Julie Cadwallader, Author at PJA

PJA sponsors Mobility Camp, but what is an ‘Unconference’?

Mobility Camp (previously Transport Planning Camp) is an annual volunteer run ‘unconference’ bringing together transport planners, modellers, engineers, technologists, social activists, academics and others interested in discussing and coming up with solutions to ongoing challenges in the transport sector. The event, now in it’s sixth year is being held in Birmingham in 2023.

We asked PJA’s Associate Director, Catriona Swanson, who has helped organise the event to talk us through the day:

What does Mobility Camp mean to you and what are you looking forward to most about the day?

I really love Mobility Camp because it’s so different from all the other transport conferences including being much more affordable meaning it attracts a much better mix of attendees including students, recent graduates and even activists and campaigners (it’s only £30 for private sector tickets and £5 for students, public sector etc). This, along with the format of Mobility Camp, means there’s a greater diversity of voices and opinions and it’s especially good for me to hear what people just starting out in their careers in transport think.

And it’s the format where Mobility Camp really differentiates itself from other conferences… because it’s actually an “unconference”. This means that although the overall theme and structure of the day is decided in advance, the attendees come up with the topics to focus on throughout the day and vote on them. Whichever topics get the most votes, goes on the agenda. The day is then facilitated by a team of volunteers.

The thing I’m most looking forward to about the day – apart from the chance to catch up with lots of friends – is the amazing panel we have planned in the morning to get everyone inspired and excited about the day. Our panellists this year include Sonya Byers, CEO at Women in Transport and Isabelle Clement, Director of Wheels for Wellbeing so you just know it’s going to me amazing!

I’m also really pleased that PJA are supporting Mobility Camp this year in a number of ways. Firstly, for the second year, I’m part of the organising team, secondly my wonderful colleagues Lianne Baker-Brook and Shannon Connolly will be volunteering on the day, and thirdly PJA are sponsoring the conference.

Why an ‘unconference’

I’m sure James Gleave who leads the organisation team and set up Mobility Camp 6 years ago has a great answer to why he chose an “unconference” format. However, the reason I love the format is that it’s so democratic – anyone can come and a graduate or campaigner will have as much input and say as some boring old Associate Director like me! And the whole day is facilitated by an excellent team who ensure it stays a safe and welcoming environment even when we’re debating controversial topics or participants have differences of opinion. I’d really encourage anyone who hasn’t experienced an unconference to get a ticket and get stuck in.

This year’s theme is ‘change the narrative’, where in your work have you experienced challenges in introducing a new narrative and what did you do to overcome them?

I specialise in active travel where a lot of the time schemes require reallocation of road space or car restraint in order to improve conditions for walking and cycling. In other words, my whole job is about changing the narrative and trying to unpick 60+ years of car-centric planning and it would be easier to identify the occasional moments when I’m not facing huge challenges! The way I try to go about changing the narrative is the same as most, I think: ensuring we develop really strong evidence bases for proposals, engaging genuinely and early to build trust, and developing really high quality proposals that reflect the evidence and community and stakeholder feedback.

Among transport professionals, there is a consensus that we need take bold decisions to tackle the climate emergency, air quality crises, obesity and many other issues. At Mobility Camp 2023, we will explore ideas and actions to do this more successfully.

What do you think is the key challenge the industry will face over the next five years? How are you/your team/PJA able to address/assist with this key challenge?

Worsening climate change and air quality are fundamental challenges we will face in the property industry in the next five years. At PJA we will continue to do what we do well, acting as thought leaders and developing robust evidence to assist our clients and support their projects.

If you could give a candidate one key takeaway from the day, what would that be?

That they will get out of it what they put in! It really is very different to a usual conference where you can play a very passive role if that’s what you want. At an unconference you really are expected to put a shift in, from coming up with ideas for topics at the start of the day to participating in discussions ad sessions throughout the day and feedback at the end. It will very likely put some people well outside of their comfort zones but it is also a great opportunity to challenge yourself, think differently and meet new people.

How does your expertise and experience of working with PJA assist in your ability to help support an event like Mobility Camp’?

