Urban Designer - Senior to Director Level

Iceni Projects

Urban Designer/Masterplanner

Senior to Director level

Iceni Projects are Hiring | Join the Tribe | July 2023

About Us The Role

“The judges said this entry was a breath of fresh air to read. Iceni stood out as different, creative, colourful and innovative. They’ve not been afraid to break away from the mould and be themselves, having developed their own successful and imaginative approach to clients and staff offering above and beyond what is expected from a large consultancy.

“The judges were especially impressed by Iceni’s tribal ethos, in the sense that they have created a culture which is staff focused and highlights the importance of their wellbeing above all else.”

RTPI Awards for Planning Excellence 2021

A Multi-skilled Consultancy

Formed in 2005, Iceni is now the market leader and preferred consultancy for a fast-growing number of clients. From our offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow, London, and Manchester, we deliver on a variety of schemes across the UK.

Context

Iceni Projects is seeking a strategic masterplanner to join its strategic planning team. The function of the team is summarised in this job description, and also includes the team members.

Our Design and Landscape Team are currently working on a number of exciting projects for a range of clients. This includes the planning of a large-scale urban extension in Southend for Bellway Homes; a new settlement for Estates & Agency in West Horndon, which is positioned on the administrative boundary of Brentwood and Thurrock; and several largescale developments for Mac& Mic. The team is also working closely with our Engagement Team on several town centre regeneration projects across England and a number of renewable power NSIPs.

The successful candidate will have experience of strategic masterplanning, will be energetic, a team player, and able to produce high quality outputs.

Mission & Values

Iceni is not mainstream. We are different. We are nontemplated. We work hard together, and we play hard together. We are proud of what we have created: our brand and our team. We are proud of what we produce and what we will leave behind.

We believe in standing out. We pursue new and better. Our mission is to improve the lives of the people we meet and of those that follow. We are ambitious, proactive, bold, hard-working, determined, fun, sharp, tenacious, energetic, inclusive, fearless, entrepreneurial, known for acting with integrity, progressive, collaborative, and commercial.

We give clients the edge in their projects through the provision of up to date and clear advice that goes beyond the standard offer in the sector. We understand the commercial aspects of projects, combining this with attention to detail and a real passion for delivering success. We are here to contribute to creating and improving great cities, by great people, for great people. This is why we exist. This is what we stand for.

 SEEPARK, Southend Bellway Homes

 West Horndon, Essex Estates & Agency Strategic Land

 Arena Essex, Thurrock London Strategic Land

The Role Profile

Job title: Senior/Associate/ Associate Director/Director (Design)

Department: Strategic Planning

Job purpose: to support Directors in delivering successful and profitable projects , and to build the team

Contract duration: Permanent

Reports to: Team Director

Salary/Grade: Negotiable, based on experience and seniority

Location: London (preferable), Manchester, Glasgow or Edinburgh

General Responsibilities

ƒ Health and Safety

ƒ Equal Opportunities

ƒ Quality Assurance

ƒ Commitment to continuous development (CPD, training, etc)

ƒ Compliance (Professional Compliance and Company)

Accountabilities and Responsibilities

Summary

The role involves leading and devising masterplanning and urban design solutions responding to a wide range of projects including:

ƒ Greenfield and Brownfield masterplanning

ƒ Large-scale strategic masterplanning, i.e. garden village scale

ƒ Land budgeting and phasing

ƒ Preparation of Design Codes and Design and Access Statements

ƒ Promotional strategies and Vision Documents

ƒ Public consultation, i.e. preparation of consultation materials

We are looking for an experienced, strategically-minded and resultsdriven practitioner, with experience in managing and developing complex masterplanning and urban design solutions across a range of scales.

The ideal candidate should have a clear commitment to an integrated design philosophy and be capable of bringing together a broad range of specialist contributors in an innovative and efficient manner across the business and its specialisms.

They should be able to communicate complex design concepts simply and efficiently to clients, and be able to manage multiple projects and team members.

The ideal candidate will have the ability to lead client-facing engagement for a range of different clients, including private developers, institutional customers and public sector bodies.

Ideally, the candidate should be capable of winning and delivering work (with guidance based on level of experience), from client development through bid strategy and execution, to project delivery and completion.

