At NLP, we understand the ways in which our business has an impact upon the world around us. We take our responsibilities towards our work, our clients and our staff very seriously. We are also committed to contributing to the various communities within which we operate.

We offer our services to all those active in the planning and development industry. In doing so we act for both the private and public sectors as well as individuals, resident associations and charities.

As part of our commitment to the town planning profession and to on-going training and development, we encourage staff to contribute regularly to journals and conferences.

We have established links with a number of leading university town planning departments, including:

• Manchester University
• Newcastle University
• Oxford Brookes University
• South Bank University
• University College London
• University of Cardiff

We also give school and college students opportunities to gain experience of the workplace.

We actively participate in the activities of the planning and surveying professional bodies as well as a large number of trade organisations. These include:

• British Council of Shopping Centres
• British Property Federation
• Chartered Management Institute
• Garden History Society
• Georgian Group
• Historic Towns Forum
• Institution of Economic Development
• Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment
• Pro-Manchester
• Royal Town Planning Institute
• Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
• Society for the Preservation of Redundant Churches
• Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings
• Urban Design Group
• Victorian Society
• Women in Property
• 20th Century Society

As a company with offices in four major cities across the UK, we work hard to strengthen our links with the local community. For example, we sponsor Northern Architecture, an organisation that runs a range of projects and events for professionals and the public in the North East of England, aimed at the creation of a high quality built environment. We also support and participate in charitable events such as the Race for Life (pictured) and the Buccleugh Challenge and encourage our staff when they wish to help disadvantaged members of the community via sponsored events. To assist this we have a Charitable Donations Fund which we use to support these initiatives.

Related to this, our 2008 staff opinion survey offered an incentive of a £2 charitable donation for each completed form.

This year we held a ‘do something different’ day for Children in Need, with cake and coffee mornings, a raffle, and some staff ‘dressing down’ to help raise £545 for Children in Need.

We also provide a benefit enabling our employees to obtain childcare vouchers to save money on the cost of childcare. The provider is KiddiVouchers, selected on the basis that the company donates 5% of all profits to child related charities.

We recognise that our social responsibility must be an on-going concern and we are continually working to enhance our presence within and our work for the community.