Collaborating on sustainability at Howbery Park

Envision is a Sustainability, Energy and Building Services consultancy, which already has offices in London and Milton Keynes, while Simply Planning are a team of planning professionals who have a base in London and an office in Birmingham, but who work right across the UK.  

Both companies work in the built environment, with Envision specialising in offering practical and commercial advice on sustainability, and Simply Planning offering planning consultancy across all sectors of development, with particular expertise in the retail and residential sectors.

Simon Rainsford, Envision’s Managing Director, says: “Collaborating closely provides both our businesses with opportunities and synergies.  There’s also a social side to working together, and an opportunity to share resources. At Envision, we offer a broad approach to sustainability, so that in addition to the essential focus on energy efficiency and carbon reduction, our advice ensures that sustainable building design also considers the health and wellbeing of the occupants. The co-location with Simply Planning at Howbery Park follows these same principles.”

Simply Planning Director, Rachel Jones, explains: “Although we are two distinct companies, there are so many benefits from sharing a workspace.  We started collaborating on projects around five years ago. The Oracle Shopping Centre in Reading is one example where there has been a crossover, with both our companies working on different aspects of the Riverside Pavilion for the shopping centre’s owner, Hammerson Plc. Team working is already the way we work at Simply Planning, working closely with our clients to provide advice from before a site has been purchased right through to the discharge of the last planning condition.”

Donna Bowles, Estates Manager at Howbery Business Park, added: “We are delighted to welcome Envision and Simply Planning to Howbery.  We are proud of the park’s own green credentials with the solar farm which supplies around a quarter of the park’s annual energy use, and of our BREEAM buildings, Red Kite and Kestrel House.  We will also be installing some electric vehicle charging points for tenant use in the near future”.