Atkins/Waterman appointed on major consultancy framework - 17 May 2013
> Find out more
Press releases
Atkins wins HS2 Rural North Environmental Impact Assessment Contract - 27 March 2012
HS2 Ltd has announced that Atkins has been awarded the contract to carry out the Environmental Impact Assessments for the Rural North section, covering Warwickshire and Staffordshire.
The contract, worth £5.5m, began on 20 March and will continue up to the deposit of the hybrid bill by the end of 2013.
David Tonkin, Atkins’ UK chief executive officer, said: “HS2 will play a vital role in providing the UK with the infrastructure it needs to maintain its position as an attractive place to live and do business. Not only will it improve transport links between the north and south, it will provide much needed capacity to the existing rail network, both of which support the long-term economic growth of the country.
“The need to provide more modern transport infrastructure is vital, but must be done in a way which is sensitive to the communities and environments through which it will pass. The Environmental Impact Assessments will help better understand the potential impact of the new line so full consideration can be given to any appropriate mitigation measures. Having worked on HS2 since 2009 and managed the transformation of East London from industrial wasteland to a sustainable Olympic Park, our people have the experience and expertise to help keep the environmental impact of HS2 to a minimum.”
Atkins will work closely with HS2 Ltd’s environment, design and engineering teams to help reduce the environmental impacts of the scheme, where practicable, and produce a detailed assessment of the environmental effects.
In the early stages of the work the company will carry out environmental surveys for Rural North section of the route, including an assessment of:
- Natural environment – biodiversity, water resources, geology and visual impact;
- Historic environment – built heritage and archaeology;
- Built environment – townscape, traffic and transport, waste and resources and planning policy
- Community – noise, air quality, community and property and agriculture.
This work will contribute to the Environmental Statement, which will be deposited along with other documents in Parliament for the hybrid bill.
Ends
|
|
Follow Atkins’ news on Twitter Notes to editors: Atkins (www.atkinsglobal.com) is one of the world's leading engineering and design consultancies*, employing some 17,700 people across the UK, North America, Middle East, Asia Pacific and Europe. It has the breadth and depth of expertise to plan, design and enable some of the world's most technically challenging and time critical infrastructure projects. *It is the largest engineering consultancy in the UK (New Civil Engineer Consultants File 2011) and the 13th largest global design firm (Engineering News-Record 2011). Recent projects include: - Major infrastructure works, such as the design and programme management of the civil works for the Dubai Metro red and green lines in the UAE;
- Key rail projects – providing architectural and engineering design services on Crossrail, Europe’s biggest civil engineering project in London, UK, and designing stations, tunnelling and track systems for Gautrain, South Africa’s first high speed line;
- Renewable energy schemes – transformer platform design for the Thanet offshore wind park in the North Sea;
- Multi-year architecture-engineering construction management services for the US National Park Service, including projects such as rehabilitation of the Furnace Creek Visitor Center and Administrative Complex at California’s Death Valley to meet the US Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Gold certification standards;
- High profile transport planning and urban design – our innovative scheme to deliver a diagonal crossing at Oxford Circus in London, UK, has helped tackle the problem of pedestrian crowding;
- Water and environmental projects – critical programme management of storm protection works in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and Southern Louisiana in North America, providing expertise in coastal restoration, engineering, environmental and GIS support to rebuild defenses and protect habitats;
- Multidisciplinary building design – Northwood Primary School in Darlington, UK, is an exemplar project which raises standards for environmental design and community engagement.
Atkins was named among The Sunday Times 25 Best Big Companies to Work For 2011, won Consultancy of the Year in the CIBSE Low Carbon Performance Awards 2010, received the first ever certification of the Carbon Trust Standard awarded to an engineering consultancy in the construction sector, and was included in The Times Top 50 Employers for Women 2011 and The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers 2010. Atkins was also construction and civil engineering sector winner for the fifth consecutive year in the Target National Graduate Recruitment Awards 2010 and was awarded a RoSPA Gold Award 2011 for excellence in control of health and safety in the workplace. Atkins is the official engineering design services provider for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. |