Victoria is a Principal Air Consultant at Ramboll UK in Southampton. Her role within the small team is to undertake and review air quality assessments for planning applications ranging from residential and commercial developments to road schemes and combustion plant. Victoria predominantly specialises in traffic emissions modelling and environmental impact assessments. Aside from her main responsibilities, she supports junior members of the team in their technical development.
After gaining a BSc in Environmental Studies, Victoria joined Atkins in 2001 and began monitoring landfills in Kent and Sussex. A couple of years later she made the move to Jacobs and began work as a consultant in the noise and air quality team. The was Victoria’s first introduction to noise and air quality modelling and she worked on many road schemes including the early stages of the A90 Aberdeen western peripheral route, one of the largest infrastructure projects in Scotland, as well as numerous Highways England schemes.
Victoria went on to specialise in air quality at SLR Consulting undertaking air quality assessments mainly for the waste industry and took voluntary redundancy in early 2009 due to the global financial crisis. Later that year, she took a temporary position at the Environment Agency in the pollution, prevention and control team. She then moved to Tunbridge Wells Borough Council as their Air Quality Officer taking on the council’s duties of monitoring and evaluating air quality assessments supporting planning applications. Victoria re-joined Ramboll in 2012.
Victoria is a long-standing member of the IES and having joined early on in her consultancy career, became a full member in 2006.
"I feel it is important to be part of an Institution which has values that I believe in. The IES provides a range of resources and provides me with information on the latest environmental issues."
Working for an engineering company gives Victoria the opportunity to work on large infrastructure projects as well as interesting sustainable buildings engineered and designed by Ramboll. Although part of a small air quality team, she collaborates with colleagues in many other disciplines such as ecologists, noise consultants, mechanical and building engineers, from many offices across the country, working towards a common goal. Outside of her work responsibilities, Victoria has her own external clients – this gives her experience in project and client management.
In recent years she has been involved with various local projects, including one very close to her home – the Royal Pier Waterfront scheme in Southampton. The multi-million-pound scheme aims to redevelop the waterfront, currently a ferry terminal and public park, into a multi-use development of housing, shops, restaurants, a casino, a hotel and open public space. Victoria particularly enjoyed working on this scheme to enhance a key area of the city.
Looking forward, she hopes to redevelop her knowledge in the area of “Healthy cities” and sustainable urban living – this is a very timely plan, with public health now being part of the 2017 Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations.
