Our Services and Experience

As head of a transport planning business in Scotland and Ireland, Stuart led many large projects working primarily for public sectors clients, and as such is highly regarded within the transport planning and infrastructure community. In addition to directing the technical resources, Stuart often leads the teams at stakeholder engagement events and presentations to senior decision makers. 

Of particular note, Stuart led the Jacobs/AECOM team commissioned by Transport Scotland to undertake the four year second Strategic Transport Project Review. From the outset, Stuart promoted a collaborative approach across the consultants and Transport Scotland teams, resulting in the establishment of a ‘one-team’ ethos. By working effectively as a single team under Stuart’s leadership, the combined Jacobs/AECOM resources were able to respond efficiently to the many challenges and parallel activities throughout the commission.

He was also responsible for leading the team delivering services under various frameworks in Ireland for the National Transport Authority, including transport planning and modelling services for eight years. During his time as project lead, the team developed the Regional Modelling System for Ireland, and provided the client with strategic advice on a variety of public transport planning and procurement matters. 

Throughout his career Stuart has played a key role in high profile projects that have set the direction of transport investment for the next decades. He has the unrivalled experience of being a key member of the teams that delivered both of the Strategic Transport Project Reviews for Transport Scotland, and then led various commissions that have taken the recommendations forward.   

Aside from the national investment plans, Stuart has assisted many local authorities across Scotland and Ireland, in developing multi-modal strategies. He has recently supported the City of Edinburgh Council in the development of a Circulation Plan for the city, and Nestrans in the creation of an Active Travel Network for the Aberdeen City Region

Stuart has extensive experience in the application of the Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance, from its outset in the early 2000s. He has also participated in various forums and initiatives aimed at reviewing and enhancing the guidance over the last 20 years.  

Following on from the publication of the initial Strategic Transport Projects Review, where he was instrumental in developing a bespoke approach to appraisal, Stuart played a key role in the development of the business cases for the A9 and A96 upgrading. More recently, he led the teams undertaking strategic transport appraisals for the Borders, and North-East Scotland regions, prior to STPR2. He was also project lead on the Strategic Business Case for the Edinburgh Tram extension, and bus priority interventions in Edinburgh and Glasgow. 

In addition to advising the public sector clients, Stuart has also provided strategic advice to private sector clients evaluating investment opportunities in various PFI/PPP projects, including the M6 Upgrading and the Manchester Metrolink extension. 

 Throughout his career Stuart has advised and supported clients in the application of funding and grant submissions. He was part of the team that provided technical support to the City of Edinburgh Council, that was awarded the largest Public Transport Support  Grant that resulted in the implementation of various bus priority across the city. More recently, Stuart has provided advice to clients preparing submissions for the UK Government’s Levelling Up programme. 

 Having held a senior role for 15 years, Stuart has led a large number of successful tender submissions, ranging from small bespoke commission of under £25,000 to multi-million pound complex projects. His approach to managing these tender submissions is to focus the early activities on developing the overall strategy that identifies key win themes and principles of the commercial offering. 

On many occasions the tenders have involved a collaborative effort from different teams with the organisation, and often collaboration with other consultants. Stuart’s approach with a focus on establishing a one-team mentality from the outset, has resulted in significant successes, including securing various iterations of the National Transport Agency frameworks (> €10m), the City of Edinburgh Council modelling and transport planning services (£4m), and the second Strategic Transport Projects Review (> £10m). 

Throughout his career Stuart has held a passion for enhancing the careers of others, through formal and informal coaching and mentoring. He led the Career Development Programme for the Transport Planning team at Jacobs for eight years, and during this time he was also a trained facilitator for a range of internal people focused programmes, including a two-day Leading People course. Stuart was also a corporate mentor within Jacobs and recently established a regional mentoring scheme for the 100 strong transport team in Scotland and Ireland. 

Stuart’s commitment to learning and development extends to external activities. His is currently a member of the Inspiring Talent Policy Group at the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, and is also registered mentor with both the Chamber and the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation. In recent years, Stuart has also supported the educational programme developed by Powering Futures (formerly Fuel Change) to empower the next generation to drive change to address the climate emergency.  

Stuart has extensive experience in facilitating workshop, both as part of internal business development activities and during external stakeholder engagement sessions. His relaxed and collaborative  style of delivery seeks to maximise the contribution of those involved. Examples of his most recent experience include: business engagement workshops, as part of STPR2, a two-day internal People Leadership programme, engagement sessions with 40+ Elected Members in Aberdeen, and STEM workshops with various schools.