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The largest two-day agricultural show in the region. The hottest June on record. And a stand to run.

In late June, Donald Proctor, Ian McKenzie and Stuart Anderson from our construction team spent the day at the Royal Norfolk Show, supporting Stephen Attridge from RWE on their exhibition stand and talking to visitors about the Norfolk Vanguard offshore wind project.

team

Why does a wind farm need an agricultural show?

On paper, an offshore wind farm and an agricultural show don’t have much to do with each other. In practice, they overlap almost completely. Norfolk Vanguard is two projects, Vanguard West and Vanguard East, with turbines that will sit roughly 50 to 80 kilometres out in the North Sea. But the electricity they generate comes ashore through a 60-kilometre onshore cable route that crosses Norfolk farmland. Onshore construction is already underway, offshore work is due to begin in 2027, and each project will generate enough electricity to power the equivalent of around 1.5 million homes.

Which means the people with the biggest stake in how the project is delivered are not in boardrooms. They are farming the land the cable route passes through. And in the last week of June, a good number of them were among the 80,000 visitors at the Norfolk Showground. If you want to talk to the farming community in Norfolk, this is where you do it.

A day on the stand

The stand was busy from the moment the gates opened. Until early afternoon the team fielded questions from local residents, landowners and a steady stream of school groups keen to understand the project. Some conversations were technical. Some were curious. All of them were worth having.

Projects on this scale succeed on the strength of relationships with the people who live and work along the route, and there is no substitute for answering questions face to face. A leaflet can explain a cable corridor. It can’t respond when someone asks what it means for their land.

The long game

The rest of the day went on networking: land agents representing clients in the project area, landowners the team already knew, and a few they didn’t. Nothing dramatic. Just the steady work of keeping relationships in good order, which is most of what stakeholder engagement actually is.

It’s easy to undervalue this part of the job because nothing visible gets built during it. But the conversations that make a project run smoothly in year three tend to start at events like this, long before anyone needs anything from anyone. By the time a consent condition needs discharging or an access agreement needs agreeing, it helps enormously if the person on the other side of the table already knows who you are.

Honourable mention to the John Deere 9RX, which drew a crowd all day on sheer scale alone. Some machinery doesn’t need a sales pitch.

Highlight of the day? After eight hours on a stand in the heat, a cold beer with colleagues. Some questions answer themselves.

Worth going?

Would we recommend the show to a colleague who’s never been? Yes. Livestock, machinery old and new, more than 700 trade stands, and a concentration of the local agricultural community you won’t find anywhere else in the calendar. You’ll come away with a better feel for how the people affected by infrastructure projects actually think about their land, which is worth more than most desk research.

If your work touches land in East Anglia, be there.

Jordan Barclay is a Rural Estate and Land Management student at Harper Adams University, currently on summer break and working as an Assistant Land Manager at Blackhall & Powis. Before making the switch to land management, Jordan spent five and a half years as a paediatric nurse, a background that continues to shape her life outside of the office. Here, she shares what a typical Highland Show week looks like when you have a foot in several different worlds at once.

Like many people at B&P, I have a farming background. I support my partner’s family farm and farm shop alongside our own sheep, so a heavy link to agriculture means one thing come mid-June: the Royal Highland Show.

My involvement in the rural community runs wider than the farm, though. I have been a member of Strathmore JAC, my local young farmers club, for many years, serving as club secretary in 2023–24 and as secretary of the Angus Tayside District ever since. And through my previous career as a paediatric nurse, working in A&E at Edinburgh Sick Kids, community children’s nursing, and latterly, as a senior staff nurse in paediatric palliative care, I became one of the Health Hut nurses for the rural charity RSABI. All of which meant that this year’s show week was, as ever, anything but straightforward.

Sunday: Arts, Crafts, and Après Ski

The Sunday before the show has always been a busy one. As the arts and crafts convener of my local club, I am responsible for assembling a team to enter the national competition. This year’s theme was ‘Après Ski’. In addition to coordinating the entry, I created the floral art display and was part of the two-person team that headed to the showground to set it all up. We didn’t win, but it is a great way to bring the club together and put our skills to use away from the day job.

Wednesday and Thursday: The RSABI Health Huts

RSABI (Royal Scottish Agricultural Benevolent Institution) provides practical, emotional, and financial support to people working within the Scottish agriculture industry, with a mission to support and care for as many farming people as possible. One of the ways the charity does this is through health huts at local shows, livestock markets, and agricultural events across the country.