The great thing about Mobility Camp is that the organising team come from lots of different companies and organisations across the industry and we all bring different ideas and perspectives. In terms of supporting Mobility Camp on the day, I find that my years of experience running stakeholder workshops and consultant events helps when I’m facilitating sessions but, honestly, I’m there to learn and improve my skills just like everyone else!

Mobility Camp takes place in Birmingham on Tuesday 26th September. Find further information and tickets here.

Catriona Swanson, Associate Director

Catriona is an Associate Director in our Manchester office. She has over 14 years’ experience of delivering active travel, sustainable transport, regeneration and placemaking schemes in both the public and private sectors. Catriona’s experience includes network planning and concept design as well as overseeing the detailed design and delivery of schemes. She is particularly passionate about inclusive design and creating Healthy Streets.

Contact Catriona: [email protected]

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PJA sponsors Mobility Camp, but what is an ‘Unconference’? Email

PJA help turn the streets of Cape Town into an award-winning E-Prix track

With the inaugural Cape Town e-Prix circuit being voted Formula E’s ‘Race of the Year’ we examine what it took for PJA to create the track on the streets of South Africa’s ‘Mother City’.

With Table Mountain and the Atlantic Ocean in view, the biggest economic and global media event¹ in Cape Town for a decade was ready to start, but alongside the excitement Formula E’s message was clear – it is still the first sport to be net zero since inception and continues to implement the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals within their environmental strategy², sharing their technology to pioneer the way for the road cars of tomorrow.

But how did Cape Town become an award-winning Formula E racing circuit? PJA Director, Jerry Muscroft, tells all:

“It all started with a kick-off meeting a little over four years ago and ended with seeing the racing in person on 25th February 2023. From concept to delivery, PJA supported e-Movement to create a world-class Formula E racing circuit, the first ever held in Sub-Saharan Africa, that showcased the stunning scenery around this historic city and delivered exciting and thrilling racing action.

“Working with e-Movement, we agreed to design a circuit that showcased the wonders of Cape Town, a fast circuit to challenge the drivers and create an event that lived up to the spectacular back drop of Table Mountain. But, more importantly, we aimed to provide a platform to address the need to use sustainable forms of green energy and mobility in Africa.

“PJA were involved in the project from the initial concept, through the feasibility study and design development stages, preparation of FIA Homologation and engineering drawings to delivery on site.

“Detailed consideration was given on how best to allow the city and local environs to continue to operate during the construction of the circuit and we also assisted with the preparation and submission of the circuit dossier to FIA, including meeting with them to present circuit proposals ensuring any issues or concerns were addressed swiftly and smoothly.

“Consideration was given to creating a fast free-flowing circuit that fitted within the fabric of the city but also considered the needs of residents and spectators by offering sustainable accessibility to the venue. In our continuing role we liaised with Formula E, FIA and Motorsport South Africa and other key stakeholders to deliver the project and considered a potential legacy project: introducing a cycle track around the circuit for everyday use post-race day.

“Creating a street circuit in a major capital city in such a short timeframe is a massive challenge. This could only be achieved through great collaboration, teamwork and passion, a project where so many people put their heart and soul into making it happen, and were so eager to showcase the place they live.

“The inaugural 2.9km long Cape Town street circuit provided some spectacular racing and mind-blowing overtaking moves that have left the racing world calling for more. It shows just what can be achieved with a little imagination, a lot of positivity and a ton of passion combined with an amazing amount of skill and knowledge.

“There are many people to thank and you know who you are, but this could not have been achieved without the support of Nadeson, who supported in undertaking the civils design of the local streets, Martin & East for building those works, The City of Cape Town for believing in the impossible, Access Management and of course Formula E.”

The Cape Town EPrix circuit has been voted as Formula E’s ‘Race of the Year’ and is home to season nine’s ‘Best Overtake’ from eventual Cape Town circuit winner Antonio Felix da Costa; One of two Cape Town overtakes in season nine’s top ten. A delighted Iain Banner from e-Movement praised Jerry saying “All credit to you for designing a racers track!”

