Space enablers

Our expert panel helps local authorities and providers of open space to improve the public realm through better planning, design, maintenance and management.

Space enablers are allocated to projects and spend between five and 15 days on each assignment, providing guidance and advice on good practice. Our panel forms a diverse and unique body of public realm expertise and benefits from broad geographical coverage across the country.

Kath Akoslovski

Kath has 26 years of experience in the public and education sectors. As a head of parks she had strategic, corporate and operational responsibility to provide accessible green space. Consultancy projects over the last eight years include strategic planning, community engagement, diversity, inclusion, contract partnerships, funding, service reviews and training.

David Alcock

David is a solicitor specialising in regeneration and mechanisms for delivering community involvement. With Martin Knox he co-authored Approaches to Community Governance (Policy Press, 2002), commissioned by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. David has also worked with Gallagher Estates Ltd on developing a governance structure for the public realm in a new town in Bedfordshire.

Professor Chris Baines

Chris is a horticulturalist and landscape architect working as an environmental adviser to the water, minerals, construction and energy industries and to central government. His honorary posts in the environmental sector include patron of Green Flag, Landscape Design Trust and Bankside Open Spaces Trust; vice-president of The Wildlife Trusts and the Countryside Management Association; and president of the Thames Estuary Partnership and of the Urban Wildlife Partnership.

Ian Baggott

Ian is the Director of CFP, a specialist parks and greenspace consultancy. Since the conception of CFP Ian has established his reputation in the Green Space field by writing a number of national guidance documents, being part of national steering groups and task force working groups. His specialist areas include strategic planning, community engagement, management planning, training and project management.

David Barrie

David creates and runs urban renewal projects and is a consultant in sustainable development. He helps public authorities and property developers deliver public realm regeneration projects. He designs and delivers local, large-scale citizen participation programmes and runs projects for public organizations linked to Government policy on climate change.

Derek Bean

Derek is an architect and client design advisor with experience of housing, urban design and public realm projects over 25 years, taking lead roles in developing client strategies and managing project design and delivery. He is currently group strategic design advisor to the housing association developer East Thames Group, strategically involved in the regeneration of the Thames Gateway and Stratford City, including development of the 2012 Olympics legacy housing. Derek has previously worked with public clients and enabling bodies including the London Borough of Southwark, Deptford City Challenge and the London Borough of Haringey .

Jacky Bennett

A chartered town planner, Jacky's interest in open space planning stems from her first work as a planning officer for Sport England in the early 1980s. Since then, her company has specialised in working with local authorities, sports bodies, voluntary and community groups to develop playing field, sports and open space strategies. She wrote the national guidance Assessing Playing Pitch Requirements at the Local Level (Sports Council, 1995).

Jon Blasby

Jon is a project and cost manager specialising in urban improvement and masterplanning projects for public and private sector clients. As a trained facilitator he leads workshops on value, risk and partnering, and is committed to the achievement of best value in built environment design.

Nigel Boldero

Nigel has a passion for good environmental design and is interested in supporting community-led projects, including play spaces. He has worked for over 30 years across a wide range of organisations and has studied planning, management and landscape and garden design.

Christopher Bradley-Hole

Christopher, a chartered architect, set up his landscape practice in 1995 to design public and private open spaces. Christopher has made a special study into the use of perennials in urban space in Germany, Holland and Sweden and is author of The Minimalist Garden (Mitchell Beazley). He undertook a postgraduate course in the conservation of historic landscapes at the Architectural Association and teaches landscape design to diploma students at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Keith Bright

Keith Bright is emeritus professor of inclusive environments at the University of Reading and visiting professor of inclusive environments at the University of Ulster. He is also the director of KBC Ltd, an independent access consultancy. He is currently a member of the Inclusive Environments Group (IEG) set up by CABE and he is a member of several British Standard committees developing best practice guidance for the provision of inclusive environments. Keith has published widely in academic and practice journals, and he is the author and editor of several highly regarded reference books related to the development of inclusive environments.

Victor Callister

Victor Callister is the street scene manager for the City of London, where the emphasis is on creating the highest possible quality of environment for people in the limited space between buildings. Victor manages a team of professional town planners and project managers who deliver projects in partnership with city businesses, usually with complex funding arrangements. Although a chartered town planner, Victor's background is in the visual arts and urban design. His personal interest is in making projects happen within a complex funding/urban/stakeholder context.

Andrew Cameron

Andrew's experience in transportation and urban design has led to his involvement in many groundbreaking masterplanning projects, including Poundbury in Dorchester and Upton in Northampton. He has in-depth experience in the transport planning and urban design aspects of development proposals. He has acted as an advisor to government with the Urban Task Force and for the House of Commons select committees on housing and sustainable Communities. He is co-author of national and local design guidance, including Places, Streets and Movement, The Urban Design Compendium, and the forthcoming Manual for Streets. He is presently a technical director at WSP Group.

