The Urbanists

The Future is Here: Hydrogen, Lithium Batteries, and Solar PV Powering a New Era. We recently had the opportunity to experience this firsthand at the Welsh Government Smart Living WSRID event. It was an insightful day, featuring discussions on innovative decarbonisation projects, collaborative workshops exploring opportunities and solutions, and updates on the latest funding prospects. Thank you to Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council (RCTCBC)'s Katie Trembath for the invitation and an engaging presentation. Her session was supported by Hydrock, now Stantec Smart Energy and Sustainability, Challoch Energy, and Renewables First, all of whom contributed valuable insights. We've been proud to support RCTCBC on their renewables journey, helping the team to progress proposals for Micro Hydro projects and the landmark Coed Ely Solar scheme through planning. These projects will make a significant contribution to decarbonising the Council's estate and, in the case of Coed Ely, provide power directly to the Royal Glamorgan Hospital. At The Urbanists, we have extensive experience securing planning permissions for renewable energy projects across the UK. Our recent projects span solar PV (including car park canopies), wind turbines, hydrogen initiatives, and hydro schemes, along with experience in BESS. From site and policy appraisals to EIA, planning applications, and other consent work, we proactively support our clients. Despite ongoing grid capacity constraints for new connections, opportunities remain. With the NESO grid application process undergoing reform, securing planning approval is becoming even more critical - it can be the key to unlocking energy potential and prioritising your project in the connection queue. Whether you're a local authority, social enterprise, or commercial renewables developer, we're here to assist you with planning at any stage of your energy project journey. #TheUrbanists #RenewableEnergy #FuturePlanning

At The Urbanists, we're celebrating #InternationalWomensDay by honouring the incredible women shaping the landscapes of our cities and communities with a well-deserved lunch! The #AccelerateAction theme for this year's International Women's Day calls for us to speed up progress towards gender equality. The Urbanists align with this by creating an environment that actively supports women in growing, leading, and succeeding whilst striving for a systemic change within the business world. It's not just about supporting women in their careers—it's about pushing for real change that goes beyond the workplace. Across the built environment, we're grateful for their hard work, dedication, and the impact they make every day. Here's to strong women supporting each other. Today and every day, we recognise your impact and contributions.

At The Urbanists, we're celebrating #InternationalWomensDay by honouring the incredible women shaping the landscapes of our cities and communities with a well-deserved lunch! The #AccelerateAction theme for this year's International Women's Day calls for us to speed up progress towards gender equality. The Urbanists align with this by creating an environment that actively supports women in growing, leading, and succeeding whilst striving for a systemic change within the business world. It's not just about supporting women in their careers—it's about pushing for real change that goes beyond the workplace. Across the built environment, we're grateful for their hard work, dedication, and the impact they make every day. Here's to strong women supporting each other. Today and every day, we recognise your impact and contributions.

Princess Royal Theatre, Civic Square and Riverside, Port Talbot Over the past year, The Urbanists Landscape Architecture and Planning team has designed and delivered the regeneration of the Princess Royal Theatre, Civic Square and Riverside project in Port Talbot. We are now pleased to share that we have recently secured planning permission for the Theatre and Civic Square proposals for our client Morgan Sindall Construction who is leading the delivery of the project on behalf of Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council. The project marks a significant investment for the Council and reflects the success of the Council team in securing and delivering UK Levelling Up Funding. For us, the recent grant of planning permission marks a key milestone following years of hard work in helping to frame the regeneration narrative for the town centre. This includes the preparation of a town centre placemaking strategy and helping the Council to prepare the Levelling Up Fund application. The project will revitalise and future-proof the Princes Royal Theatre as a centre of arts, culture and performance for future generations. The project will also deliver high-quality, and vibrant green civic spaces centred around the River Afan, enhancing the town’s appeal for the local community and visitors. By creating engaging and well-connected public spaces, the scheme will contribute to the town’s vitality and support local businesses. Key proposals include: Refurbishment of the 798 seat Theatre Provision of a conference hall, cafe & bar Extension & enhancement of the Theatre elevations, including a striking new entrance from the Civic Square Creating a new open space which significantly increases the quality of green & non-green spaces, creating a more inviting space & a destination for the town Incorporating multi-use spaces for seating & informal play Orientating the design/ layout towards the adjacent riverside & shopping areas. Biodiverse greenroof, rain gardens & integrated SuDS Nature play built into the public realm & formal seating Extending the new green space towards the Civic Square to enhance the setting of the Aberavon Bridge The layout of the space is used to better enable sustainable mode movements and meet accessibility needs The refurbishment of the adjacent River Afan footbridge, by removal of its canopy & any required reinforcement work required We thank the wider project team for collaborating to bring this vision to life. This development represents a significant step toward delivering a more sustainable, accessible, and engaging urban environment for Port Talbot. We have really enjoyed working in collaboration with the wider team: Morgan Sindall Construction - Mark Miller & Naomi Jenkins AHR - Hira Teirney & Tim Weeden Hydrock, now Stantec - Karl Griffiths, Palvi Rupalia & Alex Middlemiss Formant - Paul Driscoll This project is funded by the UK Government Ariennir y prosiect hwn gan Lywodraeth y DU. #TheUrbanists #Planning #Placemaking