Jerry Muscroft

Jerry has over 30 years’ experience in the planning, design and delivery of development infrastructure for both large and small scale projects both in UK and internationally. His focus is on private sector projects in the residential, retail, commercial, leisure and education sectors.

Get in touch with Jerry: [email protected]

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Jerry Muscroft Email 0118 359 2761

PJA’s Perth office turns one!

In August 2022, sharing our passion for creating better places, Tanya Moran and Tim Judd joined Director Sam Williams as part of Team PJA in Australia. They opened the inaugural Western Australia PJA office in Perth, recognising a significant opportunity for growth in influencing transport outcomes, sustainable infrastructure and placemaking in the area.

12 months after bringing the PJA brand to the west coast, Tim and Tanya continue to prioritise planning infrastructure for people and places to call home.

In the 365 days they have been there they have gone from a team of three to six, supporting a number of local and national clients and winning awards. They’ve done all this whilst still picking their children up from school, going to their sports events and performances while maintaining that healthy life-work balance we all strive for.

So what might the next 12 months bring? Tanya and Tim said:

“We’re so pleased to provide a ‘go -to’ transport and place making specialist group for our clients and partners in the industry on a national level. In the next 12 months we aim to continue to work on projects that we are truly excited about and organically grow our team. We thank our project partners and clients for their support of PJA in Australia over the last year and will continue to offer our combined 40+ years’ expertise in the transport planning industry.”

Get in touch with Tanya: [email protected] or Tim: [email protected]

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Meet our team in Australia

Sam Williams

[email protected]

Sam heads up the Melbourne office of PJA and has over 11 years’ experience in civil engineering design consultancy’s.

He has worked on a wide range of projects including: development infrastructure, public realm improvements, national cycle routes and urban regeneration.

Sam brings a genuine passion for early engineering engagement at concept stage to ensure that a creative and credible design can be delivered.

Tanya Moran

[email protected]

Tanya has 20 years’ experience across the transport sector working on urban regeneration, built form, greenfields and major infrastructure projects for the public and private sector.

She has a proven track record of delivering complex projects, drawing on her in-depth appreciation of the transport system and expectations of its users to service land use planning and create places that people feel comfortable to interact in and safe to call ‘Home’.

She is a Fellow of Engineers Australia and has been an active committee member for over a decade for Transport Australia, Student Engagement and the National Women Working Group of Engineers Australia.

Tim Judd

[email protected]

Tim has over 20 years’ experience in transportation and land use planning, road safety, public transport and active travel. Tim’s main focus is on providing advice on street design and its role within places.

He is a board member of Streets for People, a member of the Cycling Walking Australia and New Zealand Design Innovations Working Group and a panel member of Main Roads WA/IPWEA Road Safety Panel.

Tim has also been actively involved in developing the Healthy Streets framework and is an accredited Healthy Streets Assessor.

Richard Spencer

[email protected]

Richard has over 20 years’ experience in both the public and private sector in Road Design & Construction, Traffic Engineering, Traffic Management Planning, Road Safety, Crash Investigation and Road Safety Engineering.

With expansive experience and appreciation for projects of all size Richard is passionate about delivering high quality safe places with a commercial focus.

Rodney Ding

[email protected]

Rodney has over 33 years’ experience in transport planning, traffic management, traffic engineering, transport/traffic modelling, road safety engineering and traffic planning. He specialises in Transport Impact Assessments, Intersection Analysis, Transport Modelling, Traffic Design, Parking Assessment/Design, Road Safety and Expert Witness. Having worked across a wide variety of projects, he is also fluent in the use of key traffic engineering/planning software platforms such as Sidra Intersection (Network), Q-Paramics and the Emme suite.

Sonja Hayes

[email protected]

Sonja has over 13 years’ experience in the traffic and transport industry. She started her career in New Zealand with a focus in road safety before relocating to Australia in 2012. She has experience in the local government sector and in small and large consultancies, undertaking traffic assessments for small individual developments through to larger structure plan and subdivisions.

