Deeside-based engineering consultancy Betts Hydro is marking its 10th anniversary with ambitious plans for expansion, targeting a 20% increase in growth over the next year following a strong period of accelerated performance.
Originally established to provide flood risk assessments for the housebuilding sector, Betts Hydro has evolved in response to growing client demand for a broader range of hydrological, environmental, and infrastructure services.
Betts Hydro was formed when clients sought specialist expertise to meet planning and regulatory requirements. The team has since grown to eleven professionals, providing services including hydrology, flood risk, catchment analysis, culvert sizing, river modelling, overtopping and breach analysis, drainage management strategies, sustainable drainage design, emergency evacuation strategies, nutrient neutrality assessments, Surface Water modelling, sequential test mapping and GIS support.
Recent growth has been fuelled by changes in national planning policy and guidance and a heightened focus on Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS), surface water flooding, and climate change - areas that have become increasingly important to developers and local authorities.
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Richard Nicholas, Managing Director of Betts Hydro, said: “The last decade has seen significant developments in our sector.
“Through Betts Hydro, we were in a strong position to support housebuilding clients with flood risk assessments and have continued to evolve with changing planning requirements. This adaptability has allowed the business to expand and take on increasingly complex and exciting projects.
“We’ve also diversified into emerging technologies such as solar and battery energy storage, which have grown significantly over the past 10 years."
Among Betts Hydro’s notable projects is its involvement in National Grid’s IFA2 Interconnector, a major sub-sea cable link between the UK and France. Betts Hydro undertook the flood risk supporting services for the planning application for the UK landfall site.
Other recent projects include the Chester‘s Northgate regeneration scheme, a complex city centre mixed-use project, where the team provided a 1km tunnel design and a tidal outfall for surface water management due to the city centre constraints and the complexity of the sensitive archaeology, and the flood risk assessment for Theatr Clwyd’s recent redevelopment. Betts Hydro has also contributed to the development of two of the most recent Maggie’s Centres in St Asaph and Clatterbridge on the Wirral.
Today, Betts Hydro works across a diverse range of sectors, including residential, commercial, industrial, healthcare, leisure, retail, agriculture, and aviation - with a growing reputation for delivering pragmatic, technically robust solutions.
Main image: Richard Nicholas, Managing Director of Betts Hydro