Mr 'Merton Rule' moves to head Metropolis Green

12 June 2008 - Adrian Hewitt, who was responsible for driving the radical renewable energy 'Merton Rule' policy into the mainstream of the UK planning process, is to head up new sustainability and renewable energy consultancy, Metropolis Green.

Metropolis Green has been set up by London urban planning and design consultancy, Metropolis Planning and Design, which is headed by Nigel Bennett and Greg Cooper.

Hewitt, former Principal Environment Officer for the London Borough of Merton, will develop and implement renewable energy strategies for Metropolis Green's property and development clients. He will draw on his extensive experience of the planning system and his detailed knowledge of low-carbon technologies.

A Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Hewitt is a member of the Town & Country Planning Association's Policy Council and the Department of Communities and Local Government's scientific advisory group. He also sits on several other national and regional steering and advisory groups including the Greater London Authority renewables group and the Carbon Vision Building Programme.

"Metropolis Green will suit me very well," said Hewitt. "They fully understand that new approaches are needed for meeting the energy and sustainability challenges of the future. We will explore emerging building technologies and systems and design energy strategies to suit a range of clients."

Nigel Bennett said: "I am excited at the prospect of having Hewitt lead our new environmental venture. His broad and in-depth experience gives him a unique insight into delivering low-carbon buildings from a national perspective right down to the site specific level and, importantly, from both the developers' and local planning authorities' perspective."

Greg Cooper added: "Hewitt's knowledge, contacts and expertise in the sustainability sector will give us a cutting edge in the market and help us take the business to the next level.

"By having Metropolis Green in the same studio as our planners and architects we will be stronger as a practice and able to ensure that the right renewable energy solutions are incorporated into scheme designs from day one."

Miranda Pennington, former Sustainability Officer at Islington Council, London, and a licensed Code for Sustainable Homes assessor, has been recruited to work alongside Hewitt to deliver a suite of sustainability services.

To view a high resolution photo image please click here

Photo caption:
Adrian Hewitt, (centre) who heads up new sustainability and renewable energy consultancy, Metropolis Green, with his assistant Miranda Pennington and Nigel Bennett, a director of Metropolis Planning and Design.

Editor's Notes:

  • The 'Merton Rule' is the groundbreaking planning policy, pioneered by the London Borough of Merton, which requires the use of renewable energy onsite to reduce annual carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the built environment.
  • The Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) says a "painfully slow, piecemeal approach to sustainability" is threatening efforts to build green towns and cities. It reviewed the designs of more than 700 large construction projects over the last two years and concluded that fewer than 10 made sustainability a priority. Source: The Guardian May 31, 2008

For further information contact:
Nigel Bennett
Metropolis Green
020 7324 2662
nigelb@metropolispd.com       
www.metropolispd.com               

Adrian Hewitt
Metropolis Green
020 7324 2662
adrianh@metropolisgreen.com
www.metropolisgreen.com

Issuers of news releases, not Targetwire, are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.