ENGINEERING
DESIGN
Agents
for change
How engineering design consultancy Hydrock is pioneering societal transformation from Cornwall. This year’s G7 summit at Carbis Bay put Cornwall firmly in the limelight of the world stage, with Cornwall’s traditions and natural beauty emerging as common themes in the media. Staff at Hydrock have long benefitted from the quality of life available locally, which has helped the business to attract and retain highly skilled and qualified talent. Indeed, Hydrock has been privileged to build a reputation within its team in Cornwall for innovation and delivery on schemes of all scales both within the county and beyond. For its engineers firmly rooted in Cornwall for the past 20 years, they are enthused by the rich vein of engineering heritage that includes well-known innovators such as Trevithick, Davy and Matthews, and motivated by the innovative and ambitious engineering of the future, that is Cornwall born and bred. 28 | BUSINESS CORNWALL
Investing in infrastructure Hydrock feels very at home in Cornwall, surrounded by like-minded businesses who want to be a force for good, and play an integral role in helping Cornwall achieve net zero carbon by 2030, 20 years ahead of the rest of the UK. By working alongside companies such as Treveth (Cornish for ‘Homestead’), established by Cornwall Council, it is proud to be at the heart of creating not just sustainable developments, but sustainable communities, that meet the needs of people with local links and addresses the affordability gap. Likewise, it is working with the education sector to provide new schools, colleges and higher education facilities that support the community and develop talent in Cornwall.
Engineering design consultancies like Hydrock are instrumental in delivering the infrastructure which will support and enable growth. Cornwall has attracted funding to deliver schemes including fundamental improvements to the A30 across Bodmin Moor and, shortly, Chiverton to Carland Cross; the Pool link road; and the forthcoming St Austell link. The G7 summit leaves a legacy of investment at Cornwall Airport (one of the UK’s longest runways) – just one of many Cornish pieces of the national infrastructure jigsaw which includes the emerging Spaceport, deep water docks at Falmouth, geothermal engineering at the Hot Rocks project, Goonhilly Earth Station, Deep Blue and Cornish Lithium.
In the right place, at the right time
Hydrock’s national transportation director, James McKechnie, explains: “Our integrated multi-disciplinary team
