
Urban Flow : transport planning consultants
Movement People Places
We look wider than conventional transport planning and traffic engineering – to us it’s about getting things moving, whether by foot, cycle, bus, car or rail.
Bridging the gap between engineering and vision, we bring a Big Picture view in supporting and leading masterplanning, placemaking, development planning, cycling schemes, town centre and high street regeneration – to name just a few.
With a great track record of scheme delivery and development planning application success for a wide variety of clients, we can help you get your project started and on the road to success.
We give what's needed to meet your needs:
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we don’t over-analyse or over-engineer
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if a high-level approach is all that’s needed – we say so
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if a more detailed analytical approach is needed – we do that too
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we say it the way we see it
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if our insight can save client time, resource and money - we'll save it!


What We Do
...we're Transport Planners!
Transport Assessment - Placemaking - Masterplanning - High Streets - Parking - Walking & Cycling - Bus Planning - Deliveries - Research...
Development Planning
Masterplanning & regeneration - transport support
Development Planning
Transport Assessment
Car parking schemes and strategies
Cycle parking
Transport and Traffic Modelling
Active Travel, Travel Plans
Design Guidance
Best Practice, research, guidance
Hospital / University campus planning
Transport Funding Bids
Streets & Places
Traffic Management
Cycle Scheme Design & Planning
Town Centre, Future Streets and High Street Action
Walking Schemes and Initiatives
Access & Movement Planning
Funding bid preparation
Bus Priority and Service Planning
Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs)
Deliveries & Servicing - Freight Strategy Development
Public Consultation & Community Engagement

The team
John Emslie - Senior Director From the outset, John wanted Urban Flow to do things a little differently, providing straightforward and real world movement advice, keeping it simple wherever possible. That approach, blended with his experience from right across the transport field, has been widely welcomed, from traffic management through to placemaking and from transport assessment through to design guidance. He specialises in supporting masterplans and public realm design and particularly relishes scheme visioning and engagement work.
Lorna Sewell - Streets & Places Director Lorna is passionate about people and places and so leads Urban Flow’s Streets and Places work area. She particularly loves to collaborate with the different built environment disciplines and the community to bring about sustainable, positive, long-lasting change. She is skilled in streets and places design, street auditing, movement strategies, funding bid preparation and developing innovative measures to enable more active and sustainable travel as part of major masterplans, town centre and high street projects.
Simon Adams - Spatial Planning Director Simon is Urban Flow’s Spatial Planning Director and has wide-ranging expertise in preparing movement strategies ranging from street-specific public realm improvement schemes through to town/city-wide regeneration. He’s at home with a pen designing schemes, building spreadsheets to assess future scenarios and scheme impacts and presenting his work in clear, concise reporting with a strong visual content.
Our projects
We're very proud of the range and variety of our project work, ranging from traffic management to supporting masterplans, strategy and policy development to public realm scheme design support. We get to collaborate with renowned clients and project partners across the UK tackling the full range of urban planning and design.
and here for our birthday gallery of projects over the past 10 years!

Our clients & partners
Planning Authorities
Barnet Council
Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council
Brent Council
Broadland and South Norfolk Council
Cambridge City Council
Ealing Council
Hackney Council
Haringey Council
Homes England
Lewisham Council
London Borough of Bexley
London Borough of Hounslow
Luton Borough Council
Mansfield District Council
Newquay Town Council
Oswestry Town Council
Oxfordshire County Council
Redbridge Council
Royal Borough of Greenwich
Rugby Borough Council
Shropshire Council
Shropshire Council
Tewkesbury Borough Council
The WestTrans Partnership
Tower Hamlets Council
Waltham Forest Council
Watford Borough Council
West Norfolk District Council
Westminster Real Estate
Winchester District Council
Consultant Partners
Allies & Morrison
Architype
Aukett Swanke
BDP
Blackburn Ltd
Caroe Architects
Carter Jonas
Caruso St John
Contemporary Transport
Dendy Byrne
DP9
DSDHA Architects
Gardiner and Theobald
Gerald Eve
GL Hearn
Hassell Architects
Hawkins Brown
Ingham Pinnock
Jackson Coles
JCLA Landscape Architects
mae Architects
Prior and Partners
Sloane Stanley
Spheron Architects
Steyn Group
Stiff + Trevillion
Studio Weave
Temple Group
00 Architects
Private Sector
Barnet Council
Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council
Canterbury Christ Church University
Castlepoint Regeneration
Epsom & St Helier NHS Trust
Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge
Great Ormond Street Hospital
Grosvenor
Heart of London Business Alliance
King's College London University
London Metropolitan University
London South Bank University
Mercato Metropolitano
National Trust
Oswestry Business Improvement District
Queen Mary University
St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
The Victoria Business Improvement District
University of Bolton
University of Brighton
University of London
University of Manchester
Westminster Real Estate
What they say about us
Targeting effort
"I have worked closely with Urban Flow to deliver a number of complex and difficult schemes. Urban Flow were able to establish the key requirements for each area highlighting the specific needs of businesses, car users and the general public"
Street design, traffic management, cycling, parking and access and movement project SE. London
Getting the job done!
"Just wanted to say a massive thank you for all your hard work in putting this important document together, I’m really pleased with how it turned out especially in the circumstances. Thanks for dropping everything and getting it done, it is very, very much appreciated"
Funding Bid - W. London Council
Resourcefulness
"This is great - thanks so much. I totally follow [the approach] and that looks like an excellent use of the information we have and a clever and very rational approach"
Leisure development SE. London
Community Consensus
“A huge huge THANK YOU from me and I know the Residents - we NEED this! Please let the rest of the team know we really appreciate all their help!”
United Residents' Group, W. London
“I wanted to say a personal thank you to you and the team for the progress we’ve made. I appreciate it is not always easy but to get this level of consensus I think is great."
Council Portfolio Holder W. London
Enabling successful development
"Senior Members and Officers were impressed with the detail of submission and the project yet again meeting another challenging timescale within the key milestone programme.
Board Members were also extremely grateful for your individual contribution within the wider team. Your professionalism and dedication to ensure a successful submission was fully recognised"
Civic Centre, Northants
Effective Project Management
"The Major Scheme was run with excellent PM governance, consultation and innovative ideas and was an exemplar for the Major Scheme process and collaborative working."
TfL Programme Manager
Funding Bids - we can help!
Urban Flow has extensive and successful experience in the preparation of regeneration, town centre, high street and transport scheme funding bids, applications and supporting business cases for UK councils including Bexley, Mansfield, Ealing, Luton as well as partnerships including WestTrans.
Our help has unlocked millions of pounds of funding for the regeneration of high streets, town centres and implementation of transport schemes directly from bodies including the Department for Transport, Network Rail, Transport for London, the Greater London Authority and the European Union.
We also work collaboratively with councils, communities and other specialists including economic regeneration, urban design and town planning to develop initiatives and secure funding streams.
We’re here to help with all movement, placemaking and Covid-19 related funding applications and responses including Future High Streets Fund, High Streets Heritage Action Zones and others.
Urban Flow’s Streets and Places Director, Lorna Sewell would be very happy to talk through any queries you may have regarding funding bids, applications and business cases. You can contact her via email at: lorna@urban-flow.co.uk
