Bourn Airfield

Brookbanks have been appointed as Development Manager, providing a central coordination role across the project. This includes managing consultant teams, enabling works and appointments; establishing document control and governance procedures; overseeing payment runs; and supporting technical approval processes. In addition, we are delivering a comprehensive suite of services including planning services (monitoring Section 106 obligations and planning conditions); cost and commercial guidance (cost planning, cashflow forecasting and management, procurement and recommendation of tender packages, and contract administration); and engineering services (design of site-wide earthworks, surface water and foul water strategies, and detailed drainage design for Phase 1 infrastructure). Further services have been commissioned to undertake noise assessments to inform the design of the noise bunds, alongside air quality assessments.

The project is driven by an accelerated delivery programme, with the objective of servicing the site and achieving client handover by 2032. This compressed timescale means we have collaborated closely with the wider external project team and stakeholder groups, enabling site mobilisation within six months of the first land acquisition. Our multi-disciplinary approach has allowed pre-commencement planning conditions, reserved matters approvals and detailed design to progress in parallel, ensuring key programme milestones are achieved, whilst our cost & commercial specialists to monitor budget performance and the status of tender packages, a critical task in maintaining programme and cost certainty.

We are delivering a fully integrated, wrap-around service led by a single Project Director who acts as the primary point of contact for the client. This provides clear accountability and enables a highly coordinated approach to service delivery, ensuring aligned decisions and interfaces are effectively managed. Project delivery is underpinned by rigorous Project Execution Plans, developed to align closely with the clients business plan and annual targets. This ensures that programme, cost and quality objectives remain tightly controlled and consistently reported against agreed client priorities.

Flexibility is a defining feature of our approach. The Brookbanks team has adapted to evolving requirements, going beyond traditional project management responsibilities to maintain programme and quality standards. This has included the proactive identification and implementation of value engineering opportunities to optimise design solutions and deliver efficiencies while maintaining performance and compliance. Innovation also plays a key role in delivery. The use of Asana as the project monitoring and collaboration platform has enabled transparent tracking of actions, deliverables and responsibilities across the project team. This has enhanced communication, improved coordination between parallel workstreams and supported programme management on a fast-paced, complex development.