Nicholas Pearson Associates services

We provide environmental planning advice to a broad cross section of our clients. Our involvement can range from inputs on capital programmes to appointment to term consultancy frameworks, as well as site and project specific appointments. Strategic environmental planning advice is provided to government agencies, planning authorities as well as private developers, where involvement includes sustainability and option appraisals Consultation and attention to procedures are fundamental to our work and achieving planning consent with acceptable conditions and without judicial challenge. Our expertise includes planning application servicing, liaising with planning authorities, exhibition coordination and material provision, and advice on all stages of the EIA and planning process.

Landscape architecture combines environment and design, art and science.  It is about everything outside the front door, both urban and rural, at the interface between people and natural systems. The interaction between human activities and the natural world presents never-ending challenges to conserve, create and maintain the environment in which we live. We can provide the skills to survey and assess the character of both landscapes and seascapes. We design creative solutions to conserve, and enhance the rural and urban landscape. Our designs meet the needs of users of new development whilst respecting existing environmental resources, and contextual factors such as the historic sense of place. Of particular value to our clients is our multi-disciplinary approach in terms of our knowledge and understanding of wider environmental issues, and specifically with regard to UK biodiversity and ecology.

A variety of sustainability assessments are now undertaken of different projects types. These include BREEAM, Code for Sustainable Home assessments and CEEQUAL. Qualified ecologists are required to achieve credits in particular parts of these assessment processes. All of our ecologists are members of the Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (IEEM) and are experienced in undertaking the required parts of such assessments.

Ecology is the study of the interrelationships between all living organisms and their environment. Ecological science and ecological thinking are therefore cornerstones of environmental assessment. The importance of preserving ecological resources, including flora, fauna, habitats and the processes that link them, is now strongly recognised in law and ever more widely appreciated by the public.

A Geographical Information System (GIS) is a system that captures, stores, analyses, manages, reports and presents data that are linked to location. GIS is used at all stages of our projects as it enables us to take data from a variety of sources and help to establish the environmental features at a location and the surrounding area. This data can then provide a baseline of information that can be used throughout the entire life of the project. We use our expertise in Ecology, Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning to inform our GIS work. We can offer a specialist GIS service tailored to environmental consultancy. We can also provide GIS support in many application areas.