The new Environment Society Economy team will help clients to better assess and articulate the social, economic and environmental impact of new developments, as well as providing clients with the tools to understand the footprint of their existing activities.
Led by Partner, Mark Teasdale, the seven-strong team includes Partner, James Alflatt who is Head of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). The team provides a wide range of specialist skills and services, including: EIA, economic impact assessment; demographic modelling; housing land supply and needs assessment; social value measurement and monitoring; health impact assessment; and advice on the equalities impacts of new development. Several team members have expert witness experience across these service areas.
Advising across all sectors and consulting from instruction through to post-consent, the team will help clients to demonstrate the real value of their proposals at every stage of the planning process, ensuring applications are more closely aligned to local needs.
Mark Teasdale, Head of Environment Society Economy at Bidwells, explains: “High quality research, assessment and case-making is at the heart of our planning advice for clients. We use a wide range of technical tools, databases and compliance with legislative frameworks to ensure that we understand the environmental and socio-economic conditions which help our clients to anticipate the future demographic trends which matter”.
Bidwells already has a strong track record in this space, advising on several large projects for leading UK developers and investors across the UK. Recent experience includes:
· Preparing a Community Investment Plan for The Crown Estate to support their proposals for the redevelopment of the former Debenhams building in Oxford city centre to a life sciences laboratory.
· A 4,000-home masterplan for Attleborough Land Ltd, Brookgate’s flagship mixed-use Life Sciences, Office and Build-to-Rent scheme in Cambridge.
· Providing the planning advice, economics, social value and health assessment for Kingston University’s brand new building for the Kingston School of Art.
The firm is also one of only five property consultancies in the UK to be accredited by The Institute for Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA) – the global professional body for anyone working in environment and sustainability, with their coveted EIA Quality Mark, demonstrating our national competency in the field of EIA. We are at the forefront of good practice on EIA and we work hard to stay there.
The creation of the Bidwells Environment Society Economy team is part of the firm’s growing investment in sustainability services. This is at the heart of the Bidwells 2030 growth strategy, which includes plans to double the size of its business and expand its service offering geographically across the UK.
