Newsletter – Q2 2024

Hello from all at Rodgers Leask. Welcome back to our quarterly newsletter – the best place to hear about the projects, events and networking that kept us busy during the spring of 2024.

As always, don’t forget, we’re also interested to hear what you are working on and if we can support you. To get in touch with one of our team, make sure to email us using rlladmin@rodgersleask.co.uk or call on 01332 285000. 

To be the first to hear more news as it happens, follow us on LinkedIn too: https://www.linkedin.com/company/rodgers-leask-ltd/ 

Behind the scenes 

In May, we attended the always busy (and this time rainy) UKREiiF, held at the Royal Armouries Leeds and Leeds Dock. Directors Kriston Harvey, Howel Morris and Kully Toor, and associate director Matt Harrison were in attendance representing our infrastructure engineering, geo-environmental engineering, structural engineering and transport planning capabilities respectively.

It was a very useful three days with our directors attending a variety of panels, sessions, lunches and dinners about the ongoing challenges and upcoming opportunities within the built environment sector. This included a luncheon with Claire Ward, the newly appointed East Midlands mayor, which Matt attended due to our ongoing working relationship with Chesterfield Borough Council and Destination Chesterfield.

Find out more of our director’s insights on UKREiiF 2024 here: Post-UKREiiF: Our Directors’ Insights – Rodgers Leask

Back in 2021, we formalised the plans for our own carbon reduction journey by committing to reducing our CO2 emissions by 50% by 2030 and achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050. We continue our commitment to understanding our industry’s impact on the climate, which is why we invited Dr Fred Paterson, sustainability consultant at Qinesis, to present to nearly 90 of our colleagues on sustainable business and our route to net zero.

The engaging discussion and debate was appreciated, and it was lovely to see how widely our business values are shared personally within our team. We encourage all our colleagues to calculate their own ‘environmental footprint’ using the World Wildlife calculator to help them think about their own impact on the environment and potential changes they can make to their lifestyle to reduce this.

You can use the calculator here: WWF Footprint Calculator

Last month, the annual Rodgers Leask Golf Day returned at Mickleover Golf Club with 13 teams taking on the course to play a Texas Scramble format. The weather was not always on our side, but it didn’t dampen spirits with the event quickly becoming competitive.

As always, scoring was close! The runners up spot went to Kris James, Russell Hardager and Gavin Hirst with Howel Morris as team captain. They were narrowly beaten by David Winterbotham, Paul Burton and John Murphy with Stewart Friel as team captain.

Congratulations to Jonny Collins and Richard Berry for ‘nearest the pin’ and ‘longest drive’ respectively!

Industry insights

In this last quarter we talked to some of our colleagues in a number of our offices to get their regional insight from their experiences.

First, we spoke with Aimee Meredith-Smith and Rebecca Marsden who are both part of our geo-environmental team in Bristol, in engineer and consultant roles respectively.

Having studied at the same university and in the same field, their careers started in a similar fashion and have continued in the same direction. You can read what it’s like to work from our Bristol base here.

Next up was, Elliot Goodey in our Liverpool office. Elliot joined us right after graduating from university towards the end of 2023 and has been keeping busy within the civil and infrastructure department. You can read his insights on being a young professional in Liverpool here.

Finally, we spoke with Matt Koren who is based in Nottingham. Matt gave us insight into the different opportunities that have been presented to him over the past three years and what it is like to work in the energetic East Midlands city. You can read his reflections here.

In Construction News, director Howel Morris shared his expertise on the topic at the top of many people’s agenda currently – brownfield regeneration. Howel talked about the potential boom that’s happening within the industry, exploring why collaboration and digitalisation are key to a sustain this flurry of activity. Read his full insights here: Why collaboration and digitalisation are key to a sustained brownfield boom | Construction News

In Civil Engineering and Construction, director Chris Pollett penned a profile about his career as a structural engineer. The article covered everything from his role and responsibilities, the challenges and opportunities within the sector and looking ahead to the future of the industry. The comprehensive piece can be read in full here: The life of a structural engineer  – Construction & Civil Engineering magazine (ccemagazine.com)

Development of Staveley town centre in Chesterfield has been progressed by the submission of planning permission for a new landmark building, Staveley 21. We will be continuing to provide consultancy support on this project across our various disciplines if the plans are approved. Appointed by contractor Stepnell, the building is designed to become a new focal point for the town, reflecting Staveley’s heritage with a modern twist.

Regional director Peter Sparham said: “The goals for Staveley town centre are truly transformational and it’s great to hear that planning permission has been submitted for the new building. It’s an exciting time for regeneration projects within the region and the team at Rodgers Leask are always ready to assist with delivering public sector projects with big aspirations like Staveley 21.”

You can read more about Staveley town centre here: Planning permission submitted for Chesterfield Landmark – Rodgers Leask

In the community

A number of our Liverpool team have supported students at University of Liverpool School of Engineering with their Year 2 Group Design Project. The visit also provided the opportunity for us to engage with the students about the role of a structural engineer, routes to chartership and the importance of gaining good experience.

Chris Pollett attended the final presentations where the groups talked through their design selection, construction methodologies and embodied carbon considerations. We continue to be impressed with the talent the next generation has to offer and we look forward to the next opportunity to support their development.

If you know someone who might be interested in a career in engineering consultancy, check out our careers page here: https://rodgersleask.com/careers/

A number of our Bristol team recently spent the day volunteering at ‘The Vench – Adventure Playground & Community Centre’, strengthening our relationship with local communities through charitable and social activities. The Vench offers amazing support to the community, providing local young people and their families a safe place to play, learn and create the change they want to see in the world.

Our team spent the day removing bindweed, thistles and brambles as well as painting, sweeping, planting and raking. We’re excited to see what our other offices plan to do with their two voluntary days to aid charitable causes.

Rachael Friel from our Derby office and Shannon Franklin from our Nottingham office had a great day with Jenna Frudd and Marika Lawrence of Willmott Dixon who hosted the CAPs Ladies Day in Nottingham recently. Altogether a massive £7,000 was raised for the charity Footprints CE Centre.

Footprints is a Nottingham based charity that transforms the lives of children living with mobility and communication difficulties across the East Midlands. The money raised will go towards supporting babies and children develop the skills they need to thrive and achieve their potential.

Director Kriston Harvey said: “We were initially approached by the headteacher of Staveley Junior School, Sue Parkes, about donating some equipment to the children and we were more than happy to assist right away. At Rodgers Leask, social value is something that we practice, not just preach. We are involved in some fantastic projects in Staveley, from the DRIIVe project at Barrow Hill to Staveley 21. We know the community Chesterfield Borough Council is supporting through our work and we are happy to aid in the local transformation both on and off site.”

To learn about this donation, you can read more here.