The Ecology Consultancy, an industry leading ecological consultancy, has expanded its regional operations into The North of England with the establishment of a new office in Wakefield. This comes a short time after the launch of The Ecology Consultancy’s Midlands office in August and Temple’s (The Ecology Consultancy’s sister company) Manchester office, launched in October, all forming part of the organisation’s 2020 growth strategy, announced earlier this year.
The Ecology Consultancy will now be able to offer high-quality ecology consultancy services and bespoke wildlife conservation solutions to clients in The North, building upon The Ecology Consultancy’s reputation for providing technical expertise, pragmatic advice and a wide range of ecological services to the development, planning and construction sectors across much of the UK.
The Ecology Consultancy’s Technical Director Giles Coe said: “The new office represents the next stage in The Ecology Consultancy’s plans to provide comprehensive coverage for projects wherever they may be situated in the UK. In order to provide a competitive and bespoke service to our clients it is essential not only that we are well placed geographically to access sites, but that we employ local staff with an in-depth knowledge of wildlife issues in their region.”
Primarily based out of their Wakefield Office, The Ecology Consultancy’s Northern team will also be operating from the newly opened Manchester office of their sister organisation, Temple – enabling them to provide ecological consultancy services to clients both sides of the Pennines. Together with Temple: a property and infrastructure consultancy specialising in environment, planning and sustainability, clients will now be able to take full advantage of an enhanced service offering across the North.
Leading the establishment of this new Northern office will be Associate Director Dr Sarah Cox, a chartered ecologist and environmentalist, who has joined The Ecology Consultancy from Keystone Environmental where she was Head of Ecology. Sarah has over 18 years of commercial consultancy experience from previous roles at Keystone, Penny Anderson Associates and The British Trust for Ornithology and has worked on a variety of large-scale construction and nationally significant infrastructure projects as well as developing a proven expertise in urban ecology and green infrastructure planning. Sarah brings with her excellent local knowledge and experience of navigating the region’s biodiversity, planning laws, and policy that has been gained from 20 years working in the region.
The Northern team will provide all the necessary ecology services that are required for successful project completion, with specialist experience in ecological assessment, including Preliminary Ecological Appraisal, Ecological Impact Assessments, Stage 1 and 2 Habitats Regulations Assessment, Biodiversity Offsetting, BREEAM/CSH ecology assessments and proven ability in the role of expert witness. The team is experienced in managing large and small scale survey programmes for a variety of protected species including amphibians, bats, birds, badgers, dormouse, otter, reptiles and water vole; and the subsequent design, licensing and implementation of wildlife mitigation measures in order facilitate construction.
The Ecology Consultancy will also bring specific support to design and architecture teams in the region with the provision of expert advice on green infrastructure planning, including the design and specification of green roofs, green walls, rain gardens, and sustainable urban drainage systems, all of which help to deliver quality of life and ecosystem benefits to development projects.
