Creating thriving and sustainable places Highways, property and planning and building control services Delivering excellence in the built environment
Contents Creating thriving and sustainable places 3
Urban Vision is a joint venture partnership between Salford City Council, Capita and Galliford Try. We launched in 2005 to support and enhance the services of Salford City Council but we now deliver our services to private and public sector clients across the UK. Creating thriving and sustainable places The solutions we offer across our planning and building control, highways and infrastructure and property and regeneration services, helps our clients to create thriving and sustainable places that people want to work and live. How do we do this? We create sustainable communities through the support of quality planning and building control services. We design and deliver major highway projects as well as deliver day to day highway maintenance and operations; and we offer a complete range of specialist property and regeneration services helping you to occupy better and more cost effective spaces and maximise the value of your property assets. Standing out from the crowd Not only do we have the capacity and capability to work on projects of all sizes and complexities, we re constantly evolving to meet customer needs. We have successfully delivered some of the biggest regeneration projects in the North West and are always rethinking the way we work, to make sure we are delivering the most innovative, tailored and quality solutions for our clients. Our people are some of the most experienced and qualified in the business With over 15 years experience and working with over 400 public and private sector clients, our teams work collaboratively, as trusted advisors alongside our clients, to solve their challenge in the most efficient and cost effective way. We can provide you with technical advice or provide additional capacity to support your existing resources during peaks in demand. Creating thriving and sustainable places 5
Our services Highways and infrastructure Our highways and infrastructure solutions cover: Highways design and infrastructure Network management Highway operations Highways design and infrastructure We design and deliver major complex schemes such as the A580 Bus Priority Scheme and the Port Salford Junction improvement scheme in Salford, to smaller scale projects, such as road safety and traffic calming schemes. Our work comprises geometric design, drainage design and highway details such as fencing, lighting and signage; as well as the incorporation of geotechnical and structural design to provide working drawings for contractors. We can also provide estimating, procurement, project, commercial, cost, claims and risk management advice to provide our clients with visibility across a programme, subprogramme and projects. Network management Our network management experts facilitate the safe movement of people and vehicles across the UK by planning, co-ordinating and monitoring all aspects of works on the highway network. Our services cover: Highway asset management Traffic management Road safety Parking services Permits and licensing Countryside management Highway operations Our highway maintenance team provide a comprehensive range of routine, reactive and planned activities to maintain public and private sector street scenes and highway networks across the UK. Complying with the code of practice for highway maintenance management, our experienced team carries out all aspects of highway maintenance, from major structural works to day-to-day repairs and the refurbishing of worn out road, including: Highway inspections Street works Laboratory services Street lighting installation and repairs Asset management Drainage improvement and maintenance works Gully cleaning and septic waste removal and disposal Road resurfacing and surface dressing Highway defect repairs on roads and pavements Responding to emergency highway incidents Creating thriving and sustainable places 7
Our experience Highways and infrastructure Blackleach reservoir flooding prevention To improve flood safety at Blackleach Reservoir, Urban Vision s Drainage Engineers designed works to protect residential areas against risk of sudden flooding. As well as inspecting the reservoir, our staff also designed solutions and supervised the entire construction phase from start to finish to make sure that it is secure from flooding issues. Salford Bolton Network Improvement Scheme Working on behalf of Salford City Council, we designed a major network improvement scheme aimed at making the transport network more efficient by increasing capacity at junctions, improving traffic flow, reducing congestion and improving pedestrian and cyclist provisions throughout Salford and Bolton. Improving Salford s highway network Following several investment programmes by Salford City Council, over a five year period we achieved: A move in the percentage of highways in critical condition, falling from 9.3% to 6.3% A move in the percentage of highways where maintenance would soon be required, falling from 48.1% to 17.6% A move in the percentage of highways in a good overall condition, rising from 42.6% to 76.1% Resurfacing of 1104 roads across the city Resurfacing or reconstruction of 406 footways across the city The safeguarding of areas of Salford from flood risk 1945 gullies cleared and running freely following concentrated cleansing and jetting A580 Bus Priority Scheme Urban Vision project managed the A580 bus priority scheme, which introduced bus only lanes on key stretches of the A580 East Lancashire Road to improve journey times for bus users. In addition to the new bus lanes, 8 major traffic signalised junctions along the route have been redesigned and reconstructed, pedestrian and cycling facilities have been improved, the road has been resurfaced, new street lighting installed, improved highway drainage delivered and improvements to vehicular restraint systems have also been introduced. Creating thriving and sustainable places 9