Kit Campbell

Kit set up Kit Campbell Associates, an open space, sport and recreation consultancy in 1986. He is a chartered architect and town planner, an advisor to Select Committees, and is the author of several groundbreaking reports including Rethinking Open Space (for the Scottish Executive in 2001) and Assessing Needs and Opportunities: A Companion Guide to PPG17 (for ODPM in 2002). He is a member of the Urban Green Spaces Task Force, Working Group 4.

Philip Chambers

After several years in the public and voluntary sector, working in education and sport, Philip established an independent consultancy specialising in access and social inclusion in 2002. He has undertaken work for the Countryside Agency, British Waterways, BT Countryside for All, and has sat on several national advisory panels, including the Countryside Agency's Doorstep Greens, English Nature's Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund, and the Inland Waterways Amenities Advisory Council.

Tim Chapple

Tim is a chartered planner and urban designer, now an independent consultant with 20 years’ experience of community-led regeneration, drawn from the not-for-profit, private, academic and public sectors. Tim has extensive skills in setting up community based organisations, with a special interest in operational, funding, business planning and governance issues.

Peter Ching

Peter is an architect and urban designer and has primary participation in many significant large-scale developments and urban design regeneration projects within the UK and internationally, including the Canary Wharf masterplan, and Sheffield city centre. He brings skills in defining/clarifying site development strategies and demonstrating qualitative changes through public realm and infrastructure projects. As an architect, he has brought forward buildings and public realm projects that contribute more to the physical environment and context. Peter is a principal of OCA in London and brings over 27 years of urban design and architecture experience.

Chris Churchman

Chris is a landscape designer with expertise in the relationship between buildings and external space. Following 10 years as principal of the landscape group at HLM Design, he established his own consultancy in 1993 and forged links with some of the UK's leading architectural practices. Chris was selected as design advisor to the London Development Agency's Architecture and Urbanism Unit.

Annie Coombs

A landscape architect with a master's in planning, Annie's expertise lies in large scale project management: in landscape planning and implementation, environmental assessment, regeneration and sustainability-led projects. She has business management experience in the UK and abroad, having spent 15 years in Asia latterly as managing director of Clouston Asia and Aspinwall Asia.

Richard Copas

Richard specialises in large-scale environmental planning associated with major watercourses. His expertise lies in the fields of communication, open space planning, environmental and ecological enhancement, river restoration, partnership working and community collaboration.

Debbie Crellin

Debbie has broad environmental and regeneration experience. Debbie has worked for Groundwork, moving onto English Partnerships and Yorkshire Forward where she led large scale inclusion and diversity projects, particularly focused on social enterprise.

Len Croney

Len established Pengelly Consulting in October 2001 and works at the forefront of performance improvement. With 25 years of local government experience and a background in parks and open space management, Len was previously a chief officer in a Scottish unitary authority. A past president of ILAM, he has been actively involved with Green Flag and CABE Space. He is also a member of the IDeA Performance Support Team.

Clive Davies

Clive Davies is an independent advisor on green infrastructure planning with an emphasis on stakeholder involvement and strategic change at the landscape scale. He runs his own practice and is also a Research Fellow at Newcastle University. His career includes experience in community forests, non-governmental organisations, social enterprise and local government.

Colin Davis

Prior to setting up the urban design and traffic engineering practice in 1990, Colin was responsible for the architectural and town planning service at a London borough. In 2007 he set up the Public Realm Information and Advice Network which runs short residential interdisciplinary courses leading an English Heritage and IHIE certificate in the design and management of the public realm.

Alan Dix

Alan Dix started out as a theatre practitioner and producer of outdoor spectacle before setting up 509 arts and moving into the management of cultural programmes and projects. In 1998 Alan moved to Greenwich to manage the borough’s £1.5 million Millennium programme and since then has focused much of his work on the cultural industries, creative sector management and arts and cultural policy development. He is working in the Kings Cross area to develop a programme of events around the opening of the new St Pancras station and arrival of the first Eurostar, producing a Thames Gateway arts strategy for ACE London, putting together a dance partnership for the Thames Gateway, producing a business plan for the Theatre Royal Margate and working with Creative Partnerships.

Michael Doyle

Michael has experience in the public and private sector working on masterplans and frameworks, mixed use town and city centre regeneration strategies, transport and interchange design, planning negotiations and appeals. Currently working on the Reading Station Area Redevelopment with Reading Borough Council and Network Rail. Planning Aid for London volunteer working with East London communities affected by the Olympic proposals.

Jane Elliot

Jane is a senior consultant at Urban Practitioners with six years’ experience in environmental consultancy, planning and urban design. She has a particular interest in the sustainability aspects of development and public realm design. Jane has played a key role in the promotion of green infrastructure strategies, and authored the recently launched green infrastructure guidance for the Thames Gateway on behalf of ODPM.

