As a leading international development consultancy practice, Halcrow Consulting provides a multi-disciplinary service which includes development planning, economics, environmental, transport and engineering expertise. We are actively involved in a stimulating variety of projects across sectoral markets. These services are often supplied in support of major transport infrastructure and research projects with a regional or national focus. However, our team structure means that we can also provide services to planning authorities or private clients for single project commissions at a local level. We pride ourselves on being able to provide a genuine one stop for clients.
How do you reconcile different work demands?
Careful project and resource management is crucial to maintain the balance of skills across our responsibilities. The skills required for strategic regional studies are quite different to those required for environmental assessment, urban capacity or town centre work, or indeed to undertake area renewal or to process planning applications. It is therefore our policy to maintain a critical mass of diverse planning skills in each of our regional offices so that Halcrow, as a company can provide the full range of planning and development services across the country.
How does this work?
We have four excellent core planning teams within a regional structure which contains complementary business units. My team (link to Chris Watts email) based here in London, a team in Edinbrugh under Rick Finc (email link) one in Birmingham managed by Reuben Bellamy (email link) and the fourth in Swindon managed by Roger Prescott (email link) in addition to more dispersed project offices from where our consultants can operate as required. Each core team can deal with any planning or development issue, which may arise. Inter-office working, access to specialists and the transfer of skills are a feature of this system.
How would you define Halcrow's Specialist Planning activity?
Our core capabilities relate directly to our professional and technical staff. Particular sectors in which we are strong, include masterplanning, urban capacity studies, town centre strategies, area regeneration, environmental appraisal, economic development and residential planning. We have traditionally provided independent advice across the public and private sector, and now increasingly to third sector partnership organisations through our public consultation and participatory techniques.
For example?
We are currently progressing a major multi modal study for the South Coast and a variety of Urban Capacity Studies across the country. A major regeneration exercise is being undertaken for the Port of Sunderland and examination of a new canal route from Milton Keynes to Bedford. Planning applications representations and appeals are being undertaken on behalf of house-builders and developers across the United Kingdom. Our other regional offices are also very active in what is a buoyant market with an integrated land use and transportation study recently completed in Castle Morpeth and two major masterplanning exercises being undertaken in Scotland. In the retail sector we are undertaking town centre vitality and viability analyses as well as town centre strategies. We remain active in the leisure and accessibility field as well as increasingly being commissioned to provide regeneration services to Social Inclusion Partnerships. PPP and infrastructure is an important sector and more topically we recently assisted in dealing with the aftermath of the 2001 foot and mouth crisis.
Do you work with other Partners?
When appropriate. Halcrow has a long history of working with external partners where necessary, to add value to a project. We are looking to extend our range of strategic partners and form new alliances. As an example we are currently working with Roger Tym and Partners, on the Port of Sunderland regeneration and on the Milton Keynes sub regional study.
What are the core values and drivers in Halcrow?
Our business plan is client focussed and based on strong business and professional values. We are constantly honing the technical skills of our staff and encourage them to be innovative and entrepreneurial in seeking win-win solutions. Projects are resourced and managed with the interests of our clients uppermost. We are acutely aware of the need to perform in what is a competitive and skill rich market to deliver best value.
What does Halcrow offer a potential client?
Halcrow can offer a fully integrated multi-disciplinary package or an individually tailored service. Our staff are very experienced and knowledgeable. Most importantly we believe in a collaborative partnership approach to our relationship with clients and are committed and enthusiastic about our work. The best test of this is whether or not a client comes back for further work. I hope that we can continue to succeed in this respect. |