Our experience Highways and infrastructure Highway coring In the City of Salford, there are around 8000 excavations from statutory undertakers every year. On behalf of the Council, Urban Vision carry out core testing on approximately 50% of these excavations. In 2011 80% of the core samples carried out showed that the repair was not competed to the correct standards, resulting in a fail. After completing core testing for the Council over a five year period, the failure rate has now dropped to 35% (in 2016). This shows that utility companies have really changed their behaviours and are now completing the majority of repairs correctly on their first reinstatement visit thanks to Urban Vision s coring service. Port Salford Junction Improvement Scheme Urban Vision designed and supervised this high profile new 1.5m junction. The works involved introducing a new traffic signalled junction, introducing a new left and right turn lane and extensive carriageway resurfacing. Salford Street lighting retrofit At a time when many other local authorities across the UK are having to switch off their street lights to save money, we devised a strategy to maintain the street lighting in Salford, making significant savings for the Council and helping them meet carbon reduction targets. Following a successful pilot project of 2000 LED streetlights, the Council approved a further 24000 due to their success with the expectation to save the Council around 20m in energy savings over their 20 year life span. Bridgewater Canal regeneration As part of the 5.5m regeneration of Bridgewater Canal our landscape architects and highway engineers designed a range of schemes on behalf of Salford City Council that have helped to improve the physical fabric and infrastructure of the canal. The works involved upgrading, resurfacing and widening the towpath as well as providing general landscape improvements with new seating and signage. Creating thriving and sustainable places 11
Our services Planning and building control Our planning and building control solutions cover: Planning policy and consultancy Minerals and waste Planning development management Building control Planning policy and consultancy Minerals and waste Planning development management Building control We have an experienced team with strong knowledge of existing and emerging national policy and how to apply this at a local level for your organisation. We can handle all or part of the planning service from project management; delivering the full range of planning policy documents and providing consultancy advice on specific schemes, including: Planning policy - Project management of, and providing content for Local Plans - Preparation of background technical evidence - Representing local authority clients during the examination stage of their Local Plans Planning consultancy - Assessing site specific challenges posed by each development proposal preparation of relevant supporting documents required to accompany applications (Planning Statements, Design and Access Statements, and Environmental Impact Assessment Screening requests) - Lead planning co-ordinating role on major projects in collaboration with multi-disciplinary project teams - Section 106 negotiating skills - Collaboration with planning policy colleagues in advising LPAs on strategic policy development Representing local authorities and other clients at Planning Appeals and Hearings including five year land supply and planning balance. Our minerals, waste and energy planning service provides specialist development management and policy planning support, dedicated to local authority service delivery. Services include: Processing minerals, waste and renewable energy planning applications Acting as lead case officer in the determination of planning applications Providing expert witness support in relation to planning appeals Planning policy support Minerals and waste site monitoring Site assessment and appraisal Equality Impact Assessments for Local Plans We have unrivalled experience of development management in a local government environment, including the unique relationships between applicants, developers, councillors and the local community. Our planning development management service provides: Full development management service dealing with pre-application enquiries and all types of planning applications and related developments (receipt through to recommendation) A bespoke pre-application service to meet specific client needs Performance management monitoring and management of all cases against defined key performance indicators (KPIs) Service diagnostics ongoing service improvement and resource evaluation Validation and registration of planning and related applications completing all relevant notification and publicity requirements A full planning enforcement service from investigation to making recommendations on breaches of planning control Commercial understanding to help make informed decisions A full appeals service We offer a practical approach to building control. This helps you to maximise financial efficiencies and have assurance on designs at the earliest possible stage of any building project. Our services include: Support and advice for building standards compliance Design appraisal and site inspections Structural and fire engineering appraisals Sustainability advice and assisting clients to achieve carbon emission targets for new developments Assessments of public safety at sports grounds Securing open and derelict property Management of demolition projects Party wall surveys Access surveys Management and operational support An approved inspector service Warranty services A bespoke client portal Creating thriving and sustainable places 13
