Tim O’Hare, Partner & Principal Consultant, Tim O’Hare Associates

Tim is Principal Consultant at Tim O’Hare Associates, which he set up in 2006. A soil scientist for 31 years, he has covered anything from domestic garden projects to major infrastructure developments, both in the UK and overseas. Tim has sat on the British Standards Institute working group for Topsoil (BS3882) and Subsoil (BS8601) since 2005. He was co-author of DEFRA’s Code of Practice for the Sustainable Use and Management of Soils on Construction Sites (published 2009). Tim pioneered the design and use of manufactured soils in landscape projects, including those of the London Olympics and has developed many of the bespoke soil products in use today. He has written and presented numerous papers and articles on topsoil quality, soil specification, tree pit design, topsoil manufacture and soil. In 2019, Tim was awarded an Honorary Fellowship by The Kew Guild in recognition of his “expertise and outstanding contribution to the environment”.

Kevin Barton, Director Robert Bray Associates

Kevin is an award-winning landscape architect and Fellow of the Landscape Institute who specialises in landscape-led, nature-based SuDS.  He delivers leading national SuDS training through CIRIA and through his company’s SuDS Masterclass series, and has co-authored a number of SuDS guidance documents for LPA’s and water companies. His integrated approach to rainwater management balances the functional hydraulic requirements of SuDS with the art of designing dynamic landscapes that benefit communities and wildlife.  The result is places that challenge the urban fabric to work much harder to tackle the issues of climate and biodiversity emergencies whilst delivering much-needed co-benefits to our urban landscapes.

Gill Shaw, Senior Soil Scientist, Tim O’Hare Associates

Gill is a Chartered Scientist with over 37 years’ experience in land quality and soil assessment, both with Government and consultancy. She is a recognised national authority on Agricultural Land Classification (ALC), land evaluation, soil protection and restoration within the planning system. 

Gill has a strong technical knowledge of the ALC system.  She has extensive field soil survey and land evaluation experience, including soil management and restoration plans and evaluation of EIA statements and minerals aftercare plans.  Gill is also an established trainer for ALC with classroom, in-field and online experience.  She has been involved in the writing and provision of numerous technical guidance. 

Alistair Bayford, Managing Director, Frosts Landscapes

Alistair is Managing Director of Frosts Landscape Construction, one of the UK’s leading specialist landscape contractors and a majority employee-owned business delivering complex commercial and public realm projects.  A Chartered Landscape Architect with more than 25 years’ experience, Alistair is a Fellow of the Landscape Institute and a Board Director of the British Association of Landscape Industries (BALI).  Throughout his career, he has worked at the interface of design, construction, and long-term stewardship, helping to deliver some of the UK’s most significant public realm, urban landscape, rooftop, and podium projects.  Alistair is passionate about creating landscapes that realise design ambition while remaining practical to build, climate resilient and capable of thriving long after project completion. His interests include soil as the foundation of successful landscapes, urban tree establishment, sustainable construction and strengthening collaboration between clients, designers, and contractors.

Tim White, Senior Associate, Tim O’Hare Associates

Tim has worked with Tim O’Hare as a professional Soil Scientist since 1999. Tim has a broad range of skills and expertise, and heads up our specialist team providing the house-building sector technical support throughout the development process. Tim is routinely involved with a variety of development projects that require bulk soil movements and advises on soil management to maintain and restore the soils for re-use. He also specialises in soils for habitat creation and has co-authored with Forest Research a Best Practice Guidance (BPG) document on Soil Preparation for the Creation of Species-rich Grassland Habitats and contributed to several other Best Practice Guidance documents.

Chris Bridgman, Chair of the Green Roof Organisation and Vice President of the European Federation of Green Roof and Wall Associations

Chris is a specialist in green roof design, installation, maintenance and training. His portfolio includes constructing the largest turf roof in Europe and installing a biodiverse living roof on the world’s tallest modular building. Working on projects ranging from small-scale domestic schemes and community engagement programmes to major commercial infrastructure projects, his work has been recognised with multiple UK and international awards.

Gareth Phillips, Senior Agronomist, Tim O’Hare Associates

With over 35 years of comprehensive experience in the sports turf industry, Gareth is a professional specialising in all aspects of turf management. He has held Head Groundsman roles, practical experience at top-tier sporting events such as The Golf Open Championship, Football League, European Rugby Cup Finals and club rugby, to senior lecturer and trainer in sports turf management.

Ellen Faye, co-Founder & co-Executive Director of Sustainable Soils Alliance

Ellen leads the organisation in advocating for soils through collaborative research and policy initiatives that connect corporates, leading NGOs, government policy makers, and scientists behind common objectives to strengthen soil initiatives across the UK.
She creates the structures to enable partnerships and pathways between science, policy, and practice that serve to protect our soils. Alongside her involvement in environmental advocacy, multi-sector facilitation, and knowledge exchange, Ellen’s background is in linguistics. This has facilitated a strong understanding of communication needs between different groups. Her experience coordinating complex projects with diverse interests ensures we deliver meaningful impact and value for our partners.

James Lord, Partner, HTA Design

James established the landscape discipline at HTA in 2003 and today directs the landscape team across four studios. As a skilled communicator and collaborator, he contributes to sector thought leadership and steers HTA’s projects to achieve the best results with project teams. He specialises in urban greening and climate adaptation, improving air quality, supporting urban cooling and strengthening ecological networks. His work integrates biodiversity and sustainable water management into streets and public spaces, creating attractive, healthy environments that encourage outdoor life and help cities adapt to a changing climate.

Under James’ leadership, HTA has delivered celebrated landscapes for housing, public realm and regeneration projects, including The Queen Elizabeth II Garden in Regents Park, Greenford Quay in Ealing and the award-winning Eden Dock regeneration in Canary Wharf. He has also pioneered approaches to biodiversity with national impact, recognised by the Sir David Attenborough Award for Enhancing Biodiversity.

James has served as an Elected Board member of the Landscape Institute and is a member of the Hackney Design Review Panel and LLDC Framework.