Professor Martin Elson

Martin Elson is professor in planning at Oxford Brookes University and is a qualified planner. His interests are in strategic planning for open space provision and devising frameworks for funding and implementing open space programmes. He has worked with a number of local authorities to secure developer contributions for open space as part of the statutory planning process, and has been involved in a wide range of workshops and training courses for leisure professionals.

Helen Farrar

Helen is a chartered landscape architect and regeneration professional who has worked in the Yorkshire and Humber region for over 20 years. She specialises as a strategic advisor to the public, voluntary and academic sectors in areas relating to renaissance, design and regeneration.  She is a regional representative in Yorkshire and Humber for CABE, supports landscape architecture education at Leeds Metropolitan University, is a director of the Baraka Foundation, was a director of arc (the Humber Centre of Excellence in the Built Environment) and is a retained consultant for the beam architecture centre, undertaking a range of design awareness training.

Noel Farrer

Noel worked as a local authority landscape architect before founding Farrer Huxley Associates in 1995. FHA specialises in urban housing, education, play and open space. Noel’s passion is regeneration through consultation for the benefit of the whole community. Noel also lectures on design and is a visiting tutor for the Inchbald School. Noel’s expertise is in realising successful landscapes through in-depth understanding of political and public-sector working.

Peter Fink

Peter is an artist educated in engineering, philosophy and art. In 1997 he established Art2Architecture as a means of facilitating both collaborative professional work and public involvement in design. He has co-authored two books dealing with the art in the built environment and teaches at the Bartlett.

Sue France

With a background in urban and rural conservation, horticultural training, parks management and environmental regeneration, Sue established Green Estate in 2003. Green Estate's aim is to be a flagship social enterprise, responsible for a network of sustainable, productive and well-used green spaces in two Sheffield wards. The organisation draws together stakeholders, a wide range of funding sources and the local community to deliver direct restoration, management and renewal projects.

Mathew Frith

Mathew is an urban ecologist who works for Peabody to improve the green spaces of their housing estates across London through working with residents on estate-based projects and informing the design of new developments and refurbishments.  He has experience of land management policy and practice in voluntary organisations, public bodies and Government agencies.  He helped to establish and leads on Neighbourhoods Green, a partnership project to raise the profile and quality of the open spaces owned and managed by social landlords.   Mathew is also Vice-Chair of London Wildlife Trust, and a member of the Forestry Commission’s Regional Advisory Committee for London.

Tony Fullwood

Tony is a chartered town planner who runs his own practice specialising in strategic planning, high-quality urban design and sustainable solutions. He has extensive experience in all aspects of town planning including local development frameworks, community strategies and delivering high quality public realm. His experience also includes major projects such as a significant city extension, urban regeneration and conserving areas of architectural and landscape heritage. He has significant experience in facilitating community and stakeholder involvement and partnership working.

Ashley Godfrey

Ashley is a town planner who is also qualified and works in leisure management. His company has worked with local authorities on strategies for open space, sport and play provision. He is an advisor to the Children’s Play Council on the development of performance indicators and is also an advisor to the National Playing Fields Association.

Ben Hamilton-Baillie

Ben Hamilton-Baillie is an architect, urban designer and movement specialist from Bristol. As director of Hamilton-Baillie Associates Ltd he provides consultancy advice on traffic and urban renewal for a wide range of local authorities, government agencies and community groups. Following 13 years working in housing renewal and development, Ben served as regional manager for Sustrans, the sustainable transport charity. He helped complete the first phase of the UK’s National Cycle Network, and to develop transport initiatives such as ‘Safe Routes to Schools’ and home zones. He has since researched and promoted new approaches to traffic management and street design, and was awarded a Winston Churchill Travelling Fellowship in 2000.

Dr Stewart Harding

Stewart is a landscape consultant with more than 20 years' experience in the restoration of parks and open spaces. He set up the Urban Parks Programme of the Heritage Lottery Fund and instigated the Country Parks Renaissance Programme for the Countryside Agency. His doctoral thesis examined the conservation of parkland associated with redundant NHS sites.

Jon Harris

Jon Harris is the Technical Director for Smarter Travel Choices at Mouchel. Jon has 20 years experience as a town and transport planner. His specialisms include the development and delivery of travel planning and 'smarter' solutions from both operational and urban planning perspectives.

Eira Hughes

Eira is a planner/landscape architect, and regeneration specialist. She has experience in regional policy; spatial planning; major planning casework; masterplanning; housing; urban design; heritage; sustainability; protected landscape conservation; parks /  public realm; and, rural issues.

