Helping to Shape Manchester’s Environmental Future

Helping to Shape Manchester’s Environmental Future

Helping to Shape Manchester’s Environmental Future
20 October 2025

Manchester City Council has recently released its draft Local Plan for consultation, and TEP is proud to have played a key role in shaping the city’s environmental policies.



The Environment and Social Infrastructure chapters highlight the vital role of nature and open spaces in city life, from supporting health and wellbeing to improving resilience against climate change and flooding. Policies on green and blue infrastructure, biodiversity, and urban greening put the natural environment at the heart of Manchester’s future development, and ensure natural spaces remain central to the city’s growth.


TEP’s Evidence Behind the Plan


TEP led several foundational studies that informed these policies, working with partners Mersey Rivers Trust, Groundwork Greater Manchester, Lancashire Wildlife Trust and City of Trees who contributed local expertise and consulted with local communities, politicians and environmentalists.

Our studies were:


🌿 Managing Manchester’s Trees:
An assessment of the city’s tree stock and canopy cover, providing ward-by-ward guidance for tree protection and new planting. The study included a nostalgic look back at tree planting initiatives in the city over the last 100 years.


🌿 Our Rivers Our City:
Mapping river valleys and waterways, identifying opportunities for ecological restoration, climate resilience, and improved public access; all measures to help Manchester become a ‘Sponge City’.


🌿 Biodiversity Net Gain Study:
Predicting the likely demand for biodiversity units from the city’s ambitious growth plans and identifying Council-owned land that could become a habitat bank.


🌿 Urban Green Factor Study:
Providing practical guidance for integrating nature-based solutions into new developments, ensuring that growth enhances biodiversity and climatic resilience.


🌿 Open Space Assessment:
Working with the Local plan team to produce webmaps to help them analyse Open Space needs.


Our Arboriculture, Land Management, Landscape Design, Geospatial, Ecology, Planning and Heritage teams collaborated to deliver these studies, providing a broad-ranging evidence base for policies designed to enhance green and blue infrastructure, improve ecosystem services, and ensure Manchester’s future development is sustainable, resilient, and nature-positive.

Fran Hesketh, Technical Director and Founder of TEP, said:

“Contributing to the city’s environmental strategy is a tremendous privilege. Our multi-disciplinary collaboration ensures that our research supports both people and nature, shaping a greener, more resilient Manchester.”