The Candidate

Relevant Experience

Relevant Experience

A minimum of 5 years post qualification experience in an environmental or planning consultancy or public sector environment or closely related professional field (Real Estate, Housing Market, Planning, Environment and Economics) , specifically focused on masterplanning and urban design, and mostly for Feasibility, Local Plan Promotion or Outline Planning stages

Preferred Education and Background

We would expect candidates to have a first degree or master’s degree in one of the following subject areas, accredited to the relevant professional body: Urban Design Built Architecture Landscape Design Town Planning Architecture or, closely related discipline

ƒ Produce high quality fee proposals and support the wider Tribe with winning new instructions.

ƒ Be an interface with the wider Tribe and act as a key client interface at a technical project level.

ƒ Ability to work in a team on large-scale projects and autonomously manage smaller projects.

ƒ Participate in forums to assist in the development of new ideas / innovation to promote and improve the company design reputation.

ƒ Work closely with our Graphic Design Team to prepare visually rich documents and to develop project branding.

ƒ Overall project management including program and resource monitoring, quality control, technical management and delivery.

Personal Skills and Qualities

Responsibilities

ƒ Managing projects effectively and efficiently.

ƒ Collective responsibility for a team Business Plan and delivering results contained within.

ƒ Support business development for the Masterplanning and Urban Design Portfolio Team and broaden the client base.

ƒ Maintain relationships with existing clients.

ƒ Ability to advise, manage and agree instructions with clients, manage programmes and deliverables.

ƒ Attendance at design team meetings with clients, other design collaborators, and communicate design.

ƒ Ensure strong team communication to facilitate exchanges of information and knowledge across the wider practice.

ƒ Reporting on a regular basis to the senior management team, ensuring accurate and timely reports of key project deliverables.

ƒ Excellent written and verbal communication skills including being able to draft documents with grammatical accuracy.

ƒ Compliance with existing companywide systems, such as time recording, CRM and QMS.

The Role

Accountabilities and Responsibilities

Competencies Competencies

ƒ Willingness and ability to be proactive in securing new work as part of the team and individually. (Essential)

ƒ Past experience as project director or project manager of complex Masterplaning and Urban Design projects. (Desirable)

ƒ Proven skills in winning work and developing client relationships. (Desirable)

ƒ Excellent interpersonal, communication and negotiation skills. (Essential)

ƒ Exceptional in written and spoken English and have good report writing abilities. (Essential)

ƒ Ability to author reports, designs and communications for issue. (Essential)

ƒ Ability to develop and maintain positive internal and external relationships. (Essential)

ƒ Ability to manage work within an identified budget. (Essential)

ƒ Ability to understand, probe and translate material produced by technical specialists for communication to clients. (Essential)

ƒ Experience and understanding of working as part of a progressive team. (Essential)

ƒ Experience of client facing needs. Able to manage and mentor colleagues across multiple projects. (Essential)

ƒ Vectorworks, QGIS, Sketchup, other CAD programs

ƒ Competent in the use of Microsoft Office Suite, AutoCAD and Adobe Creative Cloud Suite (a number of CAD software experience will be considered). (Essential)

ƒ Experience of some or all of the following would also be very useful: ArcGIS, AutoCAD Civils 3DRhino or Revit. (Essential)

Personal Attributes

Other Requirements

ƒ Relevant combination of degrees, experience, and charterships / accreditations.

ƒ Sharp commercial acumen and ability.

ƒ Entrepreneurial spirit.

ƒ Confident in representing the company at networking and speaking engagements, including pitches.

ƒ Enjoyment in being part of, as well as leading, managing, motivating and training a successful and productive team.

Other Requirements

Other Requirements

ƒ Right to work in UK for at least 2 continuous years.

ƒ Occasional work and attendance at meetings outside normal working hours.

ƒ A full driving licence or other means of visiting sites in a timely and responsive manner.