The huts offer blood pressure checks and on-the-spot support. As many of us know, farmers and those working in agriculture tend to avoid the doctor, so being able to get a blood pressure check at a time that suits them makes a real difference. There have been many success stories: people who had no idea their blood pressure was raised and have since come back to tell us they are now on medication and have made lifestyle changes. Some have been referred on to their GP and from there to the hospital for further tests and investigations. It is always wonderful to see people coming forward and to hear the follow-up from those who took action.

My Wednesday of show week was spent running our first health hut in the cattle lines, catching people in their final preparations before showing the next day. Thursday was on the main stand, speaking to stakeholders, friends, and new supporters of the charity. In line with the RHASS presidential initiatives, we had a strong focus on prostate cancer and spoke with many people who have been personally affected or who know someone currently going through treatment.

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Friday: The Show Itself

Friday was finally the chance to see everything the show had to offer. We wandered around the cattle and sheep lines, taking in the best stock the UK has to offer, and checking on how our friends had placed. I am glad to say many came home with tickets.

After spending a bit too much on the bank cards, the late afternoon was spent catching up with friends in the members. It was lovely to walk about, enjoying the day and meeting people, new and old, for a yearly catch-up. I have been fortunate to travel around Europe through the Young Farmers organisation and meet some brilliant people along the way, and we use the Royal Highland Show as our yearly rally catch-up, both through the members and at the Young Farmers Ambassadors Drinks Reception on the Friday evening.

Saturday: Stock Leading, New Connections & a Broken Toe

With a full stock judging team in tow, I spent Saturday as a stock leader for SAYFC. Being what I thought was sensible, I opted to lead a dairy cow, assuming she would be easier to handle than the beef cattle and sheep I am used to at home. Leading someone’s prized cattle around for 200 young farmers competing for Stockman of the Year is quite a responsibility, but the sun was out and, on the whole, ‘Henrietta’ behaved herself. The judge placed her second in her class.

In the afternoon, I was back leading a different dairy cow for young farmers to carry out demonstrations on. My slightly broken toe will tell you how that one went. Still, a learning experience nonetheless.

With the sun still out, I took the opportunity to catch up with B&P colleagues at GAEL Energy and make new connections in the renewables sector, as well as take a look at the innovations and machinery that might one day end up on a farm of our own.

Saturday evening gave the young farmers a chance to come together and celebrate the week’s competition successes. The tug of war team performed brilliantly, and with juniors picking up tickets in the craftsmanship, it was a strong showing all round. We rounded off the evening in the members’, Pimm’s in hand, on a warm and sunny evening that felt like a fitting end to the week.

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Sunday: The Final Stretch

Sunday is normally a quieter day at the show, but with the arts and crafts board still to collect, we headed in early to finish any last-minute shopping and take it all down. After five years of being handed the short straw on that particular job, I was pleased we managed it in record time.

We caught up with more friends, watched the heavy horses, and saw our neighbour place reserve champion for turnout. To round things off, we stayed for the showjumping Grand Prix. Not quite Silverstone, but engaging and tense all the same.

Why Shows Like This Matter

Shows like the Royal Highland are so important for everyone in the rural sector. They tend to land around silage time, which makes it all the more important to carve out time to step away, socialise, and reconnect with friends from all over. Rural isolation and loneliness remain serious concerns, with rates higher than ever, and events like this play a genuine role in helping to address that.

For those of us at B&P working closely with rural landowners and communities, weeks like this are a reminder of how much happens beyond the desk. The relationships, the understanding of rural life, and the awareness of the pressures people face all feed back into the work in ways that are hard to quantify but genuinely matter.

To find out more about RSABI and their Health Huts, visit: https://www.rsabi.org.uk/health-huts/

This week, a few of the B&P team are swapping the office for the showground as we head to the Royal Highland Show. 
 
As the highlight of the Scottish agricultural calendar, for us the show is about being out among the farming community we know well. Many of our team, friends, and families come from a rural background, and some will be showing livestock, volunteering on stands, competing with young farmers and catching up with friends at this year’s event. We’ll be there to cheer them on.  
Catching up with the community

Years of working alongside the agricultural sector also means we know a huge number of people in this community. So, the Highland Show is the perfect excuse to catch up.  

