Engineering and hydrological advice into one of the foremost business parks in the UK

Location
Reading, United Kingdom
Offices
Client
  • Oxford Properties
Award
Wildlife Trust’s Biodiversity Benchmark 2015
Corporate Achievement Award 2015 , Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management
Highly Commended - CIEEM’s Best Practice Large-Scale Nature Conservation 2019

Green Park Biodiversity, Reading

The transformation of a low-lying flood plain in Reading has created Green Park: one of Europe's largest business parks, comprising a 72-hectare complex of offices and leisure facilities. Our ecology team worked closely with the park’s owners, Oxford Properties, to enhance biodiversity value and promote enjoyment of the park by business users and the local community.

We were originally approached in 1981 by the landowner, who was seeking to redevelop the low-grade sewage farmland. We recognised the potential and value of the land and led negotiations to obtain the necessary approvals and agreements to commence development of the site.

Over the life of the project, we carried out the complete infrastructure design for Green Park and have provided a range of multidisciplinary consulting services, including project co-ordination and management through the feasibility, pre-planning and planning stages. We overcame the single biggest hurdle of the project by developing an innovative flood relief scheme which formed the water features that give the development its spacious, park-like feel. The innovative approach to drainage has created a biodiverse rich landscape, dominated by Longwater Lake with its fringing reedbeds improving the quality and value of the property offering.

Location
Reading, United Kingdom
Offices
Client
  • Oxford Properties
Award
Wildlife Trust’s Biodiversity Benchmark 2015
Corporate Achievement Award 2015 , Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management
Highly Commended - CIEEM’s Best Practice Large-Scale Nature Conservation 2019

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