Our experience Planning and building control RHS Garden Bridgewater We worked with the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) on behalf of Salford City Council to support their planning application to allow for Salford s 30 million RHS Garden Bridgewater to go ahead. Urban Vision s role in conjunction with the RHS started at the pre-application stage where Urban Vision provided guidance and assistance to ensure the application reflected an understanding of the local and national policy framework and allowed for an informed recommendation to be made. Urban Vision also played the lead role in the assessment of the planning application and the culmination of the process which involved writing a report to the Planning Panel with a recommendation of approval for the project. Minerals and waste needs assessment for Kirklees Council Kirklees Council required a detailed minerals and waste needs assessment to ensure they set out clear minerals and waste policies for their district. As the Council did not house this specific expertise in-house and also required an independent study, they commissioned our minerals and waste team to support them with this activity. Our team provided forecasts of waste usage, current management capacity and projected future waste growth that was robust, transparent, and based on the most accurate and up-to-date information available. In addition to providing interim and final reports documenting the results of the analysis, we also provided the Council with a bespoke model for calculating waste needs that can be used in the future when new information about waste usage or capacity becomes available. Kirklees Council were provided with an up to date and robust evidence base for the development of policies within their Local Plan on Minerals and Waste. This meant that the authority were able to have all the information they needed to make a local decision on which option best met their minerals and waste needs going forward. Media City UK Urban Vision s Development Management team processed a reserved matters application for Phase 2 of the MediaCityUK development which will be delivered over a ten year period and has a development value of more than 1 billion. The first phase of the development has been completed which has transformed the former docks, revitalising the area and attracting world-leading media talent and educational facilities to the area. The Phase 2 application dealt with matters of appearance, landscaping and scale for 50,000 m 2 (540,000 sq. ft. of office space, 1,800 apartments, retail and leisure development). The Development Management team worked collaboratively with the applicant and their team of architects during the pre-application, application and post decision phases of the determination process, adding value to the development at all stages, which focused heavily on securing a high quality of deign which fits within the parameters of the original outline application. We assessed the scheme against the Council s Development Plan, negotiated with the developer to secure various scheme amendments, and presented its assessment of the scheme in a robust officer s report to the Council s Planning Committee. The scheme was determined in accordance with the timescales set out in the Planning Performance Agreement. Providing planning capacity support to Rochdale Council Due to some short term resource gap at Rochdale Council, it left their planning team with reduced capacity and senior expertise to support with the planning requirements of the borough whilst they were in the process of recruiting for permanent members of staff. Our officers worked alongside the Council s planning team based at their offices in Rochdale and processed a range of major and minor planning applications and pre planning applications for a period of 3 months. Creating thriving and sustainable places 15
Our experience Planning and building control Planning consultancy We have assisted Laing O Rourke and Salford City Council Childrens Services in the preparation of a planning application for a new 2 form entry at the Deans Primary School. Permission was granted in April 2017 and we are now involved with the co-ordination of work to fulfil a series of planning conditions. The development will ensure that the Council meets its statutory obligation to provide for increased demand for school places, thereby helping to support existing communities. It will also bring back into use an existing sports hall and playing field that have been disused for some years thereby helping to support regeneration and efficient use of land. We have been working closely with Highways on traffic management measures to alleviate impact on the local area. South East Lincolnshire Joint Local Plan We have supported South Holland District Council and Boston Borough Council in the development of their Local Plan since January 2015. We have provided project management advice and input to help progress to Local Plan which has reached a key milestone with the submission of the plan for examination in June 2017. We have also provided technical input by producing background papers to accompany the plan on the Spatial Strategy; the Sequential Flood Risk Test for proposed allocations and a Housing Implementation Strategy. In addition we coordinated and produced the Duty to Cooperate Statement for the Local Plan. Our close working with the client will continue as the Local Plan is examined with work currently planned on assisting the Joint Local Plan team in producing statements for the examination and attending appropriate hearing sessions. Planning appeals We represented East Staffordshire Council at an appeal against the refusal to grant outline planning consent for a mixed use development compromising 385 dwellings, provision of 1.69ha of land for a single form entry primary school and associated infrastructure including details of access with all other matter reserved. We presented on matters of planning policy, five year land supply and the planning balance. The case was called in by the Secretary of State for his determination. The Secretary of State agreed with the appointed Planning Inspector and the appeal was dismissed. Creating thriving and sustainable places 17
