Case Study Hydro-LogicTM Services FRA enables office relocation and residential development Project profile Service profile Objective Flood Risk Assessment development and expert Haymarket Media Group needed to relocate 1,000 staff guidance on drainage and flooding issues. to new offices, and to sell a Teddington Studios site that had become inefficient to operate. In order to complete • Flood Risk Assessment development the sale and relocation they needed to obtain planning • Input to Emergency Plan development permission for development of the Teddington site. • Flood storage compensation calculation Solution • Liaison and negotiation with regulatory The Hydro-LogicTM Services team provided a Flood authorities Risk Assessment that enabled a successful planning permission application, and provided expert guidance • Advisory support during Thames flooding and advisory support throughout the project. Situation Haymarket Media Group has been consolidating its UK operations for a number of years, and its Teddington Studios site had been used both as permanent office space and temporary office accommodation for staff relocated from a major office in London. This arrangement was inefficient for Group operations, however, and there were environmental and social Solution implications as staff were impacted in terms of travel and Haymarket Media Group employed planning consultants relocation. CgMs (now part of the RPS Group) as part of a After ten years at Teddington Studios, the Group decided multidisciplinary project team that included architects TP to relocate the 1,000 employees to new offices, making Bennett and agents Savills. the Teddington site surplus to requirements. The Group They identified Hydro International’s Hydro-Logic™ identified alternative offices in nearby Twickenham, and Services team as having the necessary expertise and decided to sell Teddington Studios for development. experience both to provide the comprehensive FRA Problem required to support the planning permission application, and to provide expert advice on drainage and flood- In order to proceed with their consolidation plans and related issues. complete relocation activities in a way that didn’t hamper operations or adversely affect staff, Haymarket Media Critical selection factors included the team’s reputation Group needed to complete the sale of the site promptly. for hydrological expertise, and their track record of success in sensitive negotiations with regulators on In order to secure a good return, Haymarket Media Group challenging sites. sought planning permission prior to sale. Since the site was located in the Environment Agency (EA) Flood Lead Flood Risk Consultant Paul Webster oversaw the Zone 3, a Flood Risk Assessment (FRA) was required as project, co-ordinating the technical team and leading the part of the planning permission application. liaison between Haymarket Media Group and regulatory authorities including the EA and the LPA. Consultant The site was also at risk of flooding, though historical Paul Roberts provided expert technical input for the flooding had been infrequent and impacts had been minor. Emergency Plan and for the complex, challenging hydro-int.com calculations of flood storage compensation using is absolutely essential that flood risk be considered landscaping and voids under the principal buildings. throughout the planning process. Outcome Haymarket Media Group understood this and brought Hydro-Logic™ Services experts into the multidisciplinary The FRA was submitted in September 2014 alongside team early on, meaning that they could influence key other planning documents, and planning permission was design aspects at an early stage, improving the chances awarded in December 2014. of successfully obtaining planning permission. As part of the FRA, Hydro-Logic™ Services consultants contributed to the development of the master plan for a site that featured over 200 homes in a project that About the expert: Paul Webster complied with the requirements of the NPPF. Paul is an experienced hydrologist whose career of Protection of the site from flooding was achieved by the over 35 years embraces water resources, flooding, setting of finished floor levels at a safe level, and by master planning and project management. development of an emergency access/egress plan. He has extensive international experience, having Any adverse impacts of the development on others worked on projects in Namibia, Botswana, China was achieved through provision of flood-storage and Hong Kong. In the UK, his portfolio of projects compensation and a method for dealing with surface includes project management of hydrological water drainage using a series of soakaways. flood research for the EA and DEFRA for the While the planning application was being developed, the Flood Estimation Handbook, and overseeing the site was at risk from the Thames flooding of early 2014. development of Aquator water resources simulation The Hydro-Logic™ Services team was able to provide models for UK Water Companies and other clients. guidance during this period to supplement that provided An experienced project manager, he has led three of by the EA. the largest projects ever undertaken by the Hydro- The Teddington Studios site was acquired by City Logic™ Services team: the NERC-funded LOCAR Developments in 2015, and following the successful infrastructure project, a hydrometric framework for planning application the Hydro-Logic™ Services team Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water, and an MCERTS project has been appointed by the company to provide further with Severn Trent Water. flood risk services, updating the FRA and discharging Paul has been a lecturer at the University of planning conditions. Birmingham in the School of Civil Engineering, where The project demonstrated that although the infrastructure he also led a flood research group. directly attributable to flood risk is relatively small, it An artist’s impression of the Teddington Studios residential development Learn more To learn more about how Hydro-LogicTM Services experts can help you to understand your flood risk and obtain planning permission visit hydro-int.com, search Hydro-Logic Services online or contact us: Americas Asia Pacific Europe & RoW Middle East +1 (207) 756 6200 +61 436 433 686 +44 (0)118 933 1325 +971 506 026 400 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] hydro-int.com/contact.