Delta-Simons’ Jessica Rowe Nominated For Early Career Brownfield Professional By Environment Analyst

We are pleased to announce that Principal Geoenvironmental Consultant Jessica Rowe from our company Delta-Simons Ltd has been nominated for the Brownfield Awards ‘Best Early Career Brownfield Professional’ by Environment Analyst.

Taking place on Thursday 2nd November 2023 at the Kimpton Clocktower Hotel in Manchester, Lucion Group will be hosting a table of 10 at the prestigious annual Brownfield Awards. Hosting colleagues from across the Lucion Group of companies and our clients, we will be cheering on the finalists at the awards and have our fingers crossed for Jessica who has been an integral member of the team for 6 years.

Jessica joined Delta-Simons as an intern in 2017 on an industrial placement year forming part of her undergraduate studies in Geological Sciences at the University of Leeds. Following her graduation with a First-Class degree, she was offered a Geoenvironmental Consultant position in 2019. 

Jessica commenced an MSc in Engineering Geology at the University of Leeds in September 2020, on a part-time basis, supported by Delta-Simons. Now Principal Geoenvironmental Consultant, Jessica is a highly valued and motivated member of the team who seeks all development opportunities to enhance her knowledge in the brownfield sector.

Unearthing Innovation: Jessica's Journey in Engineering Geology

Jessica’s Engineering Geology MSc provided her with practical knowledge in the application of geological principles to civil, ground and mining engineering.

Jessica’s MSc Thesis was based on an active project, Cathedral Quarry, in Lincoln, assessing the settlement behaviour of a backfilled quarry. This project showcases her technical ability and innovative thinking:

• Jessica reviewed the literature relating to the type, mechanisms and methods for predicting settlement and highlighted a knowledge gap in the use of load tests.
• The study involved the classification of the existing engineered fill from site investigation data and the development of geotechnical and ground models for the site. 
• Analysis of maintained load tests was undertaken as part of the thesis, including the derivation of compressibility parameters, for use in empirical relationships and computer modelling. 

This was made possible by Lindum who facilitated the use of the data.

“Jessica provided vital advice on a complex brownfield site in Lincoln. The former quarry posed many challenges, not least formulating a remediation strategy and dealing with historic contamination. Jessica worked alongside the development team and engineers to find appropriate solutions and was pivotal in reaching an agreement with the City Council’s scientific officer during the planning application process. Jessica is a pleasure to work with, responds quickly and played an important role in helping with this complicated and difficult project.” 

- Robert Jays, Project Manager, Lindum (Cathedral Quarry, Lincoln)

On the completion of Jessica’s MSc in 2022, she was awarded the Arup Prize for ‘Best Student Project’ and the School Prize for ‘Best Overall Performance.’ 

“This was thoroughly deserved. For a part-time student to win these awards is unheard of, I don’t think I can overestimate the magnitude of [her] achievements.”

 - Dr Mark Thomas, PhD MESci FHEA, Lecturer: Engineering Geology, Programme Leader: MSc Engineering Geology (21/22)

To receive two awards whilst continuing to excel at work was an exceptional achievement, and her commitment was recognised with a promotion to Principal Consultant in January 2023.

Jessica’s specialist skillset has enabled our company, Delta-Simons Ltd, to diversify and expand various client project scopes. 

As a well-versed and established Geoenvironmental Consultant in the Lincoln area, Jess has made significant contributions to many local projects, including the management of an intrusive site investigation (Beevor Street, Lincoln) in accordance with BS 10175 at a former foundry in a heavily industrial area of Lincoln.

Jessica project managed and oversaw the remediation of hydrocarbon contamination on the adjacent site, Lincoln Science and Innovation Park. The success of this project was a key factor in Delta-Simons winning ‘Consultancy of the Year’ Award at the Lincolnshire Construction and Property Awards 2023. Jessica’s recent involvement across the Phase 2 area has included the production of preliminary risk assessments, geoenvironmental assessments and remediation strategies. Given the complexity of the ground conditions, Jessica provided regular liaison with the Local Authority and statutory consultees including chairing meetings to enable project progression.  Lincoln Science and Innovation Park is a key development for the city, attracting pioneering companies into its existing and proposed office space while also developing disused brownfield land. 

