Two East Midlands-based firms joined forces to turn the spotlight on ways to create more sustainable large-scale developments.
Civil and structural engineering company BSP Consulting and sustainable land and resource management consultants Sherwood Associates jointly hosted a seminar which focused on BREEAM Communities.
An invited audience of leading house builders, architects and planners heard more details about the assessment method that provides a way to improve, measure and certify the social, environmental and economic sustainability of large-scale development plans by integrating sustainable design into the master planning process.
BSP and Sherwood Associates are both experts in BREEAM Communities, and are currently involved in a BREEAM Communities housing development being created at Newton on Trent, Lincolnshire. BSP is also part of the team developing the Castleward regeneration scheme in Derby which became only the second development project in the country to achieve the accreditation.
“This was an excellent opportunity for BSP Consulting and Sherwood Associates to share our experience and expertise in the area of BREEAM Communities, and to hear first-hand from the BRE about the scheme, which is all about developers and planners working together to achieve the most sustainable outcomes for major sites,” said Jef Todd, business development director at BSP Consulting.
Managing Director of Melton Mowbray-based Sherwood Associates Kate Hiseman said: “Sustainable communities are places where people want to live and work, now and in the future. They are sensitive to their environment, and contribute to a high quality of life. They are safe and inclusive, well planned, built and run, and offer equality of opportunity and good services for all. As the East Midlands first BREEAM Communities Assessor we were delighted to have the chance to promote this vision by jointly hosting this event with BSP Consulting, who, like us, have been involved in such schemes.”
Among the speakers at the seminar were Cary Buchanan, scheme manager for BREEAM Communities, Alex Gray, senior projects officer at the Sustainable Land Trust, Mark Rayers, director (transportation) at BSP Consulting, Matthew Viggars, associate at BSP Consulting, Kate Hiseman and Jef Todd.
The event, held at Melton Mowbray, also included a session for members of the Royal Town Planning Institute Young Planners Network.
Nottingham-based BSP Consulting, which also has offices in Derby, Leicester and Sheffield, provides civil, structural, traffic, transportation, geotechnical and environmental engineering services across the construction industry in all sectors.
Sherwood Associates work with landowners, developers and communities offering a range of sustainability, ecology, consultation, and natural resource management services both in the UK and abroad.
For more information visit www.bsp-consulting.co.uk or www.ssea.co.uk
