Arthian Spotlight: Meet Eimear Cheetham

Our Arthian Spotlight series showcases our technical experts around the UK. This week, we’re spotlighting a new team member – Eimear Cheetham, Principal Planner.

Eimear is a Principal Planner with more than 19 years’ experience navigating complex planning applications in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. She’s worked across some of the country’s most influential projects, including HS2 Phase 1, Northern Powerhouse Rail, Ordsall Chord, and has delivered many renewable energy projects in hydrogen, solar and wind.

Eimear has assisted in the preparation and submission of a range of planning applications, providing advice and guidance to multidisciplinary teams and guiding projects from inception to delivery. Learn more about Eimear below:

What inspired you to join the industry?

I’d always been interested in planning – at university I loved geography, which lead to a masters in town planning. After my first work placement, I knew that this was the career for me, and the rest is history!

Tell us about a project that’s had a major impact on you in your career.

That’ll have to be Ordsall Chord – a railway project linking Manchester Piccadilly, Manchester Victoria and Manchester Oxford Road stations. The 300-meter viaduct was a key part of the Northern Hub, improving connectivity and reducing congestion.

One of the key challenges for this project was a distinctive network arch bridge over the River Irwell – one of the UK’s very first passenger railways. My team worked for months on this complex project, getting the consents required to move things forward across several different councils. The Ordsall Chord significantly increased rail capacity and options across the North of England, and it was one of my favourite projects because it combined my favourite things – knowledgeable people, a project with cultural breadth and depth, and the possibility to see our work make a real difference.

What are your favourite types of projects to work on?

I’m a railway enthusiast – anything to do with trains, and I’ll be there to plan in a heartbeat! Aside from trains, I’ve really enjoyed the work I’ve done on blue and green hydrogen production facilities – everything from planning the facilities themselves to pipeline and movement to ports in England. At Arthian, I’m particularly excited to get stuck into renewable projects, bringing my experience with hydrogen, solar, wind farms and railways together to drive impact for our clients.

What career advice would you give?

Try everything! Say yes to every opportunity you’re given – everything is a learning experience, and you won’t know what you like until you try it.