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creating beautiful buildings, spaces & places

Independent advice with over 30 years of experience in urban design, architecture, and planning

about us

We understand and communicate proposals effectively to secure the best results for our clients.

How we work | We work both independently and as part of wider multidisciplinary teams. Currently, we are working with a number of planning and development consultancies across the UK including Savills, Quod, Terrence O’Rourke, Barton Willmore, White Young Green, Luken Beck and Boyer Planning. We have close working relationships with a number of urban design, architectural and landscape teams to ensure that we have the right blend of expertise, experience, and resource to meet the challenges of each project.

Who we work with | We work with a range of professionals, designers and artists and one area we strongly believe set us apart from our competitors is our use of hand-drawn and watercolour illustrations to present our work. Our experience tells us that people are able to understand, interpret and believe in handcrafted designs and drawings and we bring together experts in these fields to prepare these drawings.

Where we work | We are currently working on projects nationally with a focus on development proposals in London, the South East, South West and South Wales. We have experience right across the UK and are happy to travel further afield to help our clients including overseas.

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expertise

We don't do everything, we just focus on
what we can do best for our clients

feasibility

masterplanning

outline design

Considering the constraints and opportunities of a site and assessing its potential

Establishing frameworks for development based on context and responsive design solutions

Preparing outline planning applications with high-quality visioning and detail

detailed design

Devising designs and planning drawings for detailed applications

engagement

Creating exhibitions, leaflets and web sites for public engagament

briefing and coding

Producing development briefs or design codes to establish the parameters of future developments

recent projects

Just a small selection of projects that we are working on or have recently completed.

our team

We use the best skills and people to create and present our ideas which include working with other designers, artists, and professionals.

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Colin Richards

Director

Colin’s expertise lies in understanding the planning and development process and an ability to provide design solutions which fulfil the aims of both the client and the local authority. His strengths are communication and presentation and he has over 25 years experience in the field.

our clients

We enjoy working with a wide range of clients including strategic land promoters, housebuilders, development companies, public sector organisations, and private individuals.

GLEESON LAND

We have worked with Gleeson Land for over 12 years bringing forward sites through the development process and securing planning permission for a larger number of sites.

HIGHWOOD DEVELOPMENTS

We have worked with Highwood on a number of successful projects including the promotion of sites and securing planning permissions for large scale developments.

RYDON HOMES

Working closely with Rydon homes we have secured a number of planning consents, provided feasibility design, promoted sites and provided expert witness at appeal.

NICHOLAS JAMES GROUP

From the detailed designs of extensions to hotels and properties to promotion of land for strategic development including a new garden village.

MILLER STRATEGIC LAND

Working with the strategic land team to understand feasibility, secure and promote sites and provide vision for new places.

TAYLOR WIMPEY

Working with different parts of the business we have provided both strategic and detailed advice for sites across the south of England.

CALA HOMES

Providing detailed planning application and expert witness advice on complex sites

THAKEHAM HOMES

We enjoy working with the Thakeham team in understanding feasibility, securing detailed planning permissions and promoting sites.

BELLWAY HOMES

Providing masterplanning advice across a number of strategic sites across the country.

BROMFORD

Delivering masterplanning and regeneration advice on a number of large scale projects.

contact us

We would love to hear from you so please do get in touch

Richards Urban Design Ltd
59 The Avenue
Southampton
SO17 1XS

+44 7875 338283

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