An interview with our founder

For the first article in the HLME Journal we talk to founder, Jonathan Gimblett about HLME

Why did you found HLME?

Having spent over 20 years working on residential and residential led mixed use developments across a diverse range of roles including Development, Land and planning and Technical working on a number of high profile projects I realised there was an opportunity to share and use that experience to help create other high quality residential led developments. As a result of my background I therefore have a wide range of skills covering the inception, creation and execution of projects.

Where does the HLME name come from?

HLME is based on helm which is defined as a handle or wheel that control’s the direction in which a ship or boat travels in.

What sort of things has HLME been doing since its inception?

Since our formation in February 2022 we have worked for a number of clients on a variety of different activities, from providing urban design advice, undertaking project reviews through to producing scopes of work and undertaking development management activities. This is just a small example of our skill set.

What sort of client does HLME work with?

HLME is able to work with and support a wide variety of different stakeholders including Developers, Housebuilders, land owners, consultants and public bodies among others.

What areas does HLME operate in?

HLME is based in Cambridge, England. Most of the projects we have worked on are within approximately an hours travel of there in areas such as London, Bedfordshire and Milton Keynes. For the right projects we would of course go further.

What has been your favourite project that you’ve worked on to date?

Ive worked on a diverse range of projects over the years. I was lucky enough to work on the flagship Greenwich Millennium Village in the early 2000’s which was a groundbreaking project in terms of reuse of a brownfield site, increased density, community creation and sustainability. Most recently I led the inception and planning teams for all phases of the multi award winning Clay Farm development in Cambridge.  Some of the ideas that we pioneered at GMV were carried forward into the Clay Farm site such as the quality of public space, small clusters of homes around shared spaces, shared surfaces and the use of materials to enhance character. More recently I was involved in a modular housing scheme in Milton Keynes so have an excellent understanding of the challenges of delivering volumetric housing.

What advice would you give to somebody just starting out in housing development?

I studied Architecture at University and having achieved my Part 1 qualification joined Countryside Partnerships Graduate scheme. Prior to that I spent some of my school holidays working for a small house builder/contractor and in an architects office building architectural models. It is important to be curious and open minded and to not focus on one particular area too early in your career, particularly as the broader understanding of the interactions between different disciplines really does help. Also you never really stop learning in this industry.

What challenges do you think the industry faces?

Apart from the obvious economic situation we are currently facing with increasing costs, static revenues and nervous buyers there is a lot of change happening. Various markets are becoming more segregated and specialised. There is also a much bigger emphasis on environmental matters such as Biodiversity, carbon reduction and building safety. This is in addition to technological change, labour and skills shortages. Some of this will derive a lot of new opportunities within the sector.

What are your Favourite projects?

High quality architecture and placemaking is absolutely key and for a few years now there has a been a lot of interesting things happening in the Nordic countries, particularly in cities such as Stockholm, Malmo and Copenhagen. NCC/Bonava’s scheme by Vandkunsten Architects in Islands Brygge in Copenhagen is an interesting dense and largely car free model. 79 and Park by Oscar Properties and BIG Architects in Stockholm is an interesting building wrapped around a generously landscaped communal space that shows good architecture can relate to its surroundings. Norra Djurgardstaden also in Stockholm shows how a former industrial site can be regenerated through the retention of existing buildings and construction of new.

Closer to home, Kings Cross in London by Related Argent has created a range of interesting buildings set around some very high quality landscape spaces. Equally Urban and Civic’s projects at Alconbury and St Neots show how high quality upfront placemaking can create significant value.

What do you think makes a great living environment ?

A welcoming entrance that leads into a series of well organised functional spaces that have an appropriate scale for their use and which are appropriately lit and ventilated. Outside, good private and defensible space is important. Architecture and landscape should work in harmony with each other and should reflect local character, respect the sites constraints and opportunities, be safely traversable and provide opportunities for dealing with surface water, play and biodiversity enhancements.

Finally what sort of project would you like to work on?

Im interested in all sorts of different types of residential project. It would be interesting to work on another large scale community project but equally smaller schemes can be equally as challenging. It would be great to use the learning I have to create many more high quality residential led development projects.