News

Economical sustainability and compliance

Cutting the cost of achieving sustainable developments while complying with increasingly demanding regulations will be the theme of a seminar for BTP clients to be held during October 2006. The event is the second in a series of meetings which seek to address the key issues currently faced by the company’s clients.

Following a highly successful seminar on brownfield land development which took place in May, topics within the forthcoming event are likely to include:

• masterplanning
• access, traffic and travel
• flood risk protection
• ecology and landscape.

The previous seminar on brownfield land development was held at the Technology Centre, near Hyder’s regional office on Surrey Research Park, near Guildford. The packed event sought to help BTP clients understand and deal with the key issues associated with building on previously developed land. It highlighted some of the potential hazards which lie in wait for the would-be developer in most previously developed sites, and demonstrated how appropriate and timely professional support can help to ensure commercial viability, sustainability and regulatory compliance.

The four business sessions were kept short and punchy, and most of the presentations were rated good or excellent on feedback forms. Specific observations from attendees were overwhelmingly positive, including comments such as: “excellent”, “informative”, “very useful”, “very helpful overview”, “well presented”, “one stop shop”, “well balanced”, and “well run”.

Following the seminar, BTP were approached by attendees for advice regarding the investigation of land contamination, and liaison with regulatory bodies. The company has also been asked to assess possible remediation options for sites previously deemed as ‘not viable for development”.

In association with the seminar, BTP published a compact guide to brownfield land development, additional copies of which can be obtained from: rosemary.barnett@bt-p.co.uk

Improved services to boost South East development

Additional expert help and an even more comprehensive range of services are available, following the acquisition of Bettridge Turner and Partners by Hyder Consulting earlier this year. Access to a larger number of professionals with specialist knowledge and expertise will enable clients to respond even more effectively to the opportunities created by Government’s strategic ambitions for further development, particularly in South and East England.

According to Richard Bettridge, Managing Director, Bettridge Turner and Partners, “Together BTP and Hyder have a great deal of experience of helping to deliver development projects, combined with professional resources totalling more than 3,000 individuals world-wide. The responsiveness and customer focus which our private sector clients value is now married with the capability to support larger projects and provide additional advice on the latest development challenges, such as conservation of water and energy”.

BTP is a multidisciplinary consultancy with a reputation for enabling developments in the retail, commercial and residential markets across the UK. The company’s success has been built on the quality of its in-house experts in the technical aspects of development planning and execution. This is now reinforced and complemented by Hyder Consulting’s UK and international leadership in environmental, engineering, planning and management consultancy.

Bettridge Turner and Partners is already established as one of South East England’s leading independent civil, structural and transportation consultancies. But the company also has growing capabilities in highway and infrastructure design, geotechnical and geo-environmental engineering, landscape design and environmental impact, as well as flood studies and hydrological work. As part of Hyder, BTP will continue to operate from its established offices in Cobham, Maidstone, Berkhamsted and Droitwich, trading as Bettridge Turner & Partners, A Division of Hyder Consulting (UK) Limited.

The range of services available through Hyder Group companies has been further enhanced by the recent acquisition of Cresswell Associates, a leader in the provision of environmental consultancy services, particularly in the areas of ecology, conservation and bio-diversity studies. According to Alan Proctor, Executive Director (UK & Europe) of Hyder Consulting UK, “BTP and Cresswell are entirely aligned with Hyder Group's values, being focused on delivering high quality client services via highly skilled consultancy staff”.

For the Summer 2006 Bulletin please click here (348kb)

All documents listed on this page were created using Adobe Acrobat® and require the latest Acrobat Reader® for proper viewing. If you do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader® click the on icon to download it free of charge.