About Us

Your Strategic Adviser

Archaeology

Transport

Birmingham

The Colmore Building

20 Colmore Circus

Birmingham, B4 6AT

T: 0121 262 4148

Edinburgh

7 Alva Street

Edinburgh, EH2 4PH

T: 0131 370 3486

Impact Managment

Built Heritage & Townscape

Glasgow

177 West George

Street Glasgow, G2 2LB

T: 0141 465 4996

London

Da Vinci House

44 Saffron Hill, London, EC1N 8FH

T: 020 3640 8508

Manchester

WeWork, Dalton Place

29 John Dalton Street, Manchester, M2 6FW

T: 0161 509 2840

The Team Structure of Iceni

ENGAGEMENT & PLACE

Ian Anderson Chief Executive

Andrew Gale Chief Operating Officer

James Bompas Director | Business Devt. & Strategic Planning

ARCHAEOLOGY

Claire Cogar Director

BUILT HERITAGE & TOWNSCAPE

Laurie Handcock Director

Nick Walker Director

DESIGN

Paul Drew Director

ECONOMICS

Nick Ireland Director

Matt Kinghan Director

Paul McColgan Director

Gemma Gallant Director

Philippa Curran Director

IMPACT MANAGEMENT

James Jaulim Director

LANDSCAPE

Silke Gruner Director

PLANNING

Anna Snow Director

Callum Fraser Director

Chris Jones Director

Gary Mappin Director

Ian Gallacher Director

Ian Mayhead Director

James Waterhouse Director

Jamie Sullivan Director

John Mumby Director

Kieron Hodgson Director

Leona Hannify Director

Lorna O’Carroll Director

Nick Grant Director

TRANSPORT

Clive Burbridge Director

Fred Peters Director

Mike England Director

Rob Amey Director

The Role

The Strategic Team

Team Strategic are the largest team within Iceni. We’re a group with a diverse and complimentary range of skillsets that enable us to work on all types of interesting developments and studies. A lot of our work is focused on complex and lengthy projects that have existing Development Plan conflict and therefore need policy modification and/or a prima facie planning case that justifies deviation from the Development Plan. Irrespective of the project, we pride ourselves on presenting compelling planning justification, linked around measuring the economic, social and environmental effects of development.

The team is unique within Iceni in terms of encompassing a wide range of skillsets and specialist fields. We comprise strategic planners, economists and impact specialists, and we pride ourselves on being highly adaptable, and willing to learn new skills and adapting the business to respond to the everchanging world within which we operate. This puts the team at the forefront of the company’s Futures initiative, which puts climate change at the heart of the planning system and strives to innovate and improve our profession and the built environment.

Strategic Planning

To Iceni, strategic planning is simple. It’s what we fundamentally believe to be the right way of doing things; to assess needs, evaluate constraints and maximise opportunities. It’s far from the dusty misconception of bookish planners working in the corner of office last decorated in the 1970’s; it’s about having a strategic vision for opportunities, looking beyond the throttling constraint of development management policies, and utilising a diverse range of skills to deliver large scale infrastructure and development projects to a client’s commercial advantage.

Strategic planning projects are diverse, yet they have numerous common threads. It’s not their size, but the scale of ambition that drives them. It’s the importance of a depth of understanding of the planning system, its driving principles and its processes. It’s about community

engagement. It’s about influence in the seats of power. It’s about the understanding of development viability. It’s about an understanding of technical disciplines. It’s about forging relationships between landowners, developers, delivery agencies, authorities and national and local stakeholders. It’s about harnessing the dynamics of a siteand an area.

Design and Landscape

Our Design and Landscape team pride themselves in finding the best development solution for sites, ensuring we respond to our clients’ briefs, reduce environmental impacts, and create attractive and inspiring places which align with planning policy aspirations.

We provide quality, expert advice to shape development proposals to suit not only our clients’ needs, but also to highlight the benefits and credentials of the proposals in order to maximise the prospects for planning permission.

Our talented team brings together expertise in urban planning, landscape planning, and design to deliver projects on an extensive range of scales. Our schemes range from the redevelopment of small brownfield sites, to sensitive landscape-led extension of existing neighbourhoods, to the masterplanning of new villages and towns. Our expertise-led approach ensures that all factors are properly considered within design strategies that address social, economic and environmental issues, leading to successful outcomes for our clients and the local communities.

We work closely with other experts in ecology, heritage, transport and flood management, amongst others, to balance the technical requirements for development with sustainable design solutions. Whether it’s the creation of compelling, memorable and enduring places, or the judicious management of our clients assets, our holistic approach is customised to our clients goals.