Sonja has a vast skill set having prepared traffic impact assessments, car park assessments and design, safety inspections and crash analysis for sites across Australia and New Zealand. Her passion lies in road safety, hoping to contribute to improvements in the experience of travel for all road users, across all modes of travel.

PJA People: Suzanne Lang

Our wonderful team are our greatest asset. Not only experts in transport, engineering and placemaking but also committed to delivering better places for people through high-level-service client experiences.

We’re very proud to continue to celebrate the faces behind the fast-growing international consultancy that we are today in our monthly feature ‘PJA People’.

Next up in our series is Operations Manager, Suzanne Lang, based in our Birmingham office:

Tell us what you do at PJA

I have been with PJA for 2 years, joining at the Office Manager but soon moved on to my current role as Operations Manager. I look after the facilities and upkeep of all our offices, IT requirements and I am the Health & Safety Co-ordinator.

What’s your career path so far?

My past roles have always been in admin or sales. My last role was as a move manager for a removal company, working alongside insurers to re-house people who were moving under difficult circumstances (eg, fire, flood, subsidence etc). Lets say this was very challenging!

What do you enjoy when you’re not working?

I love to eat out whenever possible, even though I do enjoy cooking! I love to socialise, but probably most of all just love relaxing on holiday in the sun.

Are you a dog or cat person?

Jury is probably out on this one, but think I am probably more of a dog person– although not enough to have one!

What are you currently reading or listening to?

I have just finished Six Years by Harlan Coben, my go-to author right now. I am always listening to either Paul Weller or general Northern Soul.

Claim to fame?

One of my first jobs was for a magazine that covered the advertising and publicity industry, and so was lucky to meet quite a few celebs, although none that anybody here is old enough to remember! Oh, and I also got hit by a car in London, driven by Vanessa Feltz!!

Suzanne Lang, Operations Manager

Suzanne manages the smooth running of our head office and handles operational matters across the business as a whole.

Get in touch with Suzanne: [email protected]

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Suzanne Lang Email 0121 289 9223

Team PJA earn Carbon Literacy Certification

PJA is committed to taking urgent climate action and reducing our carbon footprint. To accelerate change within the business, PJA signed up to the Pledge to Net Zero at the start of 2023 with the ambition of halving our carbon emissions by 2030. We are continuing on our timeline for change and, as part of that, team members Daniel Flello and Samantha Furey qualified as ‘Carbon Literate’ with the Carbon Literacy Project.

As a transport, engineering and placemaking consultancy PJA recognise the critical role we play in contributing to a sustainable future when creating better places through great design. Our team’s understanding of carbon impacts, and how to minimize them, is vital in every aspect of a project we undertake. That’s why we’re proud of Samantha and Daniel for deepening their understanding of the carbon impacts associated with our industry. Completing this course means they now join a national effort of professionals who are informed and equipped to bring about a low carbon culture. This will undeniably enrich the sustainable strategies we offer to our clients.

Their achievement also underscores our company’s commitment in fostering a culture of continuous learning and sustainability. It’s an essential step towards our goal of ensuring all of our team members are equipped with the knowledge and tools to understand and minimize carbon footprints.

We continue to launch a number of initiatives within the business to progress our carbon reduction with further announcements coming soon.

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Team PJA earn Carbon Literacy Certification Email

PJA People: Nik Wooldridge

We’re very proud to continue to celebrate the faces behind the fast-growing international consultancy that we are today in our monthly feature ‘PJA People’.

Next up in our series is Principal Engineer, Nik Wooldridge, based in our Birmingham office:

Tell us what you do at PJA

I work in the engineering civils team in Birmingham, designing access junctions to proposed development sites, to support land promotion or feasibility aspirations and planning applications for my transport colleagues. Since joining PJA and the release of LTN 1/20, I have also developed preliminary active travel designs for public and private sector clients, which has been very enjoyable.

What’s your career path so far?