Geoff Hughes

Geoff established GLH, a consultancy specialising in sport, planning and the environment, in October 2003. He previously led a team in Sport England's north east region responsible for statutory consultations on planning applications affecting playing fields, regeneration, sports lottery funding and the New Opportunities Fund Green Spaces programme. Nationally Geoff also co-ordinated Sport England's work on sport and the environment and he currently chairs the Countryside Recreation Network of 24 national agencies in the UK and Ireland.

Bob Ivison

Bob has worked in senior management in London boroughs for nearly 20 years. He is responsible for the development and management of Enfield 's parks services and produced its parks strategy. He has been instrumental in gaining Green Flag Awards, Beacon Council status for the improvement of urban green spaces and Heritage Lottery Fund funding for parks and open space improvements.

Nerys Jones

Nerys Jones is an applied biologist and landscape architect with more than 25 years’ experience of practical environmental regeneration in the public, private and voluntary sectors. She established the UK’s first specialist urban forestry unit in the West Midlands, and was the chief executive of the National Urban Forestry Unit from 1995-2005. She has wide-ranging international experience of urban greenspace initiatives and in 2003 was seconded to the then Office of the Deputy Prime Minister to develop the greenspace strategy for Thames Gateway. Nerys currently works as a freelance consultant, specialising in a strategic approach to green infrastructure.

Phil Jones

Phil is the principal of Phil Jones Associates, Transport Planning Consultants. Phil has extensive experience in the planning and design of development infrastructure, with particular expertise in traffic analysis, transport planning and streets. Phil specialises in achieving synergy between highway and urban design, with the aim of creating places and spaces that meet aesthetic, social and functional aims.

Lynn Kinnear

Lynn Kinnear has over 25 years experience as a Landscape Architect. She has a track record of being committed to design excellence within a framework of inclusive consultation and through interesting collaborations with artists and other designers. The practice also promotes imaginative design as the key to resolution of environmental issues.

Jane Knight

Jane Knight works at the Eden Project where she is responsible for landscape input to new developments.  Jane also implements Eden’s ‘Growing for Life’ project in prisons and a nature-based play project.  She is also involved in Eden’s varied outreach projects and consultancy work which has taken her to Kosovo, Chile, South Africa and Australia.

David Lambert

David was closely involved with the establishment of the Heritage Lottery Fund's Urban Parks Programme and served on its advisory panel from 1996 until earlier this year; he now acts as monitor on a number of HLF projects. He was one of the two advisers to the 1999 select committee inquiry on town and country parks, and advised the committee in its inquiries on cemeteries and on the draft Planning policy guidance 17.

Justine Leach

Justine is a qualified landscape architect and urban designer who was previously an associate director at EDAW. Her areas of expertise include masterplanning, physical regeneration frameworks and urban open space. She is currently a CABE enabler providing assistance for one of the Pathfinder housing renewal areas and for the commissioning of open space competitions.

Matthew Letts

Matthew Letts is an architect based in Nottingham. His practice works all over the UK on housing and public realm projects.. Matthew strives to make the places he designs timeless and beautiful. He believes the transforming power of art and artists have a key role in this process.

Michael Loveday

Michael Loveday has been engaged professionally in urban regeneration for over 30 years, and is currently Chief Executive of the Heritage Economic & Regeneration Trust (HEART) - a private charitable company unique in the UK. He is also director of his own heritage and public realm consultancy providing heritage and public space advice to a range of organisations and cities.

Sue Morgan

Sue is a qualified landscape architect and previously worked for Groundwork and Southwark Council. Her particular areas of expertise include community consultation, capacity building, environmental education, and research and policy development. Sue recently left Southwark Council to form Around the Block Ltd which provides consultancy services for the promotion, development and management of public realm projects.

Simon Ogden

Simon Ogden is a planner and historian. Since 1995 he has been focused on Sheffield City Centre and was the Project Officer for Peace Gardens and Millennium Square. He leads the Council’s award-winning City Development Division, a multi-disciplinary team specialising in public realm which has helped change Sheffield's identity.

David Orr

David is a landscape architect and urban designer with extensive consultancy experience managing landscape, engineering, transportation and architectural projects in the UK and overseas. His focus has been on public realm design, masterplanning, movement and urban design guidance. He project managed CABE's report Paving the Way, a study into how to achieve better quality streets.

Simeon Packard

Simeon has over 27 years of experience working within the public sector and is a former public space manager. During 2005 he established the Urban Play Solutions consultancy, specialising in the strategic delivery of innovative play projects and initiatives. A guest speaker at national seminars, he has also provided management development training courses on behalf of the Institute of Leisure and Amenity Management.

Andrew Parsons

Andrew works as an independent consultant, focusing particularly on green space issues; either alone or with others. Significant commissions include a rewrite of the Green Flag Award Scheme’s guidance manual Raising the Standard (with Liz Greenhalgh), and the review of the Green Flag Award scheme, with Ken Worpole, Liz Greenhalgh and The Parks Agency. The past year has seen Andrew involved with many projects including a review of the Doorstep Greens initiative for the Countryside Agency and the development of the place consultation tool for CABE.

