Our Services & Experience
Vellamo Environmental provides specialist expertise in marine consenting across a range of sectors, including offshore wind and subsea cabling. We partner with project teams to bring clarity and practical solutions to complex environmental challenges. See below for our services and experience.
The Sectors We Work In
Offshore Wind
Providing strategic consenting input to multiple Round 4 offshore wind projects through the Development Consent Order (DCO) process, including those that achieved the fastest progression from lease award to consent.
Marine Cables
Delivering specialist technical input to marine cable projects spanning multiple jurisdictions and regulatory regimes, delivering clear, robust advice that aligns with national and international requirements.
Other Industries
Supporting other industries, including nuclear and coastal development, with specialist technical expertise in pre‑ and post‑construction monitoring, alongside, where relevant, the assessment of marine biotic interactions with cooling water systems.
Ecological Restoration
Delivering consent applications for UK ecological restoration projects, providing tailored advice that responds to site‑specific contexts, regulatory requirements and the practical challenges associated with creating and restoring marine habitats. This includes shaping robust, evidence‑led approaches that strengthen project justification and ensure alignment with relevant policy and environmental objectives.
Our Services & Experience
Early-Stage Environmental Appraisal and Site Selection
Vellamo provides early‑stage technical assessment and environmental appraisal to inform site selection, routing and option development. This includes identifying environmental constraints, evaluating consenting risks and opportunities, and shaping proportionate evidence to support a robust project design or project design envelope. The approach draws on extensive experience supporting offshore wind and interconnector projects from their earliest stages, ensuring decisions are grounded in sound environmental reasoning.
Marine Survey Strategy, Design and Management
Vellamo offers specialist input into marine survey strategies to ensure evidence is available at the right time during the consents process. Support includes survey design and coordination, informed by hands-on experience of delivering and managing survey programmes for infrastructure projects. Vellamo prides itself on ensuring surveys are fit for purpose, aligned with regulatory expectations and integrated effectively into the wider assessment and consent compliance process.
Stakeholder Engagement and Relationship Management
Vellamo is adept at managing constructive engagement with regulators, statutory nature conservation bodies, local authorities and third parties, supporting clear communication and early issue resolution. This reflects extensive experience acting as a client representative at consultations and hearings and leading engagement on complex topics such as HRA derogation and compensation.
Environmental Assessments to Support Consent Applications
Vellamo is experienced in the procurement, management, technical delivery and peer review of environmental assessments, including Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA), Habitats Regulations Assessments (HRA), Water Framework Directive (WFD) Compliance Assessments, Marine Conservation Zone Assessments (MCZA) and European Protected Species (EPS) licensing, for project and survey licence applications. This service is grounded in over a decade of experience authoring and coordinating assessments for DCOs, marine licences, non‑statutory EIAs and Environmental and Social Impact Assessments (ESIAs) for UK and international projects.
Biodiversity Net Gain and Environmental Compensation and Strategic Consenting Advice
Vellamo provides specialist advice on biodiversity net gain and compensation, including Measures of Equivalent Environmental Benefit, informed by experience developing and managing compensation proposals for nationally significant offshore wind and marine cable projects. This includes shaping proportionate, evidence‑led approaches that align with policy requirements and withstand regulatory scrutiny.
Consents and Environmental Management, Compliance and Due Diligence
Vellamo provides practical support from pre-application through to decommissioning, helping projects to secure robust consents, to meet consent discharge requirements on time, and ensure compliance with environmental commitments. Services include the development of consent strategies, consent requirements documentation, environmental management plans and post‑consent deliverables. Effective compliance relies on strong coordination with HSE, engineering, and survey teams, and Vellamo brings a proven record of working across these interfaces to maintain clear communication, resolve issues early, and ensure compliance with regulatory obligations.