12 June 2026
On behalf of Cheshire East Council, TEP has secured consent for the expansion of the Environmental Services Hub site. The expansion will facilitate a weekly food waste collection service for every property in the borough, helping Cheshire East Council prepare for a new statutory requirement from central government due to come into force from 2026-2027. To achieve this, we prepared and managed three planning applications: A full application for 84 new employee parking spaces, a bin storage area and a security lodge; A non-material amendment application for the reconfiguration of the existing site layout; and A variation of condition application to increase the limit on vehicle movements. The project began with a pre-application advice request, followed by discussions with the local planning authority to confirm the applications and supporting information required for submission. A key element of the project was the preparation of a planning needs case. This justified the development remaining at the Environmental Services Hub site, rather than a 'preferred site' identified within the council's Waste Plan. The case also identified the benefits of increasing recycling rates and supporting sustainable waste management across the borough. To support the applications, traffic surveys were commissioned and a Transport Statement was prepared, demonstrating that the proposals would have no negative impact on the local highway network. A Transport Note was also produced to establish the number of vehicle movements that should be permitted through the variation of condition application. Air quality and noise assessments were also undertaken to demonstrate that impacts would be limited and acceptable. 
10 June 2026
Plans for Brookleigh Primary School have received unanimous planning approval at Mid Sussex District Council's District Planning Committee on 28th May 2026. The new school, located to the east of Isaacs Lane, will provide 420 student places, alongside a 52-place nursery and a 16-place Special Support Centre. As a two-form entry school, it will support two classes per year group. This marks a proud first for Homes England as master developer, directly delivering new school places for the Brookleigh community. TEP worked in partnership with the wider project team, including CampbellReith, sixfootstudio, Fabrik, FLOH and Stace, to help bring the proposals forward. Supporting the Delivery of a New School TEP's Planning team co-ordinated the preparation of the reserved matters application, including pre-application discussions and community consultation, while our Ecology team completed site surveys and advised on Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG). A key part of our role was ensuring that local people and stakeholders had opportunities to engage with the proposals as they developed. In preparation for the application submission, we organised public consultation events and prepared consultation materials explaining the scheme, masterplan, access strategy, landscaping, and the proposed layout and appearance of the school. Two public exhibitions were held at an accessible venue close to the site, providing an opportunity for the local community to discuss the proposals, ask questions and share feedback. We also organised an information leaflet drop to approximately 4,000 homes and established an online consultation portal to enable people to engage digitally. The feedback received was largely positive, reflecting both the demand for new school places and the work undertaken by the project team to develop a modern, sustainable design for the Brookleigh community.
27 May 2026
We have been proud to support the regeneration of the Grade II Listed Earlestown Town Hall, one of the most historically and visually significant buildings in the town centre. Dating from the late 19th century, the Flemish-inspired civic building occupies a commanding position within Earlestown and has long served as a local landmark and community venue. Over the years, the Town Hall has played host to generations of local events and performances, including an appearance by The Beatles during the early years of their rise to fame. Commissioned by ECF, we provided heritage and archaeology consultancy services to support the redevelopment and restoration of the building as part of wider regeneration ambitions for Earlestown town centre. Working as part of a multidisciplinary team, we offered heritage advice throughout the pre-application stage, helping to shape proposals that would be sympathetic to the building’s historic character while enabling it to meet modern community needs.
12 June 2026
On behalf of Cheshire East Council, TEP has secured consent for the expansion of the Environmental Services Hub site. The expansion will facilitate a weekly food waste collection service for every property in the borough, helping Cheshire East Council prepare for a new statutory requirement from central government due to come into force from 2026-2027. To achieve this, we prepared and managed three planning applications: A full application for 84 new employee parking spaces, a bin storage area and a security lodge; A non-material amendment application for the reconfiguration of the existing site layout; and A variation of condition application to increase the limit on vehicle movements. The project began with a pre-application advice request, followed by discussions with the local planning authority to confirm the applications and supporting information required for submission. A key element of the project was the preparation of a planning needs case. This justified the development remaining at the Environmental Services Hub site, rather than a 'preferred site' identified within the council's Waste Plan. The case also identified the benefits of increasing recycling rates and supporting sustainable waste management across the borough. To support the applications, traffic surveys were commissioned and a Transport Statement was prepared, demonstrating that the proposals would have no negative impact on the local highway network. A Transport Note was also produced to establish the number of vehicle movements that should be permitted through the variation of condition application. Air quality and noise assessments were also undertaken to demonstrate that impacts would be limited and acceptable. 
10 June 2026