Our Team

The Strategic Team

We primarily work on schemes up to and including outline planning application, but also on the discharge of Planning Conditions such as

Design Codes. This includes expert landscape and capacity advice in the very early stages of site selection (due diligence), and we continue working with clients through Local Plan promotion and land budgeting stages. Our teams also produce the plans, documents and reports to support schemes through outline planning application, and also appear as Expert Witnesses at Public Inquiries.

Impact Management

Iceni have a dedicated team of in-house environmental and sustainability specialists from a broad range of backgrounds. We have a thorough knowledge of the UK Town and Country planning system and are therefore extremely well positioned to provide technical guidance at all stages of the planning process.

Our approach is to ensure that we provide up-to-date, innovative and comprehensive advice to adapt to our clients’ needs, whilst looking out for any policy changes or other challenges which impact on their development plans. We provide advice from initial conception through to representation at planning appeals, including the provision of expert witness services at public inquiries.

Our team strives to stay ahead of the market, and the legislation which shapes it. The multi-skilled nature of our team ensures that we are well equipped, not only to liaise with other disciplines, but to assist on projects from a range of different perspectives.

We specialise in the following Impact Management services:

ƒ Environmental Services, including Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA), Habitats Regulations Assessments and Nitrate Neutrality services

ƒ Socio-Economic Services, including Socio-Economic Assessments, Health Impact Assessments (HIA), and Community and Social Infrastructure Assessments

ƒ Sustainability Services, including Sustainability Statements, Energy Strategies, Whole Life Carbon Assessments and Climate Impact Assessments

ƒ Landscape Services, including Landscape and Visual Impact Assessments (LVIA), Green Belt Assessments and Green Infrastructure Strategies

Economics

The interface between our daily lives, the economy, property and housing markets has never been more important. Our population is growing, but also getting older. Technology is rapidly changing how we work, live and shop. Economic restricting is creating challenges in some areas, but opportunities in others. Our Economics team understands these issues and how they are affecting different places, and we provide clear, locally-specific evidence to guide and support development.

We’ve brought together leading individuals in this area who are trusted advisors to the private and public sector and can provide expert support throughout the planning process, from local plan evidence and site promotion, justifying development proposals through to expert witness advice. Our expertise is nationwide and we have worked within or with over 150 local planning authorities across the UK. We have also been appointed to the Homes England Strategic Research and Economics Framework 2020-2024.

Our core services cover:

ƒ Business case development and funding bid support

ƒ Commercial property market assessment

ƒ Economic development advice and strategies

ƒ Economic impact assessment and development case-making

ƒ Economic needs assessment

ƒ Employment land review

ƒ Employment, skills and training strategies

ƒ Five year housing land supply

ƒ Housing delivery studies

ƒ Housing market and needs assessments

ƒ Social value assessments

ƒ Sub-regional spatial planning

Our approach is one which is place-specific: we use a combination of data analysis and local engagement to get under the skin of local issues, understand what makes a place tick, but also the challenges and opportunities for it in the future. This locally specific approach, combined with our wider in-depth understanding of economic trends, demographics and property markets allows us to provide informed, commercially-realistic advice.

Introduction The Role Our Team Our Projects

Masterplanning New Settlements

Iceni’s Landscape and Design team are planning a series of new, connected settlements throughout England including several in the South Essex. Collectively they are accommodating over 50,000 new homes, nature reserves, and vital infrastructure.

The geography of the south east in particular, and its relationship to the estuary landscape, implied that much of the framework for new growth relied on a sequence of self-sustaining villages connecting the urban to the rural. All provide new transport corridors that priorities buses between existing railway stations, creating a betterment for existing communities. A thorough understanding of the landscape opportunities and constraints has fed into the masterplans, ensuring they deliver not only homes, but a range of well-designed open spaces to benefit both new and existing communities, the local ecology and wildlife, and the environment as a whole. We also produced comprehensive Vision and Framework Documents for the developments, which explained the rationale and goals of the proposals, and which were presented to Members and Local Councillors.

Landscape Migitation in the Green Belt

Our Landscape team are providing advice in relation to the redevelopment of a large, mostly derelict land parcel within the Green Belt , for employment, industrial and residential uses.

