Phil Thomas Appointed as Regional Director to Lead Our Environmental Engineering into a New Era

curtins author
Curtins on 8th Sep 2025

newsNews

We are delighted to announce that we are entering an exciting new chapter in our environmental and geo-technical journey with the appointment of Phil Thomas as Regional Director. Phil succeeds Phil Winterburn, who launched Curtins’ environmental specialism over two decades ago and retired in July 2025 after a distinguished career.

Phil Thomas brings a wealth of experience from RPS (latterly Tetra Tech following take over). There he led a ground condition team, delivering support to land transactions, planning, permitting and redevelopment across the UK.

His portfolio includes some of the UK’s most iconic infrastructure projects - Wembley Stadium, Heathrow Terminal 5 and the redevelopment of Ironbridge Power Station. He has played a pivotal role in advancing the green energy and data revolutions, contributing to major initiatives such as Pembroke Net Zero Centre, Romford Data Centre, and the Newhaven and Javelin Park Sustainable Energy Plants, alongside numerous solar, hydrogen and BESS projects.

A Specialist in Land Condition (SiLC), Phil has a proven track record of tackling complex sites, resolving legacy contamination, and navigating geotechnical challenges involving chemical, radiological, and biological hazards. We are delighted to welcome him into the Curtins’ family.

Phil Thomas comments, “Curtins is ideally positioned to provide an agile and client focused approach to consultancy, which presents real opportunity for growth and success – that really excites me. Having come from a large PLC, I can see that Curtins is fundamentally different in a very positive way, and I look forward to continuing to deliver a first-rate geo-environmental service for our clients across the UK and Ireland." 

At Curtins, our national environmental team includes geotechnical and contaminated land specialists who support our clients at every stage of their projects - from due diligence and site promotion to planning (EIA, DCO, IC), redevelopment, permitting and environmental compliance of operational sites.

Our environmental portfolio spans both public and private sectors, with recent projects including North Manchester General Hospital, Bidder Street Data Centre, Swansea Arena, Hind Street Garden City Village in Birkenhead, Stansted Airport Northside and other nationally significant infrastructure schemes.

With Phil Thomas at the helm, our environmental offering is further strengthened, and we look forward to continuing to deliver innovative, sustainable solutions across the built environment.

Further Reading

See More
viewsViews
23rd Mar 26

A Journey to Palawan: Engineering, Community and Perspective

Reece Almond, an Undergraduate Engineer in Curtins’ Liverpool office, has achieved an impressive milestone in his early career. Recently, he was awarded the prestigious ICE Quest Travel Award, providing him with a unique, once‑in‑a‑lifetime opportunity to travel to the Philippines. This experience has been fully supported by Curtins, reflecting the company’s commitment to nurturing emerging talent and supporting personal and professional development.

Reece Almond
newsNews
18th Mar 26

A Proud Moment for Curtins: Suzanne Johnsen Join the SPAB Scholarship

Our team continues to shine in the heritage sector, with Curtins engineer Suzanne Johnsen earning recognition through the prestigious SPAB Scholarship programme.

Suzanne Johnsen
newsNews
16th Mar 26

Innovators Roundtable: Driving New Ideas Across the Liverpool City Region

We were thrilled to take part in our first Liverpool City Region Innovators Roundtable at the University of Liverpool’s Digital Innovation Facility. Andrew Macfarlane joined regional leaders to explore how new ideas, collaborative thinking and innovation are shaping the future of the city region and beyond.

Innovators Roundtable