After graduating from Loughborough University with a degree in Civil Engineering in 2000, I was fortunate enough to be hired by Phil Jones (before he created PJA) as a Graduate Engineer in the transport planning team for a large consultancy in Birmingham. I was soon tempted to transfer to the engineering team and was subsequently promoted through the grades, working mainly on residential led developments at the detailed design stage through to construction. I joined PJA in 2020 for a new challenge and, after linking back with old colleagues, I joined the civils discipline and took on more major highways work. I enjoy the intricacy and challenge of the design process and feel very grateful to have worked with many humble people, with extensive technical knowledge to help my own personal development.

What do you enjoy when you’re not working?

I have always enjoyed sports (football, cricket, golf) and helped coach an U15 football team to league and cup success a few years ago. I also enjoy outdoor activities and challenges that provide physical and mental tests. My most fond memory was completing the Isle of Wight challenge in 2017, walking 106km around the island with a great group of friends. My family are also extremely important to me and I enjoy spending time in their company.

Are you a dog or cat person?

I recall when my sister and I were very young, we moved to a new house with a beautiful garden and we asked for a cat and a dog and a swing and a slide. We were lucky to get a swing and a slide, but unfortunately no cat or a dog … other than a stray cat, which we called Mackintosh. I have since grown to like the dogs in my family, a boxer dog called Basil and now a cockapoo called Nala. So I would have to say dogs.

Cockapoo, Nala

What are you currently reading or listening to?

Well, I have two books on the go, one entitled ‘Movement’ by Thalia Verkade and Marco te Broemmelstroet and ‘The Silkworm’ by Robert Galbraith, alias JK Rowling, although I’m easily distracted when reading.

Claim to fame?

Well, I feel ‘fame’ is relative and everyone can be ‘famous’ for what they do for others and how they are seen by their peers. Perhaps I could say knowing our Chairman Phil Jones with his immense stature in the industry. However, to try and be original I will say being shown around Parkhead, home of Glasgow Celtic Football Club in their centenary year 1988 by Billy McNeill, the then Celtic manager. He was a distant relative of my Gran on her cousins side (cousin’s, daughters, husband!) who agreed to meet us and took time out to show us round. I felt he was a person of huge stature and immense presence.

Nik Wooldridge with Glasgow Celtic Football Club Manager, Billy McNeill in 1988

Nik Wooldridge, Principal Engineer

Nik works in the engineering team with design and project management experience at all stages of the design process.

Focused on the delivery of residential and highways led schemes, from pre-planning strategic designs (drainage, earthworks, highways) through to securing technical approvals for on and off site Section Agreements.

Get in touch with Nik: [email protected]

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Nik Wooldridge Email 0121 289 9229

International Women in Engineering Day 2023

International Women in Engineering Day shines a light on the amazing work women engineers are doing every day around the world giving them a profile when they are still hugely under-represented. With 2021 figures indicating that in the UK only 16.5% of engineers are women, the day offers the opportunity to encourage young women and girls into engineering careers.

PJA’s Engineer, Fel Llanora explains:

“As a female engineer who is in early years on my career, the gender ratio between male and female engineers is still unbalanced. From attending engineering lectures with a 70:30 ratio between men and women, to walking into male-dominant offices where women are minority, it can be quite intimidating, yet it can feel powerful at the same time.

“This issue has been improved over the past few years and I am hopeful that it will continue to do so. In order to do this, I believe that having fellow women promoting engineering to schools, social media platforms, etc., as well as advertising engineering opportunities by using a face of a woman, can be a great way to help encourage more females in join the industry and help close the gender imbalance gap.”

At PJA, 33.3% of our engineers identify as female meaning our team is much closer to the demographic we create solutions for than the industry standard. There’s still work to be done though by engineering as a whole to support underrepresented minorities. To do our bit on the 10^th anniversary of INWED, we’re shining a spotlight on some very talented women engineers working at PJA:

Abbie Smart is a Principal Engineer with over 16 years’ experience in the civils and development infrastructure sectors. Abbie is keen to incorporate sustainable design solutions within her designs and passionate about delivering high quality work for her clients.

Alison Caldwell is a Chartered Civil Engineer in our water resources team. She actively champions holistic water management to ensure long term resilience of future development and has taken a lead role in delivery of multi-disciplinary projects across the UK and internationally.

