Clare Paige, Director, BSc(Hons) MSc DipLA CMLI
For Clare, landscape design and ecology go hand in hand. A botanist, landscape ecologist and manager by training, at both Regent’s Park and Jersey Zoo, she turned previously nondescript waterside areas into fascinating habitats for waterfowl collections – complete with exciting ornamental water features and luscious planting design. The original intent to restore Ox Lee Quarry to pasture hit a problem when it was discovered that there was not sufficient topsoil to do this. Clare’s restoration solution – placing the topsoil at different depths for different land-uses, if at all – resulted not only in pasture, but also plans for woodland, wetland and wildflower habitats. In estate masterplanning and the preparation of landscape conservation and management plans, Clare is pragmatic in her approach. She understands that modern land uses and management – like ecology or historic landscape design – are overlays that will shape the landscape design and the way it is looked after. She has a successful track record when it comes to submitting conservation and planning proposals that adapt historic landscapes to new uses. For example, Tackley Park in Oxfordshire benefited from her talents when her rigorous historic parkland plan, enthusiastically received by Natural England, resulted in another significant grant for country estate restoration work. Her desire to achieve thoughtful integration of new buildings into the landscape has led to an enthusiasm for the LVIA process and her appraisals have supported successful planning applications for development within the Chilterns AONB, the Cotswolds AONB, Areas of High Landscape Value and other designated landscapes.
Filkins Office
Lechlade, Gloucestershire, GL7 3JQ
+44 (0)1367 860225
c.paige@colmog.co.uk