TEP services

Green Infrastructure (GI) describes the network of natural spaces and corridors that intersperse and connect our cities, villages and towns.  These areas provide multiple benefits to local communities, including recreational space, improved health and well-being, natural habitats for wildlife, and vital environmental services such as pollution control, water supply, fisheries and flood alleviation. GI planning requires an understanding and articulation of “ecosystem services” relevant to the study area.

A picture says a thousand words. We use Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to describe our world in terms of its spatial relationships, patterns and trends. This applies as much to our social and built environment as it does to the natural environment for which GIS was first developed. The most common GIS product is a map, but using layers of information, GIS can also be used for strategic assessments, identifying priorities and needs within an area, helping decision-makers and focussing investment. Maps are also a vital visual aid in community and stakeholder engagement.

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) assesses the effects that certain new developments may have on the environment and recommends actions to enhance environmental benefits and reduce adverse effects. Whilst large scale regeneration projects, housing developments, new roads and electricity connections are necessary for the economy and society, TEP recognises that so too is a quality environment.

Delivering sustainable solutions requires the active involvement and the support of a number of different stakeholders; TEP has considerable skills and experience in identifying, and engaging with, a large variety of interested parties, groups and organisations. Our priority is to develop and maintain good relationships, creating the environment for effective two way dialogue.

Our RTPI qualified team at TEP has significant experience in guiding development proposals, from the feasibility stage through to the discharge of planning conditions. We give strategic advice on proposals, manage consultations and prepare applications for planning consent. This may include the production of supporting materials such as Design and Access Statements. We also provide expert evidence on planning issues at public inquiries and appeals, and underpin all of these processes with our stakeholder engagement services.

At TEP we understand the importance of ecosystems and the services they provide to society. Through surveying and understanding individual ecological systems, we can identify the potential ecological constraints to a development and seek realistic, cost-effective solutions to benefit both our clients and biodiversity. We provide advice on how constraints can be mitigated, or even made into a valuable feature, and, with our design teams, produce detailed drawings to illustrate this. We recognise the unique nature of each site and ensure our approach reflects this.