Contact our York office

Responsible for the success and growth of Alan Wood & Partners’ North Yorkshire operations. Passionate about professionalism and quality, he brings more than 18 years’ experience in the design and delivery of major residential, industrial, commercial, power generation, and rail projects to the business.

Chris started his journey with Alan Wood & Partners as a Graduate Engineer in 2006. However, in 2008, he ventured into a role with a national Tier One contractor. During this period, he led the design of notable national railway station and depot refurbishments as well as large materials handling and power generation projects across the UK.

Returning to Alan Wood in 2015 as an Associate based in our York office, Chris was tasked with growing our operations in North Yorkshire – our York and Scarborough offices – where now, as Director, he leads a team of more than twenty engineers handling a multi-million pound annual fee income.

Chris was promoted to Director & Equity Partner in 2020 with Board responsibilities that include legal and statutory compliance, as well as taking the lead on employee engagement and marketing within the business.

Well known throughout the business for being approachable Chris is passionate about professionalism and quality and is dedicated to the personal and professional progression of his colleagues, helping them to achieve their career ambitions and personal goals.

He has a proven track record as a legal and expert witness and is a Chartered Civil Engineer and a member of the Institution of Civil Engineers and the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.

A Chartered Civil Engineer who has worked on some of the world’s largest infrastructure projects, Ben Hawkins brings almost unparalleled experience to Alan Wood & Partners. An Associate in our York office, Ben is leading and building our civils and highways team.

Ben joined Alan Wood & Partners in August, 2023.  An experienced leader and creative problem solver, Ben is heading up and developing the highways and civils team offering within the York office. He brings with him more than a decade of experience working on huge global infrastructure projects, particularly in the highways sector.

After graduating in 2013, Ben joined the Leeds office of Jacobs where he worked on the smart motorway section of the M6 between junctions 16 and 19 and the Immingham A180/A160 junction to improve port access.

Still with Jacobs, he moved to Melbourne, Australia, where he worked on the West Gate Tunnel, at the time the largest infrastructure project in the southern hemisphere. Here he delivered the loading package for the widening of the freeway from four lanes on each side to six, the interfacing of the freeway with the tunnel portals, and led on the construction phase services.

On returning to the UK, he moved to Tony Gee where he worked on the £128m Wokingham Major Highways Project and was the Project Manager for the temporary works package on HS2.

With Alan Wood & Partners, Ben is heading the work on Lincolnshire Lakes, a proposed Garden City of 6 new villages and 5 lakes on the outskirts of North Lincolnshire, and is Project Manager on a portfolio of schemes for Morrisons Water Services via Yorkshire Water’s Living with Water Framework.

He became Chartered in July 2020 and is a member of Institution of Civil Engineers.

A strong client focus and a love of mentoring ensures Ben Ions successfully drives our York office forward. A Structural Engineer by training, he also has in-depth knowledge and experience in civil engineering providing and well-rounded service to clients.

Ben joined Alan Wood & Partners in 2015 as a Structural Engineer but quickly became Chartered and rose up through the ranks of the business. He now leads a team of ten in our York office, taking responsibility for financial management, and workflow planning and output, to ensure all projects are delivered to the highest standard and on time.

Although his background is in structural engineering, Ben has developed an in-depth understanding of civil engineering over recent years. He has experience of a wide range of sectors, including residential and commercial, and is currently working with one of Europe’s largest renewable energy developers, providing civil and structural engineering services on grid-scale battery energy storage (BESS) facilities across the UK.

Prior to joining Alan Wood & Partners, Ben worked for AECOM, specialising in bridge inspection and maintenance for Network Rail before moving to an independent structural engineering practice in Durham, where he gained experience working on residential and commercial projects.

Approachable and personable, Ben is renowned for going the extra mile for clients. He enjoys mentoring apprentices within the business and values the opportunity to pass on the experience he has gained throughout his career.

Ben is a Chartered Civil Engineer and a member of the Institution of Civil Engineers.

Debbie Atkinson has gained a deep understanding of the construction industry