A year of growth and gratitude

Looking back whilst on the cusp of moving forward into a new year is always interesting. In the momentum of busy working days which quickly turn into months, it is easy to forget all the things that have been done, all the decisions made, jobs won, and schemes submitted. But it is important to take a purposeful pause and reflect, to see the year from a new perspective. Eleanor takes this opportunity to do this in the last blog of 2021.

Overall, it has been a wonderful year, filled with a lot of energy and fun. But most of all significant hard work and dedication by all our team across a huge portfolio of varied and interesting projects, that have allowed us to realise our vision to create sustainable and inspiring places with purpose.

We have had the pleasure to work for nationally known clients such DHL, the Epilepsy Society and the Land Trust, as well as smaller practices who are on their own growth curves, which is exciting to see and means our working environment is dynamic and fluid as we respond.

The majority of our work has been through repeat clients and acquired through word of mouth, which delivers on our strategy of sustainable growth, (100% of our clients who fill in our satisfaction surveys say they would recommend us.)

We have been fortunate to have worked across both rural and urban landscapes on commissions that celebrate the life in these spaces. Projects including country parks, retirement living schemes, tall building assessments, former quarry sites, crematorium landscape, NPPF para 80 homes, a former hospital site, an old flour mill, the regeneration of a rail station urban realm and a Roald Dahl trail in the Cotswolds.

Other projects have also included a huge lake project, urban realm and podium gardens in Croydon and Bromley and strategic residential development sites in the south-east. Plus, a garden city, where our work was stated as ‘pushing standards in design.’

We have been involved in numerous public consultations (online and more recently face to face), many design review panels including for our Ebbsfleet schemes.

I was appointed onto the South East Design Review Panel teaching landscape workshops and now run tutorial sessions for architecture students on landscape. This is important to me personally, as the sustainably of the profession requires more landscape architecture graduates coming through the pipeline.

Following the first Covid pandemic, we have seen a noticeable change to our landscapes through an increased interest in rural tourism in the Kent, Surrey and Sussex area, with a subsequent surge in enquiries to support clients on these exciting opportunities.

Following the first Covid pandemic, we have seen a noticeable change to our landscapes through an increased interest in rural tourism.

We have also seen site representations to local plans requiring increased detail, including upfront LVIAs even for smaller sites and a number of local plans unfortunately failing to be found sound.

We have collaborated with landowners looking ahead to implement advanced planting on strategic sites and we have welcomed closer collaboration with ecologists in light of Biodiversity Net Gain. We are also having ongoing discussions with ecologists on how to make natural places function for people and wildlife, included supporting a local community Neighbourhood Plan with landscape evidence.

We have welcomed closer collaboration with ecologists in light of Biodiversity Net Gain. In terms of our living our own mission, ‘To create wonderful, sustainable spaces, which are sensitive and respond to surroundings and wildlife. To be a business that balances profit with purpose,’ we are on our way to Certified B Corporation status and continue to develop our internal sustainability audits to use on every project (aligning with SITES methodology). In addition, we have invested in more electric vehicles for our team and moved to Canterbury city centre, to make accessing public transport easier.

To reflect back and see all the positive work and difference we are making and the team that we have created and nurtured, I am immensely proud.

Donald and I were both appointed as Design Council Experts. We also supported two landscape students during the year who were doing their BAs with financial contributions and paid work experience.

Our team gained two new team members, lost two team members through relocations and, in recognition of our continued growth, we are recruiting for a new Senior Landscape Architect. We have invested in a new drone for aerial photogrammetry for our clients in the new year and were successfully granted generous funding from LOCASE (Low Carbon South East) for SME business growth.

To reflect back and see all the positive work and difference we are making and the team that we have created and nurtured, I am immensely proud.

Our new branding is in progress, and we will soon be unveiling our new website. When I started the business over four years ago, it was a daunting but exciting step. To reflect back and see all the positive work and difference we are making and the team that we have created and nurtured, I am immensely proud.

A particular thanks to my co-director Donald who is an inspiring person to work alongside, our practice manager Jo who supports our team in every way imaginable, enabling us all to do what we love and the incredible EDLA team who show up every day dedicated, enthusiastic and full of ideas.

Thanks also to our supporters, contributors, consultants, clients, team members, partners, and families. It feels fantastic to end the year on such a strong footing, ready for more in 2022.