Construction work has started on the UK’s largest solar power farm, thanks to Bath-based agricultural land specialists at West law firm Thrings. The firm acted in collaboration with land agency WebbPaton on behalf of the landowner of the 230-acre site near Didcot, including negotiating the lease of the land to Hampshire-based solar farm developer...
Some of the Bath area’s best-known business figures – and some who are lesser known – have been recognised in today’s New Year’s Honours list. Grand Designs presenter Kevin McCloud, pictured, who lives in a 15th-century farmhouse near Frome, has been honoured for services to sustainable living and energy saving with the MBE. Mr...
GreenSquare, the social housing group with an office in Chippenham, has been placed among the top five housing associations in the UK. It is the only South West-based housing association to be included in the list, compiled by leading industry magazine 24housing and the Housing Quality Network (HQN). GreenSquare came in at number five...
Chippenham-based renewable electricity supplier Good Energy is taking legal advice following a challenge to its plans to build a 28 megawatt (MW) solar energy site in East Dorset. The firm, which received planning consent for the project in November, said it understood a claim had been submitted to the Administrative Court for a judicial...
Two projects by Bath-based built environment design practice Nash Partnership have been shortlisted in a prestigious national awards scheme. The St Paul’s project in Cheltenham – a consultation-led masterplan for Cheltenham Borough Homes – is competing in the ‘regeneration’ category of the Placemaking Awards while the Kingston Mills scheme in Bradford on Avon is...
Ideas on the best way to create sustainable jobs and growth across the West of England are being invited from Bath firms. The Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) today launches a six-week public consultation on its Strategic Economic Plan (SEP) – a blueprint for growth over the next six years. The Government has challenged England’s...
A recently-opened waterfront park in South Shields designed by Bath-based landscape architects Grant Associates has achieved a major national accolade. The CEEQUAL award recognises the £2.3m Harton Quays Park’s high environmental and social performance. CEEQUAL awards are presented to innovative civil engineering, infrastructure, landscaping and public realm projects. Harton Quays Park stretches along the River...
The Manufacturing Advisory Service has appointed a supply chain specialist in the South West to ensure that manufacturers gain a significant share of the lucrative opportunities presented by the UK’s burgeoning offshore wind market. Nick Kirsop-Taylor, pictured, will help firms tap into the recently-launched £20m GROW:OffshoreWind service that supports companies looking to break into...
A West of England property expert is warning that Government plans to give communities a greater say over wind turbine proposals are deeply flawed and could scupper many small schemes. James Davis, pictured, who heads the regionally-based planning team at national property consultancy Sanderson Weatherall, fears the changes will make smaller renewable energy schemes...
Bath-based international engineering consultancy Buro Happold has been named as the most cycle-friendly employer in the West of England in the Travelwest Sustainable Business Travel Awards. The firm’s Bath office – one of the largest of its 25 around the world – has achieved a 50% increase in staff cycling to and from work...
