AN ambitious planning and environmental consultancy has moved into new offices in preparation for its Newcastle workforce doubling in size.
Axis only moved into the region last March when it opened an office at Hoults Yard but has been so successful that it is already doubling the size of its workspace and growing its team at the Yard.
Established in 2000, Axis has a strong track record of gaining consents for development across multiple sectors and has established itself as a trusted provider of planning and environmental consultancy support for infrastructure projects in particular.
Ben Siddle, Senior Planning Consultant at Axis, explained: “By moving into a much bigger office, we’re future proofing in preparation for growing our team and growing our business.”
“Our new office incorporates a meeting space too. We’ve been really happy – and successful – at Hoults Yard so didn’t really explore any other options when looking for bigger offices. We love the atmosphere, the people and the other businesses are so friendly and there are some great coffee shops.”
The current team, led by Technical Director Ian Cansfield, is four strong, and Axis is recruiting four new members, including an Associate Director Planner, a Senior Transport Planner and a Landscape Architect/Design Lead.
The company moved to the north east after the region was identified as an area of real opportunity.
Ian explained: “The development landscape in the north east is evolving quickly, particularly with the allocation of £1.7bn in government funding for carbon capture and low-carbon hydrogen projects.
“This funding supports the industrial cluster decarbonisation programme for the East Coast Cluster around Teesside, alongside the Hynet project in the north west. The push for rapid growth in the hydrogen and carbon capture sectors has also led to a greater need for specialist planning and environmental expertise.
“Axis is well-equipped to meet these demands, with ongoing projects in both the north east and north west.
“Opening a Newcastle office has consolidated Axis’ position and provided much needed specialist planning support for the north east. We saw the new Newcastle office as an ideal opportunity to expand Axis’ geographical coverage, in a region where there is significant and growing levels of development and infrastructure activity and an areas where we have found strong professional talent to support this expansion. We see opportunities for all of Axis’ core services and are keen to build a strong team to support this.”
North East clients include Storey Homes, Barratt Homes, Newcastle City Council
Axis is based in Chester and also has an office in Manchester. The company is one of the leading planning and environmental consultancies in the UK and is currently engaged in multiple Development Consent Order (DCO) projects, together with a variety of other major infrastructure and development projects including renewable energy, hydrogen, transport, waste management, regeneration, residential, leisure, industrial and commercial development.
Ian said “We work for some of the UK’s largest and most prestigious companies and we’ve been responsible for some of the UK’s first and most innovative developments. Our success allows us to maintain a strong order book and our Newcastle office is very busy.”
Gareth Wakenshaw, Associate Director and a specialist in transport planning, added: “With significant housing and infrastructure growth planned across the north east, transport planning plays a critical role in turning ambition into deliverable development. From establishing robust access strategies at the outset to undertaking detailed junction capacity assessments and managing off-site impacts, early strategic input is essential to ensure schemes are viable and policy-compliant. At the same time, our approach is vision-led, aligning development with net zero commitments and sustainable transport aspirations. Expanding our Newcastle office strengthens our ability to provide that balanced, forward-thinking transport expertise locally.”
Laura Goldston, General Manager at Hoults Yard, said: “We’re delighted that Axis have expanded their workspace here at Hoults Yard – they’re clearly an ambitious and successful company and they’re also great to work with!”
To find out how Axis can support your company, go to https://www.axis.co.uk/northeast/
If you’re interested in one of the company’s vacancies, go to https://www.axis.co.uk/careers/
For more information or to find your space, go to www.houltsyard.co.uk