environmental assessment and design to ensure a high quality application. We took it through the options identification and assessment, preferred route announcement, development consent order application and examination stages, achieving consent from the secretary of state.
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Bristol Temple Quarter, UKWorking with Bristol City Council, Network Rail, Homes England and the West of England Combined Authority, we led the development and design of a masterplan for the refurbishment of Bristol’s iconic grade I listed rail station, alongside improvements to accessibility, inclusivity and connectivity, and the creation of urban spaces for 22,000 new jobs and 10,000 homes.
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California High-Speed Rail, USAWe provided permitting and right-of-way acquisition services for three segments of the system, each with challenging elements. Palmdale to Los Angeles (105Km) includes challenging terrain, major seismic fault lines, and densely populated cities. Fresno to Palmdale (160Km) crosses the Mojave Desert and prime farmland. Los Angeles to Orange County (48Km) is already used by Amtrak and Metrolink commuter trains.
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ElecLink, UKWe oversaw the planning application and environmental impact assessment for a new interconnector using the Channel Tunnel to connect the French and UK national electricity networks. Through early engagement with the UK energy ministry, we ensured this project was compliant with new EU legislation and secured permission without a lengthy development consent order process.
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Northern Distributor Road (Broadland Northway), Norwich, UKOur planning work centred on enabling the construction of 22km of dual carriageway to alleviate multiple traffic issues within and around Norwich. Collaborating closely with Norfolk County Council engineers, we ensured a development consent order compliant application and effective funding bid. Our work included preparation of all environmental supporting documents and giving evidence at the examination in public.
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Rapid Charging, London, UKFor this new network of rapid electric charging points across London, we developed the planning and engagement strategy in partnership with borough authorities and formulated the site selection strategy with the contractor to bring planning constraints to the front end to speed up project delivery. We delivered over 50 planning approvals in six months.
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Shoreham Harbour flood alleviation, Sussex, UKIn this project to provide flood protection over 7.2km of river frontage, we developed planning applications and managed the contractor. The project prioritised environmental, landscape and ecological enhancement, even as we delivered best value engineering solutions.
FUTURES
What does the future look like? In a rapidly changing world, can we truly plan for it?
Using collaborative foresight tools, FUTURES helps government and planning bodies at all levels to consider their preferred future and accommodate the uncertainties that are outside of their control.
Land Management
Land Management captures and makes available information about land ownership and access that is essential for smooth project development. The solution records and provides instant access to these details, plus information on surveys and stakeholder communications.