Black & Veatch has won a UK Landscape Institute Award for its work in Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire on the Burton Washlands flood alleviation scheme.

Working in a collaborative team convened by Black & Veatch’s client the Environment Agency, and partners including East Staffordshire Borough Council, Staffordshire Wildlife Trust and The National Forest, the project provided the key to unlock the environmental and community value of a 630-hectare area of undeveloped floodplain and green infrastructure resource.

Matt Clegg, director of Black & Veatch’s environmental consulting business, commented:

“Our shared vision was distilled from wide ranging aspirations, strategies and policies. We developed a strong consensus amongst partners and the local community; adding value through creative yet contextually responsive landscape design concepts, robust natural capital accounting, and innovative information sharing via digital StoryMaps.”

Black & Veatch’s Ecosystem Services Valuation enabled data-driven judgements where the relative benefits and value of proposals could be compared and understood by the layperson, using a unique 3D digital visualisation tool. Winning the Landscape Institute Award acknowledges the approach’s success -the results exceeded client and project partner expectations and facilitated future funding of more than £2 million for the next phase of development and implementation.

“It is clear to see how the public has been engaged, and how their responses have been integrated into the solutions,” commented the judging panel which named Burton Washlands winner in the institution’s Local Landscape Planning category.

Black & Veatch said that the innovative integration of landscape design, natural capital accounting and digital story-telling had maximised the environmental and social value of Burton Washlands scheme. In achieving the award, the company had set out a strong framework for future projects to deliver robust infrastructure investment cases that deliver wider environmental and social value.

With climate change placing increasing numbers of communities at risk of flooding, it is vital that flood alleviation projects engage fully with the people they protect and create a legacy that provides multiple benefits for the community. set out a strong framework for future projects to deliver robust infrastructure investment cases that deliver wider environmental and social value.

Green infrastructure is an increasingly important means for tackling water-related challenges of drought and flooding in the urban and rural landscape. 

In response to the challenge of climate change, the Government is investing £2.5 billion in projects to reduce flood risk. 

Burton-upon-Trent was devastated by floods in November 2000 - the scheme has further improved the town’s 9km of existing flood defences which were already protecting more than 7,000 homes and businesses in the town and cost around £8 million back in 2007. The Government has invested an additional 17 million to improve flood defences on the River Trent.

Matt Clegg continued:

“There is, however, a growing need to match this funding through partnership contributions from local communities and business. Thus the need to build consensus about the projects’ scope, execution and wider legacy is increasing. Our award-winning strategy at Burton typifies the innovative approach that can underpin investment in all critical infrastructure projects. It demonstrates our ability to support clients to deliver a wider legacy of environmental and social net gain.”

The Landscape Institute is the chartered body for the landscape profession -the Institute's annual Awards applaud the most innovative projects which have shaped, restored and protected the natural and built environment.