Dr Tim Pascoe

Dr Tim Pascoe is the Director of Griffin, a community safety Company. He is the Chair of the Design Out Crime Association and sits on various UK and European security standards boards, the Security Journal Editorial Board and the Design Against Crime Centre Advisory Board. Tim specialises in carrying out qualitative and quantitative research, investigating community safety issues, security problems and providing crime prevention solutions. 

Stuart Pearson

Stuart is an architect and landscape architect with experience in the areas of conceptual design, landscape infrastructure and masterplanning, town centre enhancement and landscape regeneration. Stuart is now principal of Pearson Landscape Design and has been responsible for preparing landscape masterplans and detail for a wide range of projects, in particular an education portfolio which includes several Civic Trust and RIBA award-winning schemes.

Ian Phillips

A landscape architect and town planner with extensive experience in local government in both rural and urban environments, Ian views good planning as key to the delivery of high quality and functional landscape and urban design. Since establishing an independent consultancy, he has worked with public, private and enabling sector clients on policy and strategy formulation, design briefs, project management and community engagement.

Denise Preston

Areas that Denise has developed over the past two years include contributions to the green skills agenda through training and development and partnerships with colleges and city learning centres, promoting the value of parks to health and wellbeing and demonstrating this through green flag standards and household surveys in order to ensure a fairer share of resources, and building a strong management team that is fit for purpose and for the future of the service.

Howard Price

Howard Price has more than 25 years of experience in a wide range of work including strategic landscape planning, applied research and advisory work, rural development, forestry and mineral planning, environmental assessment, urban design and urban renewal, community parks development and landscape management.

Philip Sayers

Philip has over 30 years’ experience of parks and open space management, and landscape design, across the country. His achievements include neighbourhood management - communities helping themselves, establishing ‘cleaner, greener, safer’ inspections and facilitating collaborative change. Philip published over 12,000 words per year on amenity issues in the 1990s.

Bernard Sheridan

Bernard is a consultant who advises on greenspace and public realm management. Previously a Head of Environmental Services, he has considerable successful experience in parks, greenspace and neighbourhood management, including developing Friends and community groups and devising and delivering a wide range of service, business, site management and project plans.

Graham Paul Smith

Graham Paul Smith is an independent urban design consultant and former Senior Lecturer in Architecture, Oxford Brookes University. Graham is interested in the user experience of architecture and the layout and design of movement in public space; the experience of people within it and the levels of risk they are exposed to.  He is particularly concerned with the highway as a place which connects people and activities. 

Bridget Snaith

1Bridget is director of Shape, a landscape, urban design and regeneration company, and a part time academic. She has worked for 15 years with community and public sector clients, creatively engaging diverse stakeholders from businesses to disadvantaged young people through participation, building shared visions, and resolving issues like anti-social behaviour.

Gordon Somerville

Gordon is a planner with 34 years local government experience and was Chief Planning Officer for Scarborough from 1995 to 2008. He guided the Scarborough Renaissance Programme which has transformed the town through public space masterplanning and innovative public involvement through a “Town Team”; leading to the award of “Britain’s Most Enterprising Town”.

Martin Stockley

Martin’s practice of consulting engineers works all over the UK on civil, structural, infrastructure and movement engineering. His work on movement in the public realm stems from normal human behaviour rather than geometry. He views much of his work on highways as land reclamation. He would rather live in a joyous public realm than one that is merely functional. He thinks civil engineering should result in civilised places.

Sid Sullivan

Sid established SGS in 1997, a consultancy specialising in green space and environmental strategy and management. He has worked for the Royal Parks and a number of London boroughs, including becoming chief officer for parks, amenities, and green planning in 1984 at the London Borough of Ealing.

Jennifer Ullman

A consultant in landscape management and design, Jennifer was previously Chief Parks Officer for Wandsworth Council leading the successful restoration of the Grade II* Battersea Park and managing 60 Parks and Open spaces. Jennifer has a detailed knowledge of fundraising, horticulture, biodiversity, landscape conservation and heritage.

Paul Walshe

Paul is a landscape architect and architect. He has combined private practice, establishing Walshe Associates in 1982, with the role of National Heritage Adviser to the Countryside Agency, Landscape Adviser to the National Heritage Memorial Fund and Policy Adviser to the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Jo Ann Webb

Jo is a landscape architect and environmental consultant specialising in the development, design, research and management of projects which incorporate community involvement and environmental education.  Her experience of urban environmental regeneration working with disadvantaged communities has reinforced interest in children’s play and the design of learning environments.

Ben Webster

Ben manages the Urban design and Conservation Team at Norwich City Council, where he leads city centre masterplanning projects and streetscape schemes. He previously worked as an urban designer at Nottingham City Council where he produced a Streetscape Manual and was the design champion for the Maid Marian Way and Turning Point projects.

