Vincent + Gorbing’s commitment to Hertfordshire

Vincent + Gorbing (V+G) has been a prominent architectural and planning consultancy for over 60 years, originating from the Development Corporation for Stevenage New Town. The complementary skills of architecture and planning has delivered a wide range of significant and exciting projects across Hertfordshire and beyond.

Highlights

• Masterplans: V+G has developed masterplans for large strategic sites, including the Port of Tilbury, redundant cement and aggregate works on behalf of Blue Circle/Lafarge/Tarmac, and residential led settlement extensions for strategic land clients and Hertfordshire County Council.

• Police schemes: V+G has undertaken numerous police projects in Hertfordshire, such as Stevenage Police Station, Hatfield Police Station, and the new Police Headquarters in Welwyn Garden City. Their expertise extends to projects in Devon, Bedfordshire, Staffordshire and Thames Valley.

• Education: V+G has completed major and minor refurbishment and new-build projects for institutions like the University of Hertfordshire, Oaklands College and London Metropolitan University. Education work also extends to private schools and DfE-funded projects partnering with locally based contractors.

• Industrial projects: Notable projects include a £100m cable factory in Blyth, and extension to the Wine Society in Stevenage, both designed by the architecture team, as well as numerous permissions secured by the planning team for self-storage providers including Safestore.

• Residential: The Planning and Architecture teams have worked with numerous large and regional house builders and registered providers in North London, Hertfordshire and other Home Counties.

• Historic buildings: V+G has extensive experience with historic and heritage buildings, including listed buildings and conservation areas.

Day-to-day projects

While the previous list features some of the larger commissions, the projects undertaken across the practice vary in scale, including relatively modest design schemes and small planning projects, which all bring their own challenges.

Current trends

• Planning: The team are looking forward to a boost in investment in all sectors following the Government’s support for growth and a push to ‘simplify’ the planning system. The recent changes to the NPPF and standard method for calculating housing need are welcome in this regard. The team are hoping that this support continues in terms of investment in local planning departments and progress of Local Plans to complete the circle to a more efficient planning system.

• Sustainability: V+G focuses on retrofitting existing structures to reduce carbon footprints, using highly insulated building envelopes, and decarbonising existing buildings. They have been pioneers in low-carbon construction, winning an award for their use of Hempcrete over 15 years ago.

• Residential design: Large-scale residential developments now face increasing complexity in planning policy compliance. V+G supports clients with master planning and urban design, utilising 3D modelling to simulate the appearance and impact of proposed developments. They also navigate new safety regulations following the Grenfell Fire, offering services as registered Principal Designers under the Building Safety Act.

Commitment to Hertfordshire

Vincent + Gorbing has recently become a Patron of the Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce, The whole team look forward to collaborating with members of the Chamber to shape and improve the built environment across the county.