Amy Bennett joined our Graduate Development Programme in January 2023 after graduating from University of Nottingham. As part of our water resources team, she is interested in flood risk and management strategies, helping clients to develop solutions for difficult projects.

Andrea Nelmes is a Chartered Flood Risk and Drainage Engineer. As a technical specialist in flood risk, river restoration, drainage strategies and SuDS design she provides responsive, pragmatic advice to clients.

As an expert in land contamination, Associate Charlotte Smith’s main interest is in the reclamation and remediation of brownfield sites where she has proven abilities in engaging key stakeholders and regulators and navigating the planning process to deliver land ready for development.

Charlotte Turner joined our Graduate Development Programme in 2021 after graduating from Coventry University. She has since developed a keen interest in natural flood risk management using her skills in GIS and hydraulic modelling to assess the impact of new development.

Fel Llanora is a Civil Engineer focused on highway schemes and improvements for development projects from preliminary stage through to construction. She is eager to promote women in STEM subjects, particularly towards the younger generation.

Holly Mullen is a Principal Consultant with 13 years’ experience in design and consultancy. She is an experienced engineer with skills predominantly in the design and delivery of walking and cycling infrastructure schemes from feasibility to construction.

Kayleigh McGeogh is a Geo Environmental Consultant focusing on ground investigation for potential development sites and has worked on a wide range of geo environmental and geo technical projects across the UK.

Nikki Slack is a Civil Engineer focused on highways and road safety engineering from initial site studies through to detailed design as well as infrastructure design for both residential and commercial developments.

Phoebe Ryding is a Chartered Water and Environmental Manager focused on developing surface water drainage strategies which holistically manage surface water through the use of SuDS. She also produces Flood Risk Assessments to support proposed development and works with local authorities and SuDS Approval Bodies reviewing applications.

Samantha Furey is a Civil Engineer focused predominantly on highways, drainage and earthworks design for residential projects throughout the project lifecycle. She is working towards becoming a Chartered Civil Engineer.

Sonja Townsend is a Principal Engineer working on multi-disciplinary projects from feasibility to construction stage. She is an experienced engineer with skills predominantly in public realm design, utility strategies and planning and technical support. She also takes concept schemes in to detailed design and prepares Transport Assessments and Travel Plans.

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Active Travel England Statutory Consultee FAQs

Active Travel England (ATE) became a statutory consultee on the 1st June 2023 on all major planning applications that include 150 dwellings or more, building(s) (not exclusively residential) of 7,500m2 internal floor space or more and sites where the overall development area is 5ha or more.

We’ve been engaging with our clients and partners to provide answers to the most frequently asked questions about the new guidelines and the Active Travel England Planning Application Assessment tool.

Some of the most popular Active Travel England Statutory Consultee FAQs are set out below. For the full list, don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Will ATE have powers of direction? Will this result in risks of referral to the Secretary of State/PINS?
Like National Highways (which is a highway authority responsible for the Strategic Road Network) ATE has no powers of direction, nor can it refer decisions to the Secretary of State or PINS.

On planning applications, what is ATE’s relationship to the Local Highway Authority (LHA) which will be considering active travel aspects of developments? Who has the final say and how will conflicting views be managed?

Both ATE and the LHA are Statutory Consultees and the views of both bodies will need to be considered by the LPA.

The LHA will be considering all transport aspects of developments while ATE will focus on walking and cycling provision.

ATE has expertise in this area and so it is likely its views will carry significant weight, but this is a matter for the LPA who will need to balance all representations.

ATE will also be periodically reviewing the responses of LHAs to planning applications to determine the ambition and consistency .

Will there be a requirement for more surveys of cycle and pedestrian flows?
ATE are mainly concerned to ensure that sites can be accessed conveniently and safely by walking and cycling and so enable new active travel journeys to be made. Existing cycling and walking levels may be suppressed if conditions aren’t suitable and so often aren’t a good guide for the future. However, where schemes affect important existing routes, it may be useful to gather cycle and pedestrian flows to inform ATE’s assessment.