Plans for Brookleigh Primary School have received unanimous planning approval at Mid Sussex District Council's District Planning Committee on 28th May 2026. The new school, located to the east of Isaacs Lane, will provide 420 student places, alongside a 52-place nursery and a 16-place Special Support Centre. As a two-form entry school, it will support two classes per year group. This marks a proud first for Homes England as master developer, directly delivering new school places for the Brookleigh community. TEP worked in partnership with the wider project team, including CampbellReith, sixfootstudio, Fabrik, FLOH and Stace, to help bring the proposals forward. Supporting the Delivery of a New School TEP's Planning team co-ordinated the preparation of the reserved matters application, including pre-application discussions and community consultation, while our Ecology team completed site surveys and advised on Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG). A key part of our role was ensuring that local people and stakeholders had opportunities to engage with the proposals as they developed. In preparation for the application submission, we organised public consultation events and prepared consultation materials explaining the scheme, masterplan, access strategy, landscaping, and the proposed layout and appearance of the school. Two public exhibitions were held at an accessible venue close to the site, providing an opportunity for the local community to discuss the proposals, ask questions and share feedback. We also organised an information leaflet drop to approximately 4,000 homes and established an online consultation portal to enable people to engage digitally. The feedback received was largely positive, reflecting both the demand for new school places and the work undertaken by the project team to develop a modern, sustainable design for the Brookleigh community.
12 June 2026
On behalf of Cheshire East Council, TEP has secured consent for the expansion of the Environmental Services Hub site. The expansion will facilitate a weekly food waste collection service for every property in the borough, helping Cheshire East Council prepare for a new statutory requirement from central government due to come into force from 2026-2027. To achieve this, we prepared and managed three planning applications: A full application for 84 new employee parking spaces, a bin storage area and a security lodge; A non-material amendment application for the reconfiguration of the existing site layout; and A variation of condition application to increase the limit on vehicle movements. The project began with a pre-application advice request, followed by discussions with the local planning authority to confirm the applications and supporting information required for submission. A key element of the project was the preparation of a planning needs case. This justified the development remaining at the Environmental Services Hub site, rather than a 'preferred site' identified within the council's Waste Plan. The case also identified the benefits of increasing recycling rates and supporting sustainable waste management across the borough. To support the applications, traffic surveys were commissioned and a Transport Statement was prepared, demonstrating that the proposals would have no negative impact on the local highway network. A Transport Note was also produced to establish the number of vehicle movements that should be permitted through the variation of condition application. Air quality and noise assessments were also undertaken to demonstrate that impacts would be limited and acceptable. 
10 June 2026
Plans for Brookleigh Primary School have received unanimous planning approval at Mid Sussex District Council's District Planning Committee on 28th May 2026. The new school, located to the east of Isaacs Lane, will provide 420 student places, alongside a 52-place nursery and a 16-place Special Support Centre. As a two-form entry school, it will support two classes per year group. This marks a proud first for Homes England as master developer, directly delivering new school places for the Brookleigh community. TEP worked in partnership with the wider project team, including CampbellReith, sixfootstudio, Fabrik, FLOH and Stace, to help bring the proposals forward. Supporting the Delivery of a New School TEP's Planning team co-ordinated the preparation of the reserved matters application, including pre-application discussions and community consultation, while our Ecology team completed site surveys and advised on Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG). A key part of our role was ensuring that local people and stakeholders had opportunities to engage with the proposals as they developed. In preparation for the application submission, we organised public consultation events and prepared consultation materials explaining the scheme, masterplan, access strategy, landscaping, and the proposed layout and appearance of the school. Two public exhibitions were held at an accessible venue close to the site, providing an opportunity for the local community to discuss the proposals, ask questions and share feedback. We also organised an information leaflet drop to approximately 4,000 homes and established an online consultation portal to enable people to engage digitally. The feedback received was largely positive, reflecting both the demand for new school places and the work undertaken by the project team to develop a modern, sustainable design for the Brookleigh community.
27 May 2026
We have been proud to support the regeneration of the Grade II Listed Earlestown Town Hall, one of the most historically and visually significant buildings in the town centre. Dating from the late 19th century, the Flemish-inspired civic building occupies a commanding position within Earlestown and has long served as a local landmark and community venue. Over the years, the Town Hall has played host to generations of local events and performances, including an appearance by The Beatles during the early years of their rise to fame. Commissioned by ECF, we provided heritage and archaeology consultancy services to support the redevelopment and restoration of the building as part of wider regeneration ambitions for Earlestown town centre. Working as part of a multidisciplinary team, we offered heritage advice throughout the pre-application stage, helping to shape proposals that would be sympathetic to the building’s historic character while enabling it to meet modern community needs.