WYG's ecological enhancement of RSPB Cliffe Pools a winner at Planning Awards

WYG is among the winners at this year’s Planning Awards organised by Planning Magazine and Planning Resource. At the awards ceremony on 17 November in London, the programme, project management and technical consultancy received the Award for Waste and Minerals Planning for the Ecological Enhancement of RSPB Cliffe Pools project. It was also highly commended in the Stakeholder Engagement in Planning category for its work engaging with the local community in Drayton, Oxfordshire.

Working in partnership with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and dredging company Boskalis Westminster, WYG secured permission for the ecological enhancement of the RSPB Cliffe Pools Nature Reserve in Kent. The scheme will see up to a million cubic meters of dredging and other suitable materials imported for the creation of shallow saline lagoons and nest islands that will benefit wading birds, waterfowl and other species. The site will also act as a sustainable source of clays, sands and soils for major projects in London.

Praising the scheme, the Planning Awards judges commented that it was: “a clear winner for innovation and demonstrating delivery of benefits in a sustainable way.”

Adrian Lynham, Associate Director for Environment, WYG, said: “We are delighted to receive this Planning Award. This success is the result of our close collaboration with the RSPB and Boskalis Westminster and is testament to the expertise of our Planning and Environment teams working closely together.”

Julian Nash, RSPB Site Manager for North Kent Marshes said “Cliffe Pools is already a great site for wildlife, but securing this planning consent allows us over the next few years to create a magnet for waders and wildfowl, which currently struggle to find suitable living space along the Thames.  We were pleased to work with WYG and Boskalis Westminster on this and the award recognises that conservation and business can work well together to bring benefits for both wildlife and people.”

WYG was also highly commended for its entry for the Award for Stakeholder Engagement in Planning. This featured a project with Miller Homes and the local community in Drayton, an Oxfordshire village, to allocate a site in the Neighbourhood Plan for 73 new homes and sports pitches and subsequently to achieve planning permission.

For more information about the Planning Awards, visit http://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1372746/planning-awards-experts-choice