CBA

What CBA does

CBA (trading name of Chris Blandford Associates Ltd) is a Nottingham-based heritage and landscape consultancy founded in 1977 by Chris Blandford. The firm provides professional advisory services across two main practice areas: Planning & Development (local plans, landscape character and sensitivity assessments, green infrastructure strategies, heritage statements, landscape and visual impact assessments, development applications) and Culture, Heritage & Destinations (visitor experience plans, World Heritage nominations and management, conservation plans, business planning, and audience development for cultural institutions).

Service delivery relies on a small in-house team of cultural and natural heritage consultants supported by GIS and graphic design specialists, using proprietary methodologies developed over four decades. Outputs are delivered as commissioned consultancy projects rather than packaged products or software platforms. The firm's technical differentiators are domain specialisation in landscape character assessment, World Heritage impact assessment, green infrastructure planning, and visitor experience planning — areas where it has supported award-winning and UNESCO-recognised outcomes (e.g., the 2019 Jodrell Bank World Heritage inscription, Landscape Institute award wins, and £1.68m National Lottery Heritage Fund-supported work).

The business model is project-based professional services, sales-led, with clients drawn primarily from UK local and regional government authorities, government agencies (Historic England, Homes England), heritage organisations and trusts (RHS, National Trust, Cranborne Chase AONB), and selected private developers. The firm operates without public pricing, raises no external capital, and generates revenue through direct engagement, reputation, and thought-leadership content. Geographic reach is predominantly UK with selective international commissions (Tbilisi, Saudi Arabia). Since 2017, the firm has been led by directors Andrew Croft, Julia Bennett, and Dominic Watkins, with no external institutional ownership.

Name

CBA

Legal name

Chris Blandford Associates Ltd

Website

https://cbastudios.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1977

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CBA is a UK-based heritage and landscape consultancy founded in 1977, serving local authorities, government agencies, heritage organisations, and developers with planning, green infrastructure, and World Heritage advisory services delivered by a small specialist team.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Heritage and Landscape Consultancy Services

NAICS

Landscape Architectural Services (54132)

akta.pro primary industry

Landscape Architecture & Site Design (BPAHAKAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Historic Preservation & Conservation Planning (BPAHAKAH), Sustainable/Green Building & LEED Consulting (BPAHAKAG)

Keywords

• Heritage consultancy
• Landscape architecture
• Environmental planning
• Masterplanning services
• Green infrastructure strategy

Headquarters

HQ city

Nottingham

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Professional Consultancy Services: CBA generates revenue through providing professional consultancy services in landscape planning, heritage management, and environmental planning to government bodies, local authorities, developers, and heritage organizations. Projects are typically commissioned on a per-engagement basis.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

CBA is an independent heritage consultancy that provides professional advisory services in landscape architecture, environmental planning, green infrastructure strategy, heritage impact assessment, World Heritage Site management, conservation planning, visitor experience planning, and masterplanning. Services are delivered as commissioned consultancy projects to government bodies, local authorities, developers, heritage organizations, and cultural institutions across the UK and internationally.

Product overview

CBA (Chris Blandford Associates) is a heritage consultancy firm offering professional advisory services rather than a software product. The company provides two main service areas: Planning & Development (covering local plans, green infrastructure strategies, heritage assessments, development applications, and international UNESCO services) and Culture, Heritage & Destinations (including visitor experience planning, World Heritage services, business strategy, and conservation plans). These consultancy services are delivered by a team of specialists and do not constitute a software platform or modular product architecture.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Planning & Development Services
• Culture, Heritage & Destinations Services
• Green Infrastructure Strategies
• Landscape Character & Sensitivity Assessments
• World Heritage Services
• Visitor Experience Plans
• Conservation Plans
• Heritage Statements & Impact Assessment
• Landscape & Visual Impact Assessment
• Green Infrastructure Planning, Design and Management

Quantifiable outcome

• Supported successful World Heritage Site inscription for Jodrell Bank Observatory by UNESCO in July 2019
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Richards Urban DesignminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration partner on landscape-led masterplanning for residential development projects. CBA works with Richards Urban Design as part of multi-consultant teams on development schemes.
• Barton WillmoreminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCBA worked with Barton Willmore-led team on residential development scheme at Thanet Way in Whitstable, Kent, providing landscape and ecological impact assessment.
• Adam UrbanismminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCBA collaborated with Adam Urbanism as part of consultant team for Wilton Park masterplanning project, shaping a distinctively landscape-led masterplan.
• Urban Initiatives StudiominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCBA was appointed with Urban Initiatives Studio to prepare planning guidance on Tall Buildings for Liverpool City Council.
• Catherine Max ConsultingminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration partner on Northstowe Healthy Living Strategy, working with CBA, Rethinking Childhood and Tibbalds Planning & Design.
• Rethinking ChildhoodminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration partner on Northstowe Healthy Living Strategy project.
• Tibbalds Planning & DesignminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration partner on Northstowe Healthy Living Strategy project.
• Historic Environment ScotlandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCBA worked with Historic Environment Scotland on the Orkney World Heritage Site Masterplan and active travel planning, and on the Holyrood Park Strategic Plan.
• Gleeson Strategic LandminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCBA supported Gleeson Strategic Land and Rydon Homes in developing a residential scheme on the southern edge of Hailsham in East Sussex.
• Rydon HomesminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCBA supported Rydon Homes in developing a residential scheme on the southern edge of Hailsham in East Sussex.
• Devine HomesminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCBA supported Devine Homes in the development of a residential scheme for 400 homes at Thanet Way in Whitstable, Kent.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• LUC (Land Use Consultants): UK-based consultancy delivering planning, landscape, environment and heritage advisory services to local authorities, developers and heritage bodies. Closest direct peer to CBA in terms of service mix (Landscape & Visual Impact Assessment, heritage planning, masterplanning) and target customer base in the UK public sector.
• CSA Environmental: UK environmental and landscape consultancy providing landscape and visual impact assessment, ecology and green infrastructure services to developers and public-sector clients. Overlaps with CBA's planning-and-development service line.
• FPCR Environment & Design: Long-standing UK consultancy combining landscape architecture, ecology, arboriculture, heritage and environmental planning. Highly comparable to CBA on heritage impact assessment, landscape-led masterplanning and local-authority planning work.
• LDA Design: UK landscape architecture and urban design consultancy with strong heritage and masterplanning credentials. Operates in the same public-and-private project space as CBA on landscape-led masterplans, regeneration and heritage-led development.
• Tyler Grange: UK landscape architecture, ecology and arboriculture consultancy serving developers, local authorities and infrastructure clients. Comparable niche positioning to CBA on landscape planning, ecological input and development-led masterplanning.

Broad incumbents

• SLR Consulting: Global environmental and advisory consultancy with UK heritage, landscape and planning capabilities. Competes with CBA on heritage impact assessment and environmental planning at scale but operates a much broader service portfolio.
• WSP: Global professional services firm with substantial UK planning, environment and landscape architecture teams. Bids for the same public-sector planning and heritage commissions as CBA, often as part of integrated multi-disciplinary teams.
• Arup: Global engineering and planning consultancy with UK landscape, heritage and environmental advisory capability. Competes for major UK local-authority and developer-led commissions where multi-disciplinary delivery is required.
• AECOM: Global infrastructure consultancy with established UK landscape architecture, environment and heritage practice. Frequently competes with CBA-adjacent firms on nationally significant planning and environmental impact assessments.
• Stantec: Global design and consulting firm that absorbed former CBA partner Barton Willmore. Now a major UK planning and development consultancy competing for the same landscape and heritage input on residential and regeneration schemes.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cba_studios_

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CBA