As Managing Director of Brighton based Urban Edge Environmental Consulting I lead on technical co-ordination and project management of our ecology, impact assessment and environmental planning projects, and am responsible for identification and development of new business opportunities, bid preparation and interviews. Sectors include residential, retail, commercial and mixed-use developments, renewable energy projects, transport schemes and programmes, minerals, and local and strategic spatial planning.My objective is to secure prompt planning consent for our clients, based on a proportionate, pragmatic and effective approach to ecological mitigation, and sound field survey data. I lead our ecological consultancy projects, carrying out Preliminary Ecological Appraisals and Ecological Impact Assessments for schemes of all sizes, coordinate detailed protected species surveys, and subsequently obtain mitigation licences and discharge of conditions. For strategic planning projects (including local plan assessment), my objective is to enable practical strategic decision-making capable of withstanding public scrutiny, and which delivers sustainable developments over the long term. I have extensive practice in Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) / Sustainability Appraisal (SA) and Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA) and have been centrally involved with more than three dozen HRA for strategic planning policy documents, over 40 combined SA/SEA and more than 50 project-level HRA. In my capacity as SEA/SA and HRA lead, I have participated in several Examinations in Public for Local Plan documents, representing clients including Fareham Borough Council, South Downs National Park Authority, Petersfield Town Council, Bradford Metropolitan District Council, Luton Borough Council, Arun District Council and Eastleigh Borough Council. I have also supported a number of private developers at Planning Inquiries, principally in relation to bats.

Responsibilities: Technical team leader on HRA/SEA, joint business development and bid-writing responsibility, project management and quality control, co/lead author of technical documents, co-ordination of the ecological contractors.

Wide-ranging experience in SEA/EIA (flood risk plans/projects, transport programmes/projects, protected landscapes, regional economic strategies, spatial planning documents); active role in helping the company to implement its UK carbon reduction strategy.

Written consultation responses to planning applications, scoping reports and environmental reports/statements; pre-application meetings & internal consultations between different technical divisions.