“Jess became a fundamental part of our team, not only for her enthusiasm but also her knowledge and ability to objectively review the site conditions and the issues that arose from them. She prepared an easy-to-follow brief, going out of her way to explain to those not as technically minded as herself so that everyone understood the contamination issues and the proposals to resolve them. Jess assisted in the review and negotiations with the local authority’s contamination officer to ensure that all legal requirements were met. She became a trusted member of the team who we all called on for advice. She always made sure she reviewed/visited at her earliest possible moment so that work could continue efficiently.”

 - Tim Owen, Senior Project Manager, RG Carter (Lincoln Science and Innovation Park)

Empowering Growth: Jessica's Impact in Geoenvironmental Consulting

Jessica has been part of Delta-Simons’ Geotechnical and Digital Working Groups since 2020, identifying knowledge gaps and opportunities for innovation, and acting as an intermediary between the two groups. Jessica worked on the development and launch of a cloud-based logging program, by  shaping, customising and developing a template to improve efficiency on-site and during reporting. 

Jessica actively attends networking events and conferences. Most recently, Jessica attended the East Midlands Property Expo and Build for the Future: East Midlands. At these events, Jessica meets with existing clients and new clients and showcases all the service lines Delta-Simons and the wider Lucion Group offer.

Jessica is highly self-motivated and regularly gets involved in internal and external CPD courses including the Yorkshire Contaminated Land Forum webinar on developing Sites on historical coal fields, AGS and SoBRA webinars. The project management aspect of Jessica’s role includes financial oversight of projects, including incoming third-party costs and invoicing and she also undertakes first-pass reviews of contractual documents. 

Jessica is passionate about charity and volunteer work, taking the lead on involvement to engage and motivate those she line manages and the wider team. Most recently, she was involved in a community tree planting scheme, as part of the City of Lincoln Council’s parks restoration project. Each year she also puts a team together for the annual Lincoln Dragon Boat Race to raise money for local charity, LIVES.

Dedication to Mentoring and Promoting Growth in the Brownfield Sector

Throughout her time at Delta-Simons, Jessica has demonstrated an ability to pass on expertise and promote development to early-stage career professionals within the brownfield sector, both through line management, mentoring and attending careers events. 

As Jessica has been involved in and managed a vast array of sites from small, developer-led projects to large-scale framework initiatives, she has a natural ability and willingness to create opportunities and scenarios for younger professionals to grow and learn.

Jessica regularly attends careers events to inspire the next generation of environmental consultants and is particularly passionate about educating those at school and college level about the career routes they can take in the industry. Stemming from her own experiences at school, Jessica feels it is imperative to give young people information about careers in Geology and environmental sciences. Jessica engages the younger audience by setting up her stand with rocks, fossils and other interactive elements, which always garner lots of interest. She is completely self-directed, sourcing and finding the events herself and often involving different members of junior staff to enable them to practise their networking skills in a comfortable environment.

Now in its 19th year, the Brownfield Awards brings together the brownfield community to celebrate the excellent work undertaken by organisations and project partnerships, through the use of innovative techniques, awareness of sustainability, engagement with stakeholders and best practices.

We are very excited to see Jess’ commitment to expanding her knowledge and involvement in the Brownfield sector being recognised by the Environment Analyst and look forward to supporting her at the upcoming awards.

For more information about career opportunities will our Geoenvironmental team at Delta-Simons and the wider Lucion Group, explore our career opportunities here. 

About Delta-Simons Ltd

Delta-Simons, part of the wider Lucion Group, is a multi-disciplinary environmental and health and safety consultancy providing trusted advice and solutions to ‘Protect People and Planet’ through facilitating sustainable development.

As one of the UK’s leading teams of geo-environmental consultants, we work with clients and their project teams to provide advice that is practical, commercially aware and technically robust with an outcome-focused approach. 

As a national provider with a strong regional presence, we work with clients from multiple sectors including industrial, commercial & residential developers, retailers, industrial manufacturers, fund managers, institutional investors, hi-tech companies, public sector and charitable organisations. For the past 30 years, our team has provided a holistic suite of commercially astute environmental services and advice, designed to mitigate risk to both people and the environment.

Whether working to support the transaction of multi-site portfolios or investigating small-scale developments, we take pride in being the consultant of choice.

E: info@lucionservices.com

T: 0345 5040 303