While the show is still very much work – for us and our farming friends – it is also one of the few social occasions throughout the year for many in the agriculture sector. We’re looking forward to swapping stories with familiar faces and people we’ve worked with over the years.  

It’s also a great chance for members of our team who don’t come from a farming background to get stuck in and get to know the community better.  

Come and say hello

As always, we’ll be keen to chat about the energy industry and hear what opportunities and challenges those in agriculture are seeing. But at B&P relationships are at the heart of everything we do, so the social side of being in the field is just as important to us as the work aspects.   

So, if you’re going to the show, look out for the B&P team. You’ll most likely find us in the cattle lines, looking at the machinery or snacking in the food hall, maybe after 5 o’clock in the Herdsman. Come and say hello. Thursday and Friday are probably your best bets hopefully by Saturday we will be celebrating some show success! 

 

Health and safety have always been central to how we work, from holding the right certifications to maintaining high standards across the business. But as B&P grows, we’re building something more deliberate: a stronger culture around health, safety, environment and quality. And in true B&P style, we’re doing it a little differently.

Mark Cook joined us at the start of 2026 in a newly created role, HSEQ Manager. He brings a refreshingly human touch to a subject that can often feel dry, putting people and conversation at the heart of how we approach it. And he’s starting where it matters most: with the H.

Our three pillars of HSEQ

Underpinning our new approach is a framework built around three key policy pillars:

  1. Safe and Well
  2. People and Planet
  3. Leading with Quality

All three matter, but there’s a deliberate order to them. Mark is starting with the first, putting health and wellbeing front and centre, and that is where his early work has been focused.

Pause and Prevent

“The H for Health is the bit we often forget,” says Mark. “I focus on putting health first. Our team being fit and well matters, because if you’re not well and you’re out on site, that’s a risk.”

It’s a simple idea, and it reframes how we think about safety. Looking after yourself isn’t separate from doing your job safely. It’s part of it.

Mark uses the analogy of looking after your car: regular checks, rather than waiting for something to break down before you get it fixed. He talks about staying two steps ahead, reminding the team to pause and prevent, so the small things get caught before they turn into big ones.

“I want to get people to pause before getting in the car,” he explains. “To make sure they feel OK. Check the weather, check the traffic. Pause and prevent. Then the second part of that is monitoring how they feel throughout the day, making small adjustments as it unfolds, particularly when switching environments, from home to office, office to site. We’re moving into a different headspace, so it’s worth taking a moment to make sure everything is OK. It’s about much more than doing risk assessments. It’s about identifying risk and building our intelligence and systems around it.”

There’s real substance behind that idea. B&P backs it up with a serious spread of support for its people. For anyone who needs someone to talk to, there’s Virtual Lucy – free and confidential counselling available day or night, no referral needed and no questions asked, alongside a team of trained Mental Health First Aiders across the business. Through cover with AXA and Canada Life, every employee has access to far more than most people expect: a 24/7 GP they can call from home, physiotherapy, specialist referrals, counselling sessions, income protection, and legal and financial support. And to help people build the skills to look after their own wellbeing and support their teams, there’s professional one-to-one coaching and a growing set of self-paced courses on Learn Nest – B&P’s virtual learning environment.

It’s a real investment in people’s health rather than a list of perks, and part of what makes B&P a good place to build a career.

Making it Personal

The support is there. However, Mark’s real focus, though, is on making this personal.

“I’m the first to admit that health and safety can be a dry subject, so I want to make it personal for people,” he says. “I’m not the safety police. That’s not how you get people on board.”

To bring these ideas to life, he’s launched HSEQ Brew Time. It’s half an hour in every team member’s diary each month; an open invitation to step away, grab a coffee and have a proper conversation. It isn’t a tick box exercise or a lecture from the front. It’s a chance for people to get involved, ask the questions on their mind, and feel part of how the business approaches safety. Topics so far have ranged from fire safety and accident reporting to mental health and risk assessment.

The risk assessment element was to really highlight lone working. Lone working can often be misconstrued as being big brother-like when it comes to systems and knowing employees’ locations.

However, the real focus within the risk assessment session was on when exactly we need lone working and when not.

We don’t exactly want to know you’re at the 9th hole on the golf course on a Friday afternoon; it’s about risk management, and for Mark, that was exactly the message he wanted to deliver.

Mark set the tone early, kicking off the focus on wellbeing on Time to Talk Day and speaking openly about his own experience of depression and an ADHD diagnosis. “I’m being open from the start, and that encourages others to do the same.”

