Natural Resources Wales (NRW) has appointed Binnies and Arup to deliver consultancy services across Wales in support of NRW’s capital programmes. The framework for consultancy and construction services is valued at £65 million and includes a range of projects, from flood risk management and reservoirs to major forestry infrastructure and environmental remediation, over the next four years.
The announcement comes shortly after Binnies (formerly Black & Veatch UK) joined leading integrated environmental, engineering and technical services business, RSK group, in January 2021.
Binnies is looking forward to continuing its long-standing relationship with NRW, for whom they have delivered projects such as the St Asaph Flood Risk Management Scheme and the Llyn Tegid Reservoir Safety business case and design.
“I am delighted to be leading the Binnies team in the new alliance model with integration between client, consultants and contractors, to deliver best value,” said Angela Ellis, Regional Delivery Director. “We are excited to be supporting NRW and the other suppliers on this framework to really make a difference to Welsh communities and the environment.”
NRW created the new framework to help achieve its objectives, both for the people and communities of Wales and for the Welsh environment. These include reducing flood risk; managing Wales’s natural resources, including land and water; sustainably championing the Welsh environment; and improving the resilience and quality of its ecosystems.
NRW and its framework construction partners William Hughes (Civil Engineering) Ltd and Jones Bros Ruthin (Civil Engineering) in North Wales, and Walters UK Ltd and Alun Griffiths (Contractors) Ltd in South Wales, will work collaboratively to use natural resources in ways that maintain and enhance the resilience of ecosystems and the benefits they provide.
Gavin Jones, NRW’s Design Consultancy Framework Manager said:
“We’re excited to enter into a new chapter of delivering challenging but rewarding projects across Wales with our new Next Generation Framework partners.
“Wales’s Green Recovery Plan for Covid-19 will be at the heart of the framework as we deliver important work for Wales’s communities and environments.
“The Framework is designed to meet the needs of present generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs and to contribute to the achievement of the well-being goals in the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act.
“The four-year programme will focus on projects that will help to reduce flood risk to homes from rivers and the sea, adapting our assets to help mitigate the impacts of climate change, improving Welsh river habitats, keeping our reservoirs safe, supporting the Welsh timber sector, and improving access to and the use of our land.”