As well as undertaking the Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment to identify and assess the potential effects, we have suggested a series of design interventions which extend beyond mitigation planting, in order to ensure that our client is able to put their best, most robust case forward in relation to potential landscape harms. As the site lies within the Green Belt, we also undertook a Green Belt Impact Assessment, considering how the existing site, as well as the proposed development would effect the purposes of the Green Belt. The Assessment also includes a consideration of the effect of the development on the openness of the Green Belt, allowing for an informed judgement to be made when considering the overall planning balance and acceptability of the redevelopment scheme.

New native thicket, tree and woodland planting will be incorporated around the edges of the nature conservation area, to provide a variety of habitats, while discouraging public access (due to health and safety issues). Fencing will be incorporated around this area to control access.

Groups of trees and small incorporated into the create a variety of

Steps and mown ramp lead up to viewing platform, which has short mown grass and seating area at the top to allow for relaxation. Tree planting around the seating area will provide shade

Meadows and tree planting on top of the mound

Fencing to prevent entrance the nature conservation with thicket planting alongside the fence to soften it

Woodland planting onparts of the mound

Viewing mound with areas of long and short grass: 2m high

Illustrative section through viewing mound

Marginal and emergent planting along the edges of the pond will help to condition the water, and provide habitat for aquatic species

Gap in bund to allow access to water main

A large nature conservation area is proposed within the east of the Site. This area will serve to store and manage surface water run-off, and will also provide a new habitats for ecological and wildlife benefits. It is envisaged that this area will be formed around a lake, with the banks and sides of the lake planted with emergent and marginal plants, such as reeds. The banks will also be sown with wet wildflower meadow seeds, to provide nectar for birds and insects.

Islands of aquatic vegetation aid in conditioning the water, and provide habitat for wildlife

Existing woodland belt along railway line enhanced with further woodland and thicket planting, graduating to wildflower grass along the edges of the structural vegetation

·g mound a ws e nature co n r but prevents h ilt develo in pu

10

Detailed application

Outline application

Existing vegetation - Extra-heavy Standard tree Woodland

Thicket planting

Structural

Native hedgerow

Ornamental Long grass/meadow

D Amenity grass

Marginal planting/reed

Aquatic planting

Raised beds ., I Benches and _.

Proposed / Proposed Hard surfacing

Hard surfacing

mail@iceniprojects.com

Two viewing mounds are proposed to be created to allow people to look out over the nature conservation area and lake. These mounds will incorporate thicket and tree planting along the slopes, as well as areas of long and short grass. The planting will be carefully located to enable views over and around it towards the lake, whilst screening the fencing as much as possible. Picnic benches and seating will be provided on the western mound within the employment area, to allow users of the development to relax and enjoy the environment.

Expert Witness Services

Iceni’s Landscape Director is experienced at appearing as an expert witness at a Public Inquiries, and producing evidence for planning appeals. Recently she acted as an Expert Witness for an appellant in relation to a refused planning application for up to 145 new dwellings on the edge of an existing settlement in Worcestershire.

Having produced the Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment that was submitted alongside the application, we will now consider the Council’s reasons for refusing the scheme, and produce evidence to show that the proposed development is very well related to its receiving environment. While there will inevitably be landscape effects on the site itself, a considered landscape mitigation strategy means that the effects of the development will be localised, and that there will be no material effects on the wider landscape around the site.

Design Codes

Design Codes have become an increasingly important part of planning for quality control, ensuring high quality new neighbourhoods are delivered. At Iceni we have 15 years of accumulated knowledge in preparing design codes, ensuring they are a set of simple, concise, illustrated design requirements that are visual and numerical. Our design code work at Ashby, Milton Keynes and New Lubbesthorpe has guided developers and local authorities though the Reserve Matters and infrastructure delivery of large sites, detailing the parameters for the physical development of a site or area.

While we take inspiration from the local vernacular, we also incorporate modern designs within the proposed developments, where appropriate. The key to ensuring that a new neighbourhood has its own sense-of-place and identity, is understanding its context and what makes it special. We then build on this to ensure that the spaces, buildings, and planting reflect and respect this special character.

Concept Masterplan and Capacity Study

A member of Iceni’s Design and Landscape team visited the site to provide a landscape opinion on its potential for residential development. We considered the site and surroundings, and identified the key opportunities and constraints to development.

