Mayer Brown’s Leeds office provides expertise in Transport Planning and Highways Design primarily for development and regeneration projects.
“We get involved in a bit of everything, really,” says Andrew Dmoch (pic right), who heads up Mayer Brown’s office in Leeds. “We work with a wide range of clients within the private and public sectors, taking schemes forward from their initial concept right through to design and construction.’’
Range of Projects
Helen Pearson has recently joined the Leeds office as a Graduate Transport Consultant. ‘’One of the main reasons I joined Mayer Brown was the breadth of projects that the company were involved with. In my short time here I have been able to develop my range of skills in many aspects of transport planning including traffic modelling and report preparation.’’
One current Leeds project is a large scale mixed use development in Huddersfield. The scheme will include leisure facilities such as a casino, nightclub and restaurants, along with a hotel and over 100 apartments.
Both Andrew and Helen are working on the scheme, providing key transport and accessibility advice. An important part of the project is to assist in the development of more sustainable modes of travel to the site and to quantify the traffic levels associated with the development so that the impact on the surrounding highways can be determined.
“It’s an important site which is in keeping with the Council’s aim to develop and regenerate Huddersfield’s edge of centre areas” says Andrew. “It’s going to provide the residents of Huddersfield and surrounding areas with a greater range of leisure activities whilst at the same time providing local economic growth. So it’s a project we know the local authority is keen on, and we’re working with them to make sure it happens in a way that benefits everyone.’’
Highway Design
Since being established in 1998, the Design Team within the Leeds Office has seen a continuous growth in workload for developments in fields such as retail, residential, industrial and leisure. The Design Team Leader, Geoff Blackburn says “We design and obtain approval for highway works, both new access junctions and off-site highway improvements.” He adds “Having being involved with the project since the feasibility stage on preliminary design matters, we are able to provide clients with a seamless service once planning approval is obtained”. With experience in site supervision, Section 278 / Section 38 agreements, Traffic Regulation and Stopping-Up Orders and the Leeds office are able to take a project all the way through to construction.
2007 will be an exciting year for the Design Team, following the opening of offices in Preston and Newcastle in 2005. As well as providing a design service for those teams, Mayer Brown will be offering a topographical surveying capability from the Leeds office, building on the success of the southern based operation.