Richard Welburn

Richard has 35 years’ experience in the public parks sector incorporating grounds maintenance, parks management (including cemeteries and crematoria), landscape/play design and development, arboriculture, strategy and performance management. He is a Green Flag, ILAM and regional Britain in Bloom judge and chair of the Greenspace East Midlands steering group.

Michael Westley

Michael is a chartered landscape architect with more than 20 years’ experience in a broad range of environmental design and management, both in practice and as senior lecturer/course director in higher education. His practice focuses on inclusive/universal/access, health, education and community sector landscape design.

Adam White

Adam is an award winning chartered landscape architect and pioneer of the Playscape design approach which promotes challenges, nature and risk in a playful landscape environment. Adam has extensive experience in delivering community engaged capital projects and is a Green Flag Judge, Play England Design Advisor and Design Ambassador for the Homes & Communities Academy.

Bob White

Bob is a Chartered Civil Engineer and a Member of the Institution of Highways and Transportation. Following an early grounding in highway engineering, He has gained over 25 years experience in Development Planning with Kent County Council (twice), Wolverhampton Metropolitan Borough Council and Canterbury City Council.

Geoff Whitten

Geoff Whitten is a Chartered Landscape Architect, (CMLI, 1987), Urban Designer and former Principal of EDAW, Edinburgh, Currently practicing as a sole principal (rural), bringing 30 years of practical and professional experience, in public and private sectors. He specialises in urban regeneration projects, landscape and green-space strategies, major development master planning, and research studies.

Peter Wilkinson

Peter led Bristol City Council’s parks development team, where the majority of his time was involved in delivering the city’s Heritage Lottery Fund programme. In addition, Peter was responsible for nature conservation and also heavily involved in driving forward innovative development work relating to park regeneration, partnership working, marketing and community development. Peter became a director of GreenSpace in September 2001 and now leads on the regional development programme for the national charity, including chairing the GreenSpace national forum. He also chairs GreenSpace South West, the regional park forum which meets in Exeter.

Lesley Williams

Lesley is a town planner and environmental scientist specialising in the design and facilitation of stakeholder involvement processes and in partnership building. Until recently she was a director of CAG Consultants, where she led the stakeholder involvement team. She has managed numerous consultation programmes on the future use of open spaces and has helped develop various vehicles for partnership. As a representative of Tower Hamlets Environment Trust she has been a member of the board of the Mile End Park Partnership since its inception in 1997.

Stuart Wilson

Stuart formed Waterlock in 2005 to work with Local Authorities, Landscape Architects, NGOs and developers. He advises on cost planning, buildability, procurement and maintenance for all types of landscape and external works projects. Stuart has also been providing advice to the Olympic Delivery Authority and the 2012 Olympic Park design teams since 2006.

Helen Woolley

Helen is a chartered landscape architect, lecturer, researcher and writer. She recently published Urban Open Spaces, which discusses the benefits and opportunities of urban open spaces, particularly in terms of health and education. She has worked within local authorities, the private sector and academia.

Ken Worpole

Ken is an independent writer and consultant, focusing for over a decade on parks and public spaces. He has undertaken work for CABE, Comedia, Demos, the RIBA, and several government departments. He is a member of the Urban Green Spaces Task Force, Working Group 3.

Louise Wyman

Louise Wyman is a Landscape Architect, Urban Designer and Chartered Surveyor. She has degrees from Westminster University and Harvard's Graduate School of Design. Louise has 20 years of experience working in both the Public and Private sectors. Louise has worked in the UK, Eastern Europe, and the USA and specializes in regeneration and redevelopment work. Louise currently works for the HCA as the Agency's Urban Design Manager.

Corporate enablers

The Access Company

Contact: Alex Rook

The Access Company provides expertise on all aspects of the walking environment: policy advice, training, surveys, consultancy assignments and longer term management of projects and programmes, with clients from government departments to local authorities. TAC staff is closely involved with Walk21, Walk England and Walk London.

Alan Baxter & Associates

Main contact: David Taylor

Alan Baxter & Associates (ABA) was founded in 1974 as an engineering practice. Its range of work is now broad and covers urban design, masterplanning, movement and transport, conservation, and civil and structural engineering. The highly interactive office creates imaginative but sound design solutions. The ABA Gallery provides a forum for new ideas and lively debates.

Peter Brett Associates

Main contact: Nick Dixon

Peter Brett Associates is a multi-disciplinary practice, providing a wide range of transport planning, design and engineering services to public and private sector organisations. It has particular experience and a commitment to supporting public realm improvements in a range of urban contexts, from strategic development through to detailing and implementation. It is interested in promoting further understanding between transport engineering and complementary planning and design disciplines, as a contributory factor in improving the quality of design within the public realm. Its position is that there remains a great deal of work to be done in this specific area – and it is keen to further the debate.

