Planning and designing for strategic growth has been at the centre of our practice activity since the company’s inception. We have amassed 30 years of experience in this field, taking projects from concept to construction. Our years of commitment to strategic planning have resulted in a legacy of places which are gradually gaining critical mass and form. Our strategic frameworks and spatial strategies have weathered economic cycles and regulatory changes and have demonstrated the enduring power and effectiveness of a compelling master plan and a thoughtfully crafted planning strategy. This booklet includes examples from a range of projects at different stages in the planning and development process.

The resurgence of interest in spatially-led strategic growth planning in England is reflected in the 2017 findings of the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC). Its work on the Oxford – Milton Keynes – Cambridge Arc has led to joint working between many of the affected local planning authorities; we are advising a number of them on the growth opportunities spanning local administrative boundaries.

Simultaneously, the new National Planning Policy Framework’s requirement for all local authorities to have a strategic plan for a minimum of fifteen years opens up the potential of a new chapter in spatial planning and infrastructure investment.

The chance to study longer-term growth needs is a liberating exercise with the freedom to consider how we will live, where we will work and how we can make the best use of our resources over a 50-year period. Local authorities who work together to understand and plan for growth across a wider area, and potentially across a longer time trajectory, can inspire market confidence, attract public investment and engender greater community acceptance, leading to better planning at the local level.

As industry leaders in strategic planning, we are well placed to respond to this shifting agenda. Our talented team of planners and masterplanners apply pragmatism and creativity in equal measure. Our offer is complemented by in-house capability in development viability and graphic design and is enhanced by the integration of GIS, mapping and a toolkit of innovative software initiatives for community and stakeholder engagement.