Calibro stands out as a consultancy that understands the value of creative thinking, innovation and collaboration in achieving the best possible outcomes for their clients.
Stagecoach
Head of Strategic Development & the Built Environment
SECTORS
Renewables
What this sector is trying to do
The renewables pipeline — solar, wind, battery storage, EV infrastructure has grown faster than the planning system’s ability to set coherent policy for it. Clients range from large energy developers promoting utility-scale projects to landowners navigating the first agricultural solar application on their ground. Each scheme type arrives with a different profile of transport, drainage and infrastructure challenge, and with local planning authorities whose familiarity with the evidence requirements varies widely.
The recurring constraint
For ground-mounted solar, the drainage question is frequently the determining one. National flood maps are built at scales that cannot reflect site-specific topography. Environment Agency objections based on those maps have become predictable. The methodology applied at Langford Farm in Mid Devon — making the case for significantly reduced flood risk on a site the national map had designated Flood Zone 3, where the EA had formally objected — is a tested approach, not a one-off result. Construction transport is the other recurring constraint: abnormal load routes, construction traffic management, pre-commencement highway surveys.
Where accumulated knowledge matters
The cross-sector learning is most direct between renewables and residential. The flood risk arguments are the same methodology applied to different site typologies. The construction transport planning draws on authority relationships built through residential and commercial s278 work over many years. What changes between sectors is the planning context and the client’s risk appetite. The thinking that reads a flood fingerprint on a solar farm is the same thinking that reads it on a housing allocation.
Helping to deliver a green future on solid engineering principles
We are fortunate to be working with some of the most recognisable renewable energy brands in the market. They have placed their trust in us time after time on projects across the country. Our latest projects include:
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Where we work
We work across residential, commercial, health, education, infrastructure, renewables, retail and leisure, and wherever work takes us beyond that list. Every project builds on an established body of knowledge: how to use the planning system to a client’s advantage, what creates places that hold their value, and where early decisions protect against risk and leave a legacy that matters beyond completion.
Those learnings cross every sector boundary. What we take from a residential scheme shapes how we approach a commercial one. What we learn in one planning authority informs how we navigate the next. That accumulated intelligence is what you’re drawing on, whatever the brief.
The sector shifts. The thinking doesn’t.
Residential
We’re often involved early in projects, supporting site-finding activities, and moving on to the masterplan process. Schemes range from a few dwellings with simple access and layout considerations, through to large, mixed use schemes requiring modelling of the wider network and strategic infrastructure improvements.
Renewables
We support development for wind, solar and energy-from-waste projects throughout the UK. This includes large scale wind farms to expansive solar schemes in areas of risk of flooding. As a corporate IEMA partner, we understand the specific legal requirements of environmental impact assessment.
Commercial & Industrial
Whether it’s transport planning or highway design, flood risk or drainage strategies, we understand the nuances of industrial and commercial development. We can take a lead role in optimising the masterplan process, support planning with robust evidence, and provide accurate, cost-effective construction designs.
Retail
We’re a trusted partner for a number of regional and national developers, bringing extensive knowledge of commercial development. We enable a scheme to be commercially optimised, understanding the importance of maximising passing trade; while also minimising the severity of associated traffic effects.
Health & Wellbeing
Our team of experts has extensive experience of advising on all types of health and wellbeing facilities. We provide transport planning, highway, flood risk and drainage input across a range of developments, including primary and secondary schools, GP surgeries, pharmacies and dental practices.
Leisure
Every leisure development is different – whether it’s a new campsite, gym or stadium. The journey through the planning system is just the start. We ensure that fundamental engineering principles are ingrained in our solutions, to expedite the design and approval stages, and get contractors on site sooner.