It’s not all quiet conversation, either. Last month saw ‘Movement May’ – a team challenge focused on physical wellbeing. The challenge began among the team last year and quickly turned competitive. Shirley Henderson set the bar in 2025, averaging a staggering 30,000 steps a day, then bowed out this year, presumably to give everyone else a fighting chance. The team took full advantage of this. And, on the final day, with the top spot still up for grabs, Lenz Bartelt walked from Glasgow to Falkirk and back to lock in his win. By the time the month was over, 24 colleagues had racked up a combined 7.5 million steps.

For Mark, the focus was never the leaderboard, though. These conversations aren’t meant to begin and end with an awareness month, and he uses moments like Movement May to keep them going all year round.

He’s also introduced safe space learning sessions: a relaxed, supportive clinic where anyone can come along and ask questions. “I don’t want people to be frightened of health and safety,” he says. “It’s about talking things through when they come up.”

Robust Systems and a Human Approach

At the same time, Mark is strengthening the policies, processes and procedures that sit behind all of this, making sure our systems are robust and ready for what’s ahead without losing what makes B&P, B&P.

Health and safety shouldn’t be an eye roll or a box you tick to keep someone happy. It has to be something the team can live with day-to-day, and something that supports them. Get that right, and the systems look after everyone, rather than just covering the business.

This is where the other two pillars, People and Planet, and Leading with Quality, come into focus. Over the coming months, Mark will lead B&P through our ISO certification renewal and the work towards EcoVadis recognition. EcoVadis assesses how a business performs on sustainability and responsible practice, and provides a clear, structured roadmap for improving our ESG performance year on year. It’s a meaningful step, and a practical one: a way of holding ourselves to a standard and knowing exactly where to push next.

A Lasting Legacy

Mark’s fresh approach and his enthusiasm for all things HSEQ have slotted into the B&P culture perfectly. Creating this role and getting the right person into it says a lot about how seriously we take this. It’s a real commitment, not a gesture.

The culture around safety and wellbeing we’re building now will have a lasting, positive impact on our people, our projects and our clients.

“I want to be able to look back in two to three years and see the journey we’ve been on,” says Mark. “It’s exciting to develop a culture and systems that will leave a lasting legacy.”

The water sector is entering a major period of investment over the next few years. With a potential £104bn programme across England and Wales and Scottish Water delivering a £6bn+ investment cycle, the scale of projects to be built, upgraded and maintained is huge.

It’s exciting, but water companies will be under significant pressure to deliver on time and on budget. Working with the right partners will be key, and that’s where we come in. Our water service has the depth of experience and expertise to support this transformation in the water industry over the coming years.

Diving into the challenge

At B&P, we don’t shy away from a challenge, instead, we dive right in. We get under the surface, embedding ourselves in projects to work in partnership with our clients from early-stage strategy all the way through to project construction.

We know the biggest challenge for water projects is land. Major infrastructure projects stall when land can’t be accessed, negotiations drag on or complex title issues emerge halfway through a programme. Our whole approach is built around solving these problems to keep projects moving.

How we keep water projects flowing

We head all of this off at the outset with detailed land referencing and GIS modelling to identify and mitigate access issues and establish a detailed land strategy.

At the heart of our approach is our extensive expertise in stakeholder engagement and negotiation. We understand how to build and maintain relationships with the right people – the landowners, planning authorities, and statutory body stakeholders. Being a specialist third party, we can engage on behalf of water companies in a way that’s constructive and independent – often making conversations easier and reaching agreements more quickly than if the client were negotiating directly.

Our core service brings together:

  • GIS and land referencing
  • Land acquisition
  • Rights negotiation and compensation claims
  • Stakeholder engagement
  • Project management
  • Valuation
  • DCO and CPO support for larger programmes


As well as a dedicated team with deep experience in working with water companies across the whole of the UK, B&P has an extensive background in utilities, energy and renewables projects.

An agile approach across the UK

With an agile team and offices across the UK, we’re well-positioned to support projects in England, Wales and Scotland. We’re also building a network of strategic partnerships so we can easily and quickly scale up to support the biggest programmes in the sector.

If you have a water sector project on the horizon, no matter the scale, we’d love to hear from you.

