

James established the landscape discipline at HTA in 2003. Today he directs our landscape team across four studios. As an expert communicator he contributes to sector thought leadership. As a skilled collaborator, he steers our projects, getting the best results from project teams.
Under James’ leadership we have delivered celebrated landscapes for housing, public realm and regeneration projects, from the Morningside Estate in Hackney, to the Aylesbury Estate in Southwark, where the diverse range of landscapes has set the tone for borough-wide design coding. At Greenford Quay in Ealing, James led the restoration of 8.64 hectares of derelict industrial land, instigating a new nature recovery network and creating the first connection across the Grand Union Canal in over a decade.
Motivated by projects which serve a social purpose, James has restored iconic modernist parks in the south east of England and has led the regeneration of Bexhill seafront and town as part of the strategic CABE Sea Change programme. Working in collaboration with the London Wildlife Trust at Cator Park in the Royal Borough of Greenwich, James has pioneered approaches to biodiversity with national impact. This work has been recognised with the ‘Sir David Attenborough Award for Enhancing Biodiversity’.
James has been an Elected Board member at the Landscape Institute, a member of the Hackney Design Review Panel, and leads on HTA’s involvement with the local cultural interest group in Hackney Wick. His own garden in rural England serves as a test ground for experimentation with planting and wildlife.