British Waterways

Contact: Marcus Chaloner

British Waterways is the public corporation that cares for the 2,200-mile network of canals and rivers in England, Scotland and Wales. Their role is to ensure that the waterways can be used for all to enjoy, now and in the future. They have expertise in making active and sustainable waterside places, often working within an historic, operational environment.

Colin Buchanan

Contact: Martina Juvara

Colin Buchanan is a transport, urban design, planning and economics consultancy. They have been engaged in a number of ground-breaking studies and projects ranging from research into the valuation methodologies for public realm improvements, innovative and high profile streetscape and transport schemes, strategic planning of infrastructure and master planning of new places.

Camlin Lonsdale

Main contact: Robert Camlin

A landscape architecture practice established in 1989, Camlin Lonsdale specialises in innovative approaches to the design of new and redeveloped urban spaces. Projects include the creation of a 'victory procession' at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, the redesign of the Open Air Theatre in Regent's Park, London, and Caerphilly town centre, winner of Civic Trust and British Council for Shopping Centres awards. The practice also contributed to the Department of the Environment’s People, Parks and Cities guidance.

Capita Lovejoy

Contact: Martin Kelly

Capita Lovejoy provide strategic planning insight, environmental sensitivity and sustainable design innovation, creating memorable places in which people want to invest, live, work and play. They apply planning, environmental, urban and landscape design expertise to complex and high profile developments; from the assessment of mixed use developments and masterplanning of new communities to the detailed design and delivery of public realm spaces worldwide.

civic Architects Ltd

Contact: Dan Jones

civic was formally established in 2005, with a strong background in collaborative working between disciplines and an ethos of strengthening links between lay stakeholders and community design projects. Their training and experience as practising architects enables them to use ‘design’ as a catalyst for inspirational and vigorous public involvement, often connected with developing public design projects and delivering school communities’ visions for change.

Cracknell

Contact: Phil Heaton

A multi-disciplinary firm of landscape architects, architects and urban designers, Cracknell works globally in community-led regeneration, historic landscape restoration and commercial projects.  Established in 1987, the firm has over 150 staff, offices in London, Dubai and Abu Dhabi and recently merged with urban greenspace specialist Parklife.

Cyril Sweett

Contact: Adam Mactavish / Isabel McAllister

Cyril Sweett is an international construction and property consultancy offering expertise in cost consultancy, project management and specialist services including sustainability advice and research. The Company services projects of all type, service and level of complexity across public and private sectors including education; energy, health, residential; retail and mixed use; transport and infrastructure.

David Lock Associates

Contact: Lawrence Revill

David Lock Associates integrate town and country planning, urban design, graphic design, CAD and GIS. Since the Company was established in 1989 they have grown in number (with now over 50 professional staff) and expertise; the experience of their consultants spans planning and urban design, and the related disciplines of architecture, development and landscape architecture.

EDAW

Main contacts: Joanna Chambers

EDAW is an international landscape architecture, urban design, masterplanning and environmental planning consultancy serving public and private sector clients. EDAW strives to improve the relationship between people and their environment. The firm's diverse portfolio includes urban design in Manchester city centre, public realm design for Royal Victoria Square in London and landscape design at Speke Garston, Liverpool.

English Heritage

Main contact: Jennifer White

English Heritage is the champion for the historic environment: its public spaces and streets as well as its buildings and monuments. The organisation's nine regions offer multi-disciplinary and integrated advice from strategic planning to individual cases. English Heritage has over 20 years' experience in delivering town and streetscape schemes, conservation-led regeneration and green space projects such as the London Garden Squares Campaign and Heritage Lottery Fund public park projects.

The Glass House

Main contact: Sophia de Sousa

The Glass-House Community Led Design is a national charity offering advice, design training and project support to tenants and residents groups throughout Britain, enabling them to exert informed influence on physical regeneration projects with which they are involved. It is a unique service used by professionals as well as lay people, aimed at maximising opportunities for public participation in the design of the built environment.

General Public Agency

Contact: Claire Cumberlidge and Lucy Musgrove

General Public Agency works within the public realm delivering research, strategic advice and programme management for public and private clients in the regeneration and cultural sectors. They offer place-making, public realm and cultural planning services. They deliver social, cultural and physical integration of development. Their approach is marked by a commitment to excellence and delivering change through the active engagement of the widest range of users and potential partners.

GreenSpace

Main contact: Paul Bramhill

GreenSpace is a national advocate for the economic, social and environmental benefits of well-planned, designed and managed parks and open spaces. The organisation researches, documents and publicises good practice, organises national and international conferences and administers funding initiatives. Issues and news relating to parks and green spaces are promoted via the magazine Spaces & Places and the GreenSpace website.