Our services Property and regeneration Our property and regeneration service covers: Property design and regeneration Transactional estates Property maintenance and compliance Property design and regeneration Our award winning design service provides the very best industry knowledge and experience to deliver innovative and bespoke spaces that meet your property design requirements. Our services cover: Landscape architecture Master planning Urban design Structural design Project management Planning development Building information modelling Acoustics Engineering and surveying Fire engineering Ecology Regeneration if contaminated land Construction design management coordination Construction and cost management Development monitoring Property and workplace consultancy Regeneration and development management Technical advisory service programme and projects. Transactional estates Our highly experienced transactional estates experts can review, assess and rethink your entire property investment portfolio to make sure you re receiving the best possible solutions and financial return on your property assets and space. Our services include: Strategic advice, asset management, valuations and planning Acquisition and disposal of land and property Strategy and implementation of compulsory purchase orders Landlord and tenant work including rent reviews, lease renewals and landlord and tenant management Rating appeals Maintaining land and property records and carrying out general property management Licensing for markets, car boot sales, fairgrounds and filming Section 106 agreements including viability assessments Option appraisals Cost reduction and income maximisation strategies Property maintenance and compliance We can support you through the physical lifecycle of a building from acquisition to disposal and managing all the practical aspects of asset management along the way. We help you to plan and manage your property portfolios, assess the condition of existing property assets and optimise the performance of your buildings. All in all, one of the most important things we do is protect our clients from legal action by making sure your buildings always remain legally compliant. Our people are the best in the business and are up to date with industry practices and legislation. Our services include: Surveying including national surveying programmes, building, DDA, condition, statutory compliance and dilapidation surveys Handling a range of functions including funding applications, schedules of condition, party wall matters, demolition, statutory compliance, facilities management and print and mail Property strategies, building design, development planning and project delivery Contract administration, procurement and contractor management Repairs and maintenance management, including help desk services Planning and delivery of planned maintenance programmes Tailored solutions such as management and consultancy for energy bureaus and maintenance for schools Creating thriving and sustainable places 19
Our experience Property and regeneration Strategic property advice on 101 Embankment Urban Vision has provided strategic property advice on the 101 Embankment scheme in Manchester City Centre, which provides 165,000 sq ft of Grade A office space, together with both leisure and retail opportunities. The advice was related to the lease of the building to enable Capital Investment Funding. Shaping Salford Central Working with Salford City Council and English Cities Fund, we have supported the regeneration of Central Salford through delivering and advising on a variety of schemes. We have provided key strategic property advice to Salford City Council to help form the development contract in 2006/2007 and managed the property acquisition programme through bringing together fragmented land ownerships, phasing of differing developer interests and promotion of a comprehensive implementation framework. Regenerating Salford s schools Due to increasing demand for school places in Salford, on behalf of Salford City Council s Children s Services, we are delivering a property investment programme that is expanding and improving numerous school buildings across the city of Salford. As well as providing additional space, our works are also improving the learning environment for Salford s children and in some cases providing additional facilities for the community to use outside of school hours. Port Salford Greenway Urban Vision oversaw the delivery of this 1.5m scheme to deliver a network of high quality cycling and walking routes in Salford which helped connect key sections of communities throughout Salford. Using a wide range of expertise from our teams, which included landscape design, highway and structural engineers and quantity surveyors, we delivered both phases of the scheme until its completion. Creating thriving and sustainable places 21
Our experience Property and regeneration One New Bailey handover Urban Vision achieved a formal handover of One New Bailey from English Cities Fund to Salford City Council in 2016. As part of our role we also offered strategic advice to the Council on Salford Central and One New Bailey, this 165000sqft Grade A office building was taken over by SCC almost 10 years to the day from the commencement of discussions between Urban Vision and English Cities Fund which led to the widest ranging regeneration scheme in Salford for many years. Urban Vision completed the estate management responsibility for One New Bailey as part of the Council s wider estate and will continue to provide strategic advice on all regeneration aspects of the upcoming phases of the Salford Central regeneration project. Disposing of hope high school site Urban Vision managed the disposal of a former school site worth just over 2million, acting as the agency service function on behalf of Salford City Council. We oversaw the surplus property process, marketed the property, analysed, negotiated and secured offers and followed the scheme to completion. Asset viability studies Did you know we have secured an additional 6million in S106 contributions for Salford City Council over the course of 2016/2017? We have a dedicated planning and development viability team which incorporates Development Surveyors, Quantity Surveyors and other specialist property advisors who have vast knowledge and experience in assessing a scheme s viability including costs, development values, professional fees, as well as abnormal and other costs. Our team are able to negotiate with developers and maximise the planning obligations on behalf of your local authority. Creating thriving and sustainable places 23
Delivering excellence in the built environment www.urbanvision.org.uk info@urbanvision.org.uk @urbanvision_uk Urban Vision Partnership Limited GD0343