| our people
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Peak Associates combines the
expertise of many highly experienced and qualified individuals. Such
a high level of expertise across a broad range of environmental
services significantly sets Peak Associates apart from other
environmental consultancy firms.
Below are our project
directors and their individual areas of experience and
expertise. See here for our Project Teams
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Mike
Matthews MSC, BSc (Hons), C.WEM
(Managing Director/Principal
Consultant)
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Mike's former role
as an Enforcement Officer with the National Rivers Authority
(now the Environment Agency) means he is well qualified in
relation to the collation of evidence for problems that could
lead to Civil and Criminal Legal Action, and is also well
versed in Agency requirements and protocol. His particular
areas of technical experience relate to Due Diligence, Trade
Effluents, Soil and Groundwater Contamination, and Impact of
Effluents or Releases on Controlled Waters. Mike
is the project director for our Research and Development
projects through the Lancaster Environment
Centre.
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Jill Jones
BSc (Hons), FCIWEM, CEnv,
C.WEM, RMaPS
(Director/Principal
Consultant)
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Prior to joining
Peak, Jill was both an Enforcement Officer, then a Scientific
Officer for a UK regulator. Jill was a consultee for the
HSE and ODPM to the 2005 COMAH Regulations, and also for
the HSE to on CD212-Policies to Address Societal Risk around
on-Shore Non-nuclear Major Hazard Installations. This background gives Jill the expertise to
specialise in Contaminated Land Surveys, IPPC Licensing and Consents,
Due Diligence Auditing, Negotiations with Regulatory Bodies to Mitigate Legal Action, and
Compliance with Environmental Legislation and Guidelines. Jill is also
the project director overseeing our drainage, sewage, EMS and
auditing operations and as a member of
the APS, Jill has a detailed involvement with the
Health and Safety side of our projects. Jill can also offer clients a full CDM service for the design and construction phase of environmental projects, and has now been placed on the approved CDM-C list by the Association of Project Safety.
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Paul Palgrave
Bsc (Hons), MSc, ARSM,
FGS(Director/Principal
Consultant)
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Paul joined Peak
Associates in December 2008 to lead and develop the Midlands Office of Peak Associates. He
has over 20 years experience working in consultancy on the
investigation and remediation of contaminated land. He has a
BSc in Geology from Imperial College and
an MSc in Hydrogeology from Birmingham University, and specialises in
Quantitative Risk Assessment in relation to contaminated soil and
groundwater. He is also involved in a research project
at Lancaster University related to the assessment of soil contamination.
Paul is the project director overseeing our geoenvironmental
and contaminated land projects. | |
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Matthew
Brennan MPhysGeog
(Associate
Director/Consultant)
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Matt joined Peak as a graduate with a
Master's degree in Physical Geography from Hull University.
Progressing from the graduate role to Associate Director with responsibility for management of our surface water audits.
Matt's main focus areas within the team are Hydropower Schemes,
Contract Supervision, Drainage Studies, Wastewater Treatment and Site Area
Charging. | |
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| Project Teams
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To support our Project Directors we have dedicated project teams for each service area operating out of our head office in Warrington and
our regional offices in Birmingham and Lancaster (click for office location and contact information
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| Geo-Environmental and Geotechnical Project Team |
Our geotechnical investigations can be undertaken from all three offices, with our Technical Director for Geo-Environmental, Paul Palgrave, in Birmingham overseeing the
work undertaken by our senior and graduate consultants in Warrington and Lancaster to ensure that all work produced is to the highest quality at the best price for our
clients. Paul is supported in this by our Senior Consultant, Jo Matthew, in our Lancaster office. Jo has joined Peak Associates from the Environment Agency, giving us
further insight into the requirements of the regulators on these projects. The range of experience in geo-environmental and hydrological assessments across our offices
means that the Geo-team are able to provide detailed and comprehensive advice and reports on land contamination issues at your site to satisfy regulatory and
planning requirements. See our related services page for more information.
The Geo-team also work in partnership with other areas of the business to offer comprehensive planning support and
development of suitable drainage and SUDS schemes for your site.
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| Site Area Charging Team |
Peak Associates' Site Area Team is led by Matt Brennan and provides advice and assistance relating to surface water and
site area charging across the United Utilities, Severn Trent, Yorkshire Water and Northumbrian Water regions. Operating out of all three regional offices, the team's
expertise in drainage systems allows them to accurately map your drainage system and determine whether your charges are appropriate for your site.
The project team have received from United Utilities' and Severn Trent's internal consultants regarding the quality of our plans and appeals, resulting in savings of
up to £22,000/yr for our clients on their annual bills. This includes substantial savings for clients who have previously had claims rejected through other consultancies.
This survey also allows us to identify problems and follow up on savings made by improving drainage systems and
providing flood protection.