We also produced a Concept Masterplan, based on our landscape findings and other technical information, to illustrate the residential capacity of the site, and how the new homes could be accommodated on the site. The client now has a better understanding of the development potential of the site, and is promoting it through the Local Plan process. We are equally comfortable and experienced working on small sites, as well as on the very large-scale sites for potential new settlement.

Existing boundary hedgerows retained and strengthened

Proposed housing retained below 67m contour (similar to adjoining application)

Potential location for equipped children’s play area

New hedgerow to create an identifiable boundary to the development. Proposed to be in line with the existing woodland blocks

boundary retained strengthened

Large new area of parkland public open space, on the higher ground in the Site. New paths would connect to the adjoining development

67m AOD

Proposed Sustainable Drainage System basins within the low parts of the Site, to manage surface water run-off

Solar Development

The team is experienced at providing landscape services for solar farms, including initial feasibility advice, input to site selection, and landscape design, as well as landscape and visual impact assessments for planning applications and Development Consent Orders. We adopt a landscape-led approach from the outset of the project, to design a scheme that is sensitive to its site and surroundings, whilst maximising potential energy generation.

This includes advice regarding the siting of key features such as the extent of solar arrays, location of substations, and the alignment of cables to connect to the grid. We commence the assessment process early on in the project, working collaboratively with the wider design team to embed mitigation into the scheme, with the aim to minimise environmental impacts.

Strategic Outline Application

Iceni’s Design and Landscape team are working with our Impact Management, Built Heritage and Townscape, Archaeology, Sustainability, and Strategic Planning teams to prepare an outline planning application for around 600 new dwellings on an allocated urban extension site. As part of the process, we are producing a comprehensive Masterplan document, which will identify the technical opportunities and influences of the design. The Masterplan document will also set out the design strategy for the development, including key aims in terms of movement, green infrastructure, building form, and community facilities.

Iceni’s Impact Management team are producing the Environmental Statement, with several of the Iceni specialist teams assessing the various potential impacts of the development, including in relation to landscape and visual effects, and socio-economic effects.

Green Belt Design and Appeal

Iceni prepared the outline planning application for the replacement of an existing employment building on the edge of a village in the Green Belt, with a new residential development. As the site was in the Green Belt, the Masterplan had to be sensitively designed in terms of the effect of the development on the openness of the Green Belt, with special attention paid to the massing of the scheme, as well as its visual impacts. The Design and Access Statement prepared by Iceni set out the key design influences, and explained why the proposed development would be very well suited to the site and its surroundings.

The application went to appeal, with the Council alleging harm to the Green Belt. Iceni’s Landscape Director and one of our Planning Directors appeared at the Hearing on behalf of the client, setting out our assessments which showed that the development would not be inappropriate in the Green Belt, and that the appeal should be allowed. The Inspector agreed with us, and outline planning permission was granted for the redevelopment.

4. Design Development

4.3 Approach to Massing

Existing Office Building

Existing office block

Existing perimeter plantingprovides good screening

The Sustainable Development Scorecard

The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) has running throughout it the ‘golden thread of sustainable development’. In spite of this, there is no clear-cut, NPPF-based assessment criteria to consider a site or project’s sustainable development credentials, making current assessment processes both tricky and subjective.

The Sustainable Development Commission was established to address this recognised issue with our planning system. Made up of a balanced cross-section of industry professionals, the Commission has debated the issues and found solutions, culminating in the creation of the Sustainable Development Scorecard.

The Scorecard website is free to use and accessible to anyone with a vested interest in development, including developers, architects, planners, community groups and members of the public. By crystallising the NPPF’s guidance into a simple, online analysis tool, the Commission aims to provide a more consistent approach to sustainable development, leading to a more sustainable built environment.

www.thescorecard.org.uk

Birmingham: The Colmore Building, 20 Colmore Circus Queensway, Birmingham B4 6AT

Edinburgh: 7 Alva Street, Edinburgh, EH2 4PH

Glasgow: 177 West George Street, Glasgow, G2 2LB

London: Da Vinci House, 44 Saffron Hill, London, EC1N 8FH

Manchester: WeWork, Dalton Place, 29 John Dalton Street, Manchester, M2 6FW

www.iceniprojects.com

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