Land Restoration Trust

Main contact: Euan Hall

The Land Restoration Trust (LRT) is improving the environment and quality of life for communities by tackling enduring post-industrial dereliction across England. The trust is also working to ensure that new developments include spaces that can be used effectively, maintained appropriately and contribute to the sustainability of the community. LRT is the only national organisation that deals with the long-term management and funding of public open green spaces as community assets.

Landscape Design Associates

Main contact: Andrew Harland

Landscape Design Associates (LDA) is a landscape architecture, environmental planning, urban design and ecology consultancy working in development planning, urban regeneration, landscape strategy and design. Key strategies of LDA's specialist parks and green space team include: Thames Strategy East; the Green Grids for East London, Thames Gateway South Essex, and North Kent Thameside; and a tree and wildlife management plan for Hyde Park. Key implemented projects include Gunpowder Park, Northala Park, Derby Arboretum and Forbury Gardens. Key consultancies include the Royal Parks Agency, Lee Valley Regional Park Authority and several regional development agencies.

Land Management Services Ltd

Main contact: Helen Neve

Land Management Services Ltd (LMS) specialises in landscape management and maintenance but also offers a broad range of landscape services including ecology, planning and design. LMS's public space work ranges from rural landscapes, urban parks, home zones, coastal areas and restoration of historical landscapes, for clients who include local authorities, community groups, the National Trust and other charities, often funded by lottery grants. Particular strengths include public consultation, working with community groups and creating positive solutions from often conflicting demands.

Land Use Consultants

Main contact: Dominic Cole

LUC is one of the leading environmental planning and design consultancies in the UK. With over 100 professionally qualified staff in offices in London, Bristol and Glasgow, LUC provides services in the UK, the rest of Europe and worldwide. Projects range from pan-European studies, to development plans and complex development projects, and detailed design of small schemes.

Mott MacDonald:

Main contact: Jeremy Purseglove

Mott MacDonald was founded in 1989 to provide landscape design and environmental expertise on major engineering projects. Since then the work has developed to include urban design, masterplanning, commercial development, recreation and historic landscapes.

Milton Keynes Parks Trust

Main contact: Rob Riekie

The Trust owns and manages 1,800 hectares of parks, open spaces and roadside landscape, covering 22 per cent of the Milton Keynes city area. Self-sufficient in revenue via a property portfolio and other investments, the Trust manages wildlife habitats, provides education services, runs community events and works in partnership with other enterprises.

The Royal Parks

Main contact: Colin Buttery

The Royal Parks is an executive agency of the Department of Culture, Media and Sport. It looks after Bushy Park with the Longford River, The Green Park, Greenwich Park, Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, The Regent's Park (including Primrose Hill), Richmond Park and St James's Park. It also tends a number of other spaces in London, including Brompton Cemetery, the gardens of 10, 11 and 12 Downing Street and Grosvenor Square Gardens.

Rummey Design

Contact: Robert Rummey

Rummey Design urban designers, masterplanners, and landscape architects have a broad range of urban regeneration and public realm projects, including Coventry Phoenix Initiative, shortlisted for the Stirling Prize. Current workload includes landscape design projects, major regeneration projects, employment, leisure, infrastructure and environmental aspirations and development proposals

Scott Wilson

Main contact: Andrew McNab

Scott Wilson is an international multi-disciplinary consultancy providing skills in landscape architecture and management, architecture, urban design, ecology and engineering. The practice currently serves as a specialist advisor to The Royal Parks, English Partnerships, Heritage Lottery Fund and the Highways Agency. Scott Wilson has particular expertise in innovation for urban green space planning and design.

Taylor Young

Main contact: Pete Coe

Taylor Young is a multi-disciplinary design practice comprising architects, town planners, urban designers, landscape architects, graphic and interior designers. It is a recognised market leader in healthcare, urban design, masterplanning and town planning. It operates nationally from two offices in Handforth, south Manchester and Liverpool.

Transport Research Laboratory

Contact: Catherine Ferris

TRL provides world class research, consultancy, advice and testing. TRL works at the leading edge of transport; generating and applying science, knowledge and understanding to develop innovative solutions. TRL works with public and private sectors on all aspects of transportation, environment, sustainability and transport infrastructure.

Urban Initiatives

Contact: Ian Hingley

Urban Initiatives is one of the UK's leading urban design and planning inter-disciplinary consultancies. Their work ranges from strategic thinking at metropolitan, city and district level to the development of specific urban design solutions at neighbourhood, block and street scales.

Writtle College

Main contact: Mike Hall

Writtle College offers a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses in horticulture, environmental design, landscape management and conservation. The college maintains excellent links with industry, international government agencies and specialist organisations through its research and consultancy work. Emphasis is placed on collaborative research with external bodies, where the sharing of resources and expertise increases the value of work.