March-April 2012 South West Building & Construction 27
ENVIRONMENT TOPICS
Compromises required
by Peter McCann-Downes, Cornwall
Geo-environmental Ltd
THERE is a lot of resentment about at the moment with regard to the influence of ecological considerations in planning and determining the balance between the needs of the environment and meeting the needs of housing demand in the 21st century.
Does the planning system promote conflict between the environment and people? My experience is that local planning authorities (LPAs) and county ecologists like to be consulted and are happy to outline areas for constructive debate and compensation. This requires compromises for all concerned. It can be done, it just requires some basic critical path project analysis and forethought. How do we manage the conflict of interest between developers and the environment? Who is to blame when deadlock arises? I think a robust risk assessment process
at the outset is a missed opportunity, often because there isn’t one.
When clients come to us, we conduct a risk assessment of the environmental and real world build-ability implications of a potential development. Our clients then work with planners and NGOs to start out with a framework for sustainability which all parties can agree to. No one is backed into a corner they cannot retreat from and expectations are managed. The current debate surrounding the Falmouth Dockyard dredging project could have been avoided if it were initially considered that damage to the maerl beds was likely to result in a large cost and delivery risk to the project. Other options could have been considered in detail from the outset. Our experience has taught us that engaging LPAs and critical path analysis applied to environmental considerations are the keys to successful project delivery.
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