WSP has welcomed Bob Tong and Dr Katherine Ibbotson into its planning and advisory business. Tong has joined as head of planning, and Ibbotson as director within the strategic advisory team.

Tong is a chartered civil engineer by background and joins from Lendlease, where he was most recently director of infrastructure responsible for transport planning and infrastructure across the Lendlease development portfolio. 

Tong’s career has spanned consultancy, property development and construction. He has been heavily involved in the planning, design and delivery of a range of high profile projects in the UK and overseas.

Based primarily in London but with a UK-wide role, he will drive the team in planning and designing projects that deliver sustainable and inclusive growth for communities across the country.

Ibbotson has a background in engineering and construction and has spent nearly 18 years at the Environment Agency, where she most recently led the Net Zero Carbon Infrastructure Programme and their internal Carbon and Cost team.

In these pivotal roles she championed carbon reduction within project delivery, whole-life carbon quantification, alignment to cost estimating, benchmarking and improved standards.

Ibbotson’s role will focus on making net zero approaches and ways of working a business as usual activity, measuring and benchmarking the carbon impact of projects and providing strategic counsel on implementing low carbon solutions within infrastructure.

Tong said: “The effective front-end planning of new developments and infrastructure is fundamental to achieving positive outcomes that benefit people and the environment. I am thrilled to be joining an organisation with the breadth and global influence of WSP and am looking forward to delivering integrated, sustainable solutions that create value for our clients, local communities and wider society.”

Ibbotson said: “There is no greater challenge to our society than climate change and consultancies such as WSP have an important role to play in advising clients on decarbonising their projects and strategies. Coming from the Environment Agency into the world’s largest environmental consultancy is a fantastic opportunity for me to effect change for our clients and progress towards a net zero carbon economy. WSP itself has committed to halving the carbon footprint of its designs and advice to clients by 2030 and there is real ambition within the team to move at pace.”

Ian Liddell, managing director, planning & advisory at WSP, said: “I warmly welcome Bob to WSP and it’s fantastic to have someone of his calibre join the business. Our planning specialism, working alongside our other P&A and UK Disciplines, is playing a significant role in landmark projects across the UK. Investment in infrastructure is a vital component of our recovery from the Covid pandemic and the great need to level up the UK’s urban areas, towns and cities, and Bob and his team will be at the forefront of that.”

“Our advisory team is involved in transformational projects across the UK and Kat’s wealth of knowledge from her time at the Environment Agency will offer a truly valuable perspective for our clients. Kat’s expertise in carbon measurement, benchmarking and reduction will support both WSP and our clients’ net zero ambitions and I’m delighted to welcome her to the business.”