What tools/criteria do ATE use to assess a scheme/development?
ATE has developed a number of tools to check the quality of provision for active travel. These include:

The Link Check tool
The Junction Assessment Tool
Planning Assessment Tool

How can PJA help?
We are perfectly placed to assist our clients and partners to navigate these new requirements while continuing to achieve their wider aims.

PJA can help by:

Providing advice on the intricacies of the ATE guidelines, the expectations of ATE and comparing your project to our wide project experience in active travel,
Providing independent reviews of masterplans,
Running of the ATE toolkits to highlight design failures,
Early engagement to understand impact on NDA,
Educating Local Authorities on projects,
Unlocked development through active travel infrastructure and modal shift.

For the full list of FAQs or, for any further information on how the new guidelines might impact on your project, get in touch.

Find out more about our active travel services here

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For more information please contact:

Chris Sibthorpe Email 0161 553 1521

Lianne Baker-Brook Email 0121 289 9218

PJA People: Sam Jones

We’re very proud to continue to celebrate the faces behind the fast-growing international consultancy that we are today in our monthly feature ‘PJA People’.

Next up in our series is Engineer, Sam Jones, based in our Birmingham office:

Tell us what you do at PJA

I’m a civil engineer responsible for designing drainage, highways and external levels for a range of schemes at different stages of the planning process. The majority of my work, however, lies at the detail design stage and trying to obtain technical approvals for the various bits of infrastructure we design.

What’s your career path so far?

I have worked in design consultancies both during and after graduating from University. I was fortunate enough that following my industrial placement year with my first company, they offered to sponsor me through my master’s degree. Post graduating from my master’s and following a couple more years at that company I moved to PJA in May 2022. I have been in the industry for around 6 years total now, starting in 2017.

What do you enjoy when you’re not working?

I’m quite varied in this sense, I don’t really have one burning passion/hobby. I like doing a range of things depending on what I am in the mood for and how I want to unwind in any particular moment. The most common things though, are reading, watching sport, going for country walks or researching where I want to travel too next. Recently, I have also got back into playing cricket, something which I used to love when I was younger, so that may become more of a pastime of mine in coming months.

Are you a dog or cat person?

I am a huge dog person! I just love how they are so happy, full of life and emotionally aware of how you, as their owner is feeling. They definitely teach you so much about yourself too!

What are you currently reading or listening to?

I am currently reading “The 48 Laws of Power” by Robert Greene. It’s a book that comes highly recommended from my favourite author, Ryan Holiday, and so I thought that I would give it a go. It is a bit of a slog though at 800+ pages.

Claim to fame?

I wouldn’t necessarily call this a claim to fame, but when I was younger, I was presented with a sporting award at school for my cricket performances by Dion Dublin (former Aston Villa footballer and more recently, Homes under the Hammer host).

Samuel Jones, Engineer

Samuel is a Civil Engineer working in the Birmingham office with over 3 years’ experience. He is experienced in highways, drainage and on-plot external works design for both residential and commercial schemes. The design elements that Samuel has conducted work for are both private and adoptable in nature, and where necessary, he has obtained the relevant S104, S106, S38 and S278 approvals from various adopting authorities.

Currently a graduate member of the ICE (GMICE), Samuel is working towards becoming a Chartered Civil Engineer.

Get in touch with Sam: [email protected]

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Samuel Jones Email 0121 289 9235

Wheatpieces Phase 4, Tewkesbury – Success!

We are pleased to have provided transport input into the successful outline application for residential and community development at Wheatpieces, Tewkesbury.

The application for up to 250 homes, along with a community sports pavilion and outdoor sports pitches, was approved in May 2023.

PJA was appointed by Bloor Homes following the previous successful application for office development on site.

Our team prepared a Transport Assessment and Travel Plan to accompany the application, and ensured the scheme satisfied the local highway authority, Gloucestershire County Council, and National Highways, through pre and post submission engagement. This included a detailed modelling exercise to assess the impact across the local and strategic highway network.

The development, accessed from Bluebell Road, will provide open and affordable market homes, alongside new community sports and leisure facilities, becoming the new home for Tewkesbury Town Colts FC.

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Matt Wykes Email 0121 289 9221