Stantec, a global leader in sustainable design, engineering, and environmental consulting, has been appointed to lead the development of Tees Valley Combined Authority’s (TVCA) spatial development strategy. The Company will be working as the lead consultant for the TVCA within a wider team.
Spatial development strategies (SDS) are high-level spatial plans that look ahead at least 20 years and set the framework for local plans. They are being established across England to make sure regions can meet their future housing needs, coordinate the provision of strategic infrastructure, grow their economies, and improve the environment and levels of climate resilience. This appointment serves as one of the earliest formal SDS commissions of its kind. It places Stantec and its specialist partners at the forefront of this new approach to regional strategic planning.
The spatial development strategy will set out how the Tees Valley and its communities will evolve over the coming years. It will identify key areas for growth, strategic infrastructure requirements, and economic opportunities to be harnessed across the region.
A team built on deep relationships and local knowledge
To complement Stantec’s town planning and development specialists, the Company has assembled a team with the local skills, capabilities, knowledge, and relationships to achieve these aims.
Stantec’s team comprises:
- National communications consultancy Camargue, specialists in strategic stakeholder engagement
- Urban planning and design firm Prior + Partners, helping lead the digital plan-making approach and bringing complementary strategic planning skills
- Commercial property consultants Montagu Evans:
- Richard Wood Associates providing additional national knowledge in strategic planning.
This structure of the team aims to support a coordinated approach when addressing complex challenges associated with the Tees Valley SDS, combining technical delivery with accessible public engagement.
The strategy will be developed through an extensive programme of engagement, with the outputs made publicly available. The approach aims to present complex planning matters in a clear and accessible way, enabling meaningful input from interested parties across the region. Regeneration activity across key sites, including former industrial areas, will be considered alongside local housing and infrastructure needs.
Stantec’s interdisciplinary offer will leverage its experience in planning, economics, transport, utilities, climate change, and environmental assessment. This breadth of capability supports a joined-up approach to strategic planning, addressing both infrastructure and environmental concerns, habitat regulations, and strategic environmental considerations.
Harnessing long-term opportunities
Stantec’s appointment builds on deep existing experience in driving growth in the region. This includes decades of work on impactful energy, water, transport, planning, and community development projects. The firm’s Darlington office will support greater collaboration with regional parties throughout the project, while drawing on the business’ national footprint.
“The Tees Valley presents a distinctive set of opportunities and challenges, and this strategy will support the region’s economic transition. We’ll focus on accelerating key growth areas such as advanced manufacturing, energy, and emerging digital sectors,” said Nancy MacDonald, Stantec’s regional business leader for Infrastructure in the UK and Ireland.
“Our team understands the importance of this opportunity to shape the future of the region but also the need to bring local people with us on this journey. We want to make sure this plan takes advantage of new industries, connects its communities so they can really thrive, and is able to pair housing provision with aspirational economic development goals. We are all incredibly excited to demonstrate our people-focused approach to strategic planning and positive community development with this SDS.”
About Stantec
Stantec empowers clients, people, and communities to rise to the world’s greatest challenges at a time when the world faces more unprecedented concerns than ever before.
We are a global leader in sustainable engineering, architecture, and environmental consulting. Our professionals deliver the expertise, technology, and innovation communities need to manage aging infrastructure, demographic and population changes, the energy transition, and more.
Today’s communities transcend geographic borders. At Stantec, community means everyone with an interest in the work that we do—from our project teams and industry colleagues to our clients and the people our work impacts. The diverse perspectives of our partners and interested parties drive us to think beyond what’s previously been done on critical issues like climate change, digital transformation, and future-proofing our cities and infrastructure.
We are designers, engineers, scientists, project managers, and strategic advisors. We innovate at the intersection of community, creativity, and client relationships to advance communities everywhere, so that together we can redefine what’s possible.
Stantec trades on the TSX and the NYSE under the symbol STN.
Media Contact
Calum Metcalfe
Stantec Media Relations
calum.metcalfe@stantec.com