Assess Imagine Create

We are an award winning landscape consultancy based in Manchester city centre, with over 30 years of experience providing landscape solutions for all types and scales of development across the UK.

Our large scale masterplanning and implementation work has won planning and design awards and is widely recognised as an exemplar of best practice. Over 30 years of experience at Cambourne has provided us with extensive experience of the planning, design and delivery of residential developments from inception to completion, including their long term stewardship. This experience and expertise has resulted in our involvement in some of the UK’s major developments, including the expansion of Pinewood Film Studios into the UK’s largest media production facility and NW Bicester, the UK’s first eco-town.

Landscape architecture

Landscape architecture lies at the heart of our business. We aim to ensure that our clients make the most of their landscape assets through our skills in landscape planning, analysis, design and contract administration of both the construction and maintenance phases of schemes. From the creation of large public parks and squares to the detailed planting design for intimate garden spaces, our commitment to clients’ needs, matched by sound technical knowledge and imaginative design solutions has resulted in the implementation of a range of landscapes that share the common traits of commodity, firmness and delight.

Environmental Planning

Randall Thorp’s skills in environmental planning have helped our clients on a range of projects with complex landscape issues. We can develop strategies to maximise landscape potential and to rationalise and unify landscape design and management issues. We produce Landscape Appraisals, Townscape Appraisals, LVIAs, TVIAs, design guides and planning reports specific to all aspects of the landscape, townscape and visual environment.

Masterplanning

Through our involvement with Cambourne new settlement and many other schemes, we have over thirty years’ experience of masterplanning large complex schemes. We offer our clients a wealth of practical knowledge regarding both the planning and delivery of masterplan projects. Whatever the size or complexity of the project, we work in a holistic way, balancing the needs of engineering, green infrastructure, built development, existing constraints, site features, programme and budget to ensure designs are appropriate, deliverable and sustainable.

Urban Design

Our approach to urban design is rooted in the idea that landscape and townscape are key to creating spaces with a real sense of place, as well as delivering schemes that offer commodity, firmness and delight. Our involvement with the delivery of Cambourne new settlement has enabled us to see at first-hand how design theory translates into the creation of living places. With our philosophy and experience we offer our clients imaginative yet realistic urban design solutions that meet the needs of their project’s challenges and opportunities.

Expert Witness

Since successfully presenting landscape evidence for our client during the 1989 Cambridgeshire New Settlement Public Inquiry, we understand how important it is for our clients that we can defend our work in planning appeals, whether this takes the form of written representations, a hearing or a public inquiry. Our team recognise that our landscape analysis and design must be robust enough to withstand detailed inspection in a public forum. The senior members of our team have a successful track record in preparing evidence and appearing as expert witnesses. Our clients for this area of work include developers, individuals and Local Planning Authorities.