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| Drainage and Effluent Treatment Project Team |
Jill Jones (Director) leads this team, with her experience in Drainage and Effluent treatment, both as a consultant and previously as a regulator for the
National Rivers Authority (now Environment Agency), giving insight into the requirements of regulators and planning authorities. Working with her team of site engineers
and graduate consultants, allows Jill to ensure that full site information can be gained to allow the best solution to be tailored to your site, at the best price possible.
This can cover provision of simple re-drainage, to sizing and design of entirely new private sewage treatment works, dependent on your individual site requirements. Jill's
regulatory background also helps her team in applications for Environmental Permits and discussions with the Environment Agency regarding required action.
The expertise and experience in this project team allows Peak to provide full design support, tender/specification production and
contractor supervision to manage the project from initial design to completion. Jill is a qualified CDM Co-ordinator and members of the team are trained in design of SUDS
(Sustainable Drainage Systems) as required to accompany planning applications for new developments.
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| Flood Risk Project Team |
Jill Jones (Director) supervises and manages our Flood Risk team with key support from our Acting Senior Consultant, Ben Taylor, allowing us to provide additional
planning support to our clients. Supported by our senior consultants in Warrington, this team can cover any site nationally and provide a full, professional
interpretation of the flood risk at your site, and provide advice on mitigation, where required, to support your planning application. All assessments and solutions
are uniquely tailored to your site and budgets to ensure that they are viable to you. The regulatory background of Peak's directors gives an insight into the requirements of
the Environment Agency and local planning authority. In addition, this team can liaise with our associated service providers to
provide full flood modelling for your site if required.
This team works in conjunction with the drainage team to provide advice and design of SUDS (Sustainable Drainage System) if required or needed at your site to provide mitigation
against increased flood risk from your development. See our related services for more information.
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| Planning Support Team |
Mike Matthews (Managing Director), working out of our Lancaster office, manages and leads our planning support team, who have a range of experience from
small residential developments to
major tourism and leisure developments. The expertise of this team and our associated service providers allows us to provide
full support for your planning application from initial design to final permission. Mike is supported by our Associate Director Matt Brennan in Warrington,
allowing this service to be offered out of all our regional offices. The team's experience in dealing with issues raised by local action groups, planning authorities,
ecological groups, and the Environment Agency, and in meeting and negotiating with these groups, ensures that potential complaints and objections can be dealt with quickly and
easily to ensure that your application can be processed quickly and smoothly by the local planning officers.
This team has successful secured planning applications for our clients in problematic areas such as rural cheshire, river corridors, and within Areas of Outstanding
Natural Beauty (AONB) in Cumbria. This has developed an experience and expertise that allows the team to foresee potential barriers to your application and ensure that these
can be overcome.
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| Renewable Energy Project Team |
Peak Associates' Renewable Energy Team is led by Matt Brennan (Associate Director), providing site assessments and suitability for renewable energy schemes to
reduce your energy costs and carbon footprint. Through our internal team and associated service providers, the Renewable Energy
Team can undertake full site audits to assess your suitability, and can provide expert assistance in negotiation with the Environment Agency and local planning authorities
for installation of the scheme. This can be especially important in use of Wind Power and Hydropower schemes, and Peak Associates' environmental knowledge and assessment of
impacts, and mitigation required, can help to minimise the potential objections from regulators and local action groups. In these cases the regulatory background of Peak
Associates' directors can be invaluable in ensuring that minimum requirements are met.
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| Environmental Training and Site Auditing Team |
Jill Jones (Director), supported by experienced sub-consultant Elaine Wood (IEMA member), leads our Environmental Training and Auditing Team. Peak Associates'
graduate and consultant staff are fully trained to under take site audits and Environmental Impact Assessments, and also to support application for ISO14001 accreditation. Where
required Peak Associates' can support your internal staff in the development of procedural documentation and best management practices to attain this goal.
In addition, Peak Associates can also offer full training to internal staff in Environmental Awareness, ensuring that your staff are fully briefed
on the requirements of ISO14001, and understand the role they have to play. This team have a wealth of experience in providing environmental awareness training, including recent
training for staff at Manchester Airport, and providing training courses at Lancaster University. The range of industries that Jill's team have worked in ensures that they have
the knowledge and expertise to tailor all courses uniquely to your particular site and industry so that the full course is relevant to your business.
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| Legal Defence and Mitigation Team |
Mike Matthews (Managing Director) has worked on a number of cases providing expert witness reports and mitigation advice following enforcement action by
regulators. Supported by Peak Associates' consultant staff in all three regional offices, Mike's regulatory background gives this team an insight into the requirements of
the regulators, and the potential errors that can be made both on site and by the regulators.
Additional input from our associated service providers allows Peak Associates to provide full legal support to any action taken
by the regulators. Our expertise and experience in this field means that our Legal Team are able and prepared to work with the regulators to accomplish an out of court settlement
or to provide defence in court, as appropriate to your site and case. Our legal team have successful negotiated settlements with the regulators, and also successfully defended
clients in court who have been incorrectly prosecuted by the Environment Agency.
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| affiliations |
Peak Associates is proud to be a member of the following
professional organisations and institutes:
   
 
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