Contact us
Gill Froud, Land Assembly Director: Gill.Froud@blackhallpowis.com
Linda Turner, Director of Water Infrastructure: Linda.Turner@blackhallpowis.com

The global energy landscape is shifting fast, and nowhere more so than in Africa, where new markets are emerging, and investment is accelerating.

For energy developers with the ambition to operate internationally, we have the people, the contacts and innovative technologies to support you.

Here’s what we’re seeing, and where the window of opportunity is wide open.

Emerging Opportunities in Africa

Africa is home to more than 1.5 billion people across 54 countries, yet around 600 million of them still have no access to electricity.

Central to Africa’s energy transformation is the Mission 300 initiative to connect 300 million people to electricity by 2030.

According to the Energy Industries Council (EIC), over 818 energy projects have been announced across Africa since 2020, with an estimated $929 billion in capital expenditure expected on projects starting up by 2031. Of those, 436 are renewable and power generation projects, with a further 91 energy transition projects due to start by 2031.

A key opportunity for developers is the South African Power Pool (SAPP) – a 12-country electricity market spanning Southern Africa. B&P are already working with and talking to the developers involved.

Connecting Clients on the Ground

While the opportunities in Africa are huge, there are, of course, challenges too. Relationships, local presence, and timing are critical. Being in the right room or knowing the right people makes a huge difference.

Our regular, on-the-ground presence in Africa is one of our most valuable assets. This is combined with our well-established contacts and strong relationships with EIC and the Africa Scotland Business Network (ASBN). Our Director of International Development, Pete Gettinby, has recently spoken about the opportunities and challenges at events for both organisations.

These connections can’t be built from a desk in the UK, and it’s something developers who work with us benefit from directly.

It’s not just about who we know, though. From a technology perspective, our industry-leading geospatial analysis can help developers identify viable project locations and assess grid capacity for a wide range of projects, such as data centres, analyse large-scale crop health, and map mining activities.

Led by our research, land information and GIS specialists, we utilise high-resolution satellite imagery and site suitability modelling to provide actionable insights. 

Wider Global Opportunities

Africa is, of course, not the only market where we can support clients. Our International Business Development team are leading engagement with partners in France, enabling access to project pipelines and procurement processes linked to the delivery of the country’s ambitious new energy roadmap.

B&P also remains firmly committed to the Middle East, where we have built strong client and partner relationships and continue to support large-scale energy developers and projects.

Why choose B&P as your International Business Development Partner?

Four things that set us apart when it comes to exploring international energy markets:

  1. We’re already there: our regular presence on the ground in Africa, France and the Middle East means we know the markets, the projects, and the people.

  2. We cover the full development journey: from site suitability and grid assessment through to geospatial analysis and stakeholder engagement, we can support developers at every stage of early-phase development.

  3. We bring geospatial expertise: our mapping and remote sensing capabilities can be applied to support a wide range of projects, giving clients a richer picture of the environments they’re developing in.

  4. We’re part of a wider network: B&P is connected to the Africa Scotland Business Network and works alongside organisations including the Energy Industries Council – ensuring our clients benefit from the latest market intelligence and industry relationships.


If you’re an energy developer looking for international opportunities, or already active and looking for specialist support, we’d love to talk.

Get in touch with the B&P International team to find out how we can support your next project.

Contact Pete Gettinby

If you’re reading this, chances are you’re attending All Energy 2026.

Our stand at B20 was designed and built by our friends at GAEL Energy – onshore wind O&M specialists who maintain over 400 turbines across the UK, and who clearly had some ideas about how to make an impression at a conference.

We think they nailed it.

a bit about us

Blackhall & Powis was founded in Glasgow in 2017 by people who knew energy infrastructure from the inside – not from boardrooms, but from the land, the sea, and the communities at the heart of every project. Nine years on, we’re over 100 people across eight UK offices.

We have five service delivery divisions:

If you’re trying to get energy infrastructure built, we’ve probably done something similar before.
OUR NEW BROCHURES

We’re launching four new service brochures for All-Energy this year, and they’re worth a read if you want to understand what each part of the business actually does.

Real projects, real people, proper detail.


Our new Construction Services and International brochures will follow in the near future. Watch this space.

KEEP THE CONVERSATION GOING

We will have over 20 people at the SEC across the next two days, covering the full breadth of what B&P does. If you have a conversation at our stand and want to follow it up, the best place to start is info@blackhallpowis.com – just mention who you spoke to and we’ll make sure it gets to the right person.

