Zoom into Soil: Soils in Planning and Construction – where we are and where we need to be

In this webinar, Dr Bruce Lascelles and Dr Jess Potts from Arcadis and Prof Jess Davies and Prof John Quinton from Lancaster University discuss the reality of how soils are accounted for in planning and construction and the change that is needed in local planning policy to ensure that soils do not continue to be overlooked and to ensure their critical role in our sustainable future is recognised and delivered.

Dr Bruce Lascelles is a Chartered Soil and Environmental Scientist with 35 years’ technical and business management expertise. He is currently UK Director of Sustainable Land Management at Arcadis, a Past President of the British Society of Soil Science and President Elect of the International Union of Soil Sciences.

Dr Jess Potts is a Senior Soil Consultant at Arcadis with a passion for connecting science with practical solutions. Her background spans consultancy, site work, and client engagement on complex infrastructure and environmental projects across the UK.

Jess Davies is Professor of Sustainability at Lancaster University. She is an engineer and environmental scientist interested in the role of land and soils in creating sustainable food, climate and water futures.

John Quinton is Professor of Soil Science at Lancaster University. He has spent the last 30 years working on understanding and predicting the soil erosion processes that degrade soil functions, soil monitoring, how we can protect soils better and how soils can be managed to mitigate flooding and the pollution of surface waters.