Bournemouth: Eleven appointments as Terence O’Rourke sees uplift in clients

Bournemouth planning consultancy Terence O’Rourke has bolstered its team with five appointments in the past two months and eleven in the past year.

The company, which counts Grosvenor, MEPC, Warner Bros, McLaren Automotive and the University of Surrey among its clients, has added to its core professional disciplines of planning, design and environment.

The new additions are a result of the firm seeing a marked increase in business. In recent months it has taken on a number of major projects, including new housing projects in Ellesmere Port, Cambridge, Surrey and Swindon; a major regeneration project at London’s Olympic Park; the Silverstone Technology Park; and the proposed Royal Pier development on Southampton’s waterfront.

Managing director Tim Hancock says the uplift comes largely from recommendations and new projects from existing clients, who are impressed with the consultancy’s 97% planning success rate.

Among the new starters are:

• Senior planner Tom Southgate, who previously worked on the Borough of Poole’s Twin Sails and Beach Masterplan projects
• Planning assistant Sarah Pullen, who is already working on Terence O’Rourke’s project for the Southampton Royal Pier development
• Sheffield University student Win Phyo, who is undertaking a year’s placement in the landscape division
• Architectural designer Dmitrij Burakevic
• Assistant environmental manager Tim Spicer, who joins following a postgraduate degree in environmental management at the University of Derby.

Hancock said: “Each of these new starters brings something new to our clients and we are delighted to have them on board. They have joined at an exciting time as we prepare to celebrate 30 years in business in 2015.

“To be standing firm after three decades, let alone growing, is testament to the sterling work that our team delivers for our clients.  Our planning success rate currently stands at 97%, a figure we are immensely proud of.”