Also at the stand is GAEL Energy. If operations and maintenance come up in conversation and you want to know more, you can find them at gaelenergy.co.uk.

The energy transition is the defining challenge of our generation. We’re glad to be doing this work – and hope you stop by.

Understanding the natural environment is a critical first step for any international development project. However, obtaining a detailed picture of large, remote areas in global markets has traditionally been a drain on both time and resources. 

By leveraging innovative satellite remote sensing data, Blackhall & Powis provides comprehensive environmental studies that significantly reduces risk, time, and costs for our clients worldwide. 

Director-led Geospatial Analysis

Led by our Director of Research, David Cooper, and our specialist Land Information and GIS team, we utilise high-resolution satellite imagery to provide actionable insights. Our remote sensing capabilities are designed to inform: 

  • Baseline Habitat and Species Mapping: Identifying what exists on the ground before a project begins. 
  • Long-term Habitat Monitoring: Tracking environmental changes over months or years. 
  • Restoration Opportunities: Identifying key areas for ecological recovery and biodiversity offsets. 
Why Choose Remote Sensing Over Traditional Surveys? 

Traditional “on-the-ground” surveys are essential but often time-consuming and logistically challenging when applied to vast or inaccessible regions. Our data is updated every few days, capturing repeat imagery to build a robust, “live” picture of the landscape. 

While this high-res data can be integrated with ground-truth information, it dramatically reduces the need for physical surveys over long periods, allowing for faster decision-making without sacrificing accuracy. 

Proven Global Experience 

Our team has a proven track record of supporting species monitoring in some of the most challenging environments in the Middle East and Africa. 

Most recently, David Cooper collaborated with the Centre for Middle Eastern Plants in the Arabian Peninsula. Through this partnership, he integrated satellite remote sensing data, GIS datasets and ground survey data to create a machine learning model and resulting map output of habitats over an area the size of Wales. This has provided a crucial baseline assessment for future conservation work within the region. Our expertise allows us to support clients across a variety of sectors, with capabilities including: 

  • Environmental & Habitat Modelling 
  • Carbon Credit Market & Sequestration Analysis 
  • Natural Disaster & Risk Monitoring 
  • Predictive Species Modelling 
Partner With B&P for Your Next Project 

Whether you are navigating the complexities of the carbon market or need a baseline environmental assessment for a remote site, B&P provides the clarity you need to move forward with confidence. 

Ready to streamline your environmental strategy?  

To learn more about our remote sensing capabilities or to discuss a specific project, contact David.

Send David an email

Scotland’s infrastructure pipeline is growing, and so is the complexity of delivering it. From major roads and utilities to large-scale energy projects, principal contractors and developers need specialist support teams who understand the unique challenges of working on live, high-profile sites.

B&P has been building that expertise on some of Scotland’s most demanding construction projects. Here’s how.

Supporting a Major Scottish Road Infrastructure Project

One of Scotland’s best-known trunk roads has long been one of the most challenging to maintain. Persistent landslips on steep terrain above the carriageway prompted a major long-term engineering solution: the design and construction of a debris flow shelter to protect the road from falling rocks and material.

It’s exactly the kind of complex, multi-contractor infrastructure project where specialist support services make the difference between a smooth delivery and a costly one.

An Image of The Rest and Be Thankful road in Scotland
The Challenge

The project combined some of the most demanding conditions a construction team can face: steep, unstable terrain; a live road requiring continuous public access; multiple contractors working simultaneously on site; and a wide range of stakeholders to manage, from transport authorities to local communities.

Effective stakeholder engagement, meticulous site records, and a consistent on-site presence throughout the construction programme were all essential.

How B&P Delivered

B&P was brought in to provide Public Liaison Officer (PLO) support and records of conditions services during the ground investigation phase, which involved hundreds of boreholes drilled across the site.

Our team was on site throughout the full construction period, November 2024 to September 2025, with responsibility for:

  • Producing detailed records of conditions before and after works at each location
  • Accurately recording site conditions across a large number of individual borehole locations
  • Maintaining a consistent on-site presence to support contractors and protect all parties
  • Deploying our Land Information team’s mobile application to capture field observations reliably in a remote location

B&P Project Lead, Iain Wright, said:

"It was a very challenging project overall. Our team gained valuable experience of working on a major roads project with multiple complexities, particularly around safety on a live site and co-ordinating with several other companies working simultaneously. While we weren't the face of the project, we are proud to have been part of such a high-profile piece of infrastructure and are keen to support more projects like this."

