Planning and environmental consultancy, NGH Environmental celebrated their expansion in the Hunter region with an opening party at their new office in the historic grain mills in Hudson Street, Hamilton.

Staff and clients attended the event in February, which Principal Environmental Planner and Manager of the Hunter and North Coast office for NGH Environmental, Fiona McKay said celebrated the business’ growth.

“In four years, we have grown from my home office to eight staff, servicing projects throughout the Hunter and North Coast, and wider NSW. Now with our new bigger office, it was time to celebrate what we’ve achieved,” Fiona said.

NGH Environmental’s newly-upscaled Hunter office forms part of a network of six offices across NSW, QLD and the ACT.

From an early focus on environmental impact assessment, ecological surveys and environmental management plans, NGH has extended its range of services to include specialist advice in other areas, including heritage (Aboriginal and historic) assessment, town planning and land and water services (including contamination).

The business provides regionally focussed environmental consulting services and advice in development and planning areas such as for the approval of new roads, renewable energy (solar, wind and hydro), water and sewer municipal services, and telecommunication services.

NHG Managing and Founding Director, Nick Graham-Higgs said the new office was a must to meet growing demand.

“This is a challenging and exciting industry – our success and growth in the past 18 months has been overwhelming, and we are thrilled to be able to expand our team and office space to meet the demand of our services across a range of areas, especially in renewables and linear infrastructure,” Nick said.

As specialists in providing environmental assessment and management services essential for the development of large scale solar, wind and hydro projects, Fiona McKay said that herself and her team are excited about what their expansion means for the region.

“We are lucky enough to work on the kinds of projects that transform cities – from solar farms to road expansions, our teams are vital to the sustainable development of the Newcastle and Hunter region,” Fiona said.

According to Fiona there is a high demand for renewable energy infrastructure in the Hunter. “NGH is currently working on around half of the solar State Significant Development (SSD) applications in NSW, along with many other smaller developments (DA’s under Part 4 of the EP&A Act) being submitted to councils.”

Recent solar projects for the Newcastle office include the Summerhill Solar Farm on Newcastle City Council’s Summerhill Waste Facility which is currently under construction, and the Maxwell Solar Farm on a rehabilitated mine site at Muswellbrook.

“It’s exciting to see new opportunities for renewables in our local area,” Fiona said.

IMAGE | NGH Environmental Newcastle staff with Directors Nick Graham-Higgs and Natascha Arens at the new office in the historic grain mill in Hamilton.