We are excited to announce that we will be attending MIPIM 2025, and partnering with Cardiff Capital Region again this year! Our Managing Director, James Brown, and our Director, Michelle James MCMI MILM, will be attending the event in Cannes from March 11th to 14th. With a focus this year of Housing Matters, a topic that resonates deeply with us at The Urbanists. We are committed to shaping sustainable, inclusive, and high-quality housing solutions that create lasting positive change for people and communities. If you would like to meet with us at MIPIM, please get in touch. We look forward to seeing you there! #TheUrbanists #Urbanists #MIPIM #HousingMatters #UrbanPlanning #SustainableHousing #FutureCities

Liam Hopkins and Will P. are attending and hosting an exhibition stall at the Design Commission for Wales Placemaking for Town Centres Conference today in Cardiff. They are looking forward to connecting with fellow professionals, sharing insights, and discussing their experiences in placemaking within town centres in Wales. If you're attending, come say hello! #TheUrbanists #Placemaking #TownCentres #Wales #Networking

Liam Hopkins and Will P. are attending and hosting an exhibition stall at the Design Commission for Wales Placemaking for Town Centres Conference today in Cardiff. They are looking forward to connecting with fellow professionals, sharing insights, and discussing their experiences in placemaking within town centres in Wales. If you're attending, come say hello! #TheUrbanists #Placemaking #TownCentres #Wales #Networking

Cardiff Council has today issued the draft replacement Local Development Plan to 2036.  It sets out the proposed planning policies and land allocations and is out for consultation until 15th April 2025.  We are acting on behalf of a range of clients in advising on the potential implications of the draft LDP on their development projects, and making representations where needed. Please get in touch to discuss in more detail: planning@theurbanists.net You can view the documents here: https://lnkd.in/eMc88Ndv

We are excited to announce that we will be attending MIPIM 2025, and partnering with Cardiff Capital Region again this year! Our Managing Director, James Brown, and our Director, Michelle James MCMI MILM, will be attending the event in Cannes from March 11th to 14th. With a focus this year of Housing Matters, a topic that resonates deeply with us at The Urbanists. We are committed to shaping sustainable, inclusive, and high-quality housing solutions that create lasting positive change for people and communities. If you would like to meet with us at MIPIM, please get in touch. We look forward to seeing you there! #TheUrbanists #Urbanists #MIPIM #HousingMatters #UrbanPlanning #SustainableHousing #FutureCities

The UK faces a chronic housing shortage, with a government target of delivering 1.5 million homes by 2029. But can we meet this goal without reforming the planning system? At The Urbanists, we've proposed solutions to streamline planning while maintaining its integrity. There's no shortage of ideas, from embracing zonal planning and empowering communities with Local Development Orders to digitising consultations and addressing nutrient neutrality. Key areas for reform: Modernising the system: Zonal planning for clarity and faster decisions. Streamlining applications: Reducing redundant reports and rethinking ecological survey timelines. Investing in resources: Ringfencing planning fees and funding training to tackle staffing shortages. Digitising processes: Moving consultations online and enhancing accessibility. Depoliticising decision-making: Adding independent expertise to planning committees. Reimagining the planning system could help deliver the homes we desperately need while fostering sustainable, thriving communities. Share your thoughts on how we can unlock housing delivery and use development to support economic growth in the UK without it being at the expense of the quality of development as a whole. #TheUrbanists #Planning #HousingCrisis #UKHousing #PlanningReform