Our Construction Support Services

This project is one of a growing number where B&P has provided embedded, full-time construction support, and it reflects the breadth of our expanding Construction service.

We offer principal contractors and developers a multi-skilled team capable of supporting all phases of an infrastructure project, from early planning through to construction completion. Our construction support services include:

  • Public Liaison Officer (PLO) support: on-site stakeholder communication and community engagement throughout the construction programme
  • Records of conditions surveys: detailed pre-and post-work surveys to protect contractors and clients
  • Land agreements, planning and consents
  • Stakeholder engagement across complex, multi-party projects
  • Environmental expertise: including legislation compliance, crop identification, soil, drainage and fencing
  • Contractual obligations, management plans and designs
  • Drone surveys

B&P Director of Construction Donald Proctor said:

"We have grown the team and service so that we can offer full support from early-stage planning right through to construction completion. We have been and continue to be involved in some of the UK's biggest renewables projects, including Seagreen and Norfolk Boreas, and we are keen to support developers and principal contractors across a wide range of large-scale energy and infrastructure construction projects."

Work With B&P on Your Next Project

If you are a principal contractor or developer looking for specialist construction support services in Scotland or the wider UK, we’d welcome the conversation.

Get in touch with Donald Proctor – donald.proctor@blackhallpowis.com

Send Donald an email

France’s renewable energy sector is at a critical juncture. Having missed its 2020 renewable energy targets, the French government has responded with an ambitious new energy roadmap, the PPE3, confirmed as recently as February 2026 and setting firm targets through to 2050. Offshore wind and solar PV sit at the heart of that plan, with France targeting 48 GW of solar PV capacity and 31 GW of onshore wind by 2030, followed by 15 GW of offshore wind by 2035 (S&P Global). With a significant amount of ground to cover in a short space of time, the opportunity for UK and international developers and partners to get involved has never been more compelling.

Local Knowledge of the French Renewable Energy Market

To support clients looking to move into this market, B&P has brought on board consultant Cédric Gerbier, building on our growing  International Business Development team. Cédric is the co-founder and former CEO of Locogen France and an active member of the Global Scot business network, with over 20 years of experience in renewable energy across France and the UK. But beyond the credentials, what Cédric brings is something that’s genuinely hard to find: a deep understanding of how the French market works, how to build the right relationships from day one, and how to turn that knowledge into real opportunities for incoming developers.

Perfect Timing to Support Key Targets

This February, France confirmed its support for offshore wind and solar PV development with the release of its energy strategy plan to the 2050 horizon. France initiated its energy transition over two decades ago and is currently significantly behind target, but seems committed to accelerating and making up for the accumulated delay, making this an ideal opportunity for B&P to implement its market entry plan.

At B&P, we have already demonstrated our capacity to adapt our proven business model and approaches to successfully deliver projects for our clients across Europe, Africa and the Middle East. We fully understand the nature of the commitment required and the challenges associated with opening this new, highly competitive and mature market, often characterised by its administrative red tape and sluggishness. However, we strongly believe that our UK-style approach to development, our successful track record liaising with fisheries and developers, and our extremely powerful GIS capability makes us ideally positioned to add value to the already existing local supply chains. We are extremely excited to meet the local players, demonstrate our know-how and can-do attitude, and build a strong long term presence in a new, neighbouring friendly country.

Cédric Gerbier​
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How B&P Can Support Your Entry into the French Energy Market

We are already active in France, working with a major solar developer to source new opportunities, and we recently completed a project exploring market entry across multiple global markets and continents. If you are looking to do the same, here is how we can help:

  • Geospatial analysis and land referencing: Identifying and assessing viable sites across France with precision, using our industry-leading GIS capability
  • Stakeholder liaison and management: Building the local relationships that are essential for getting projects off the ground in the French market
  • Land acquisition: Navigating the complexities of French land and securing the right agreements in the right locations
  • Marine and offshore liaison: Specialist support for developers looking to capitalise on France’s growing offshore wind pipeline
Ready to Explore the French Renewable Energy Market?

France’s energy transition is gathering pace, and the window for developers and partners to establish a strong position in the market is open right now. If you are a UK or international developer looking to take advantage of the opportunities on offer, we would love to have that conversation with you.

Reach out to Cédric directly and let’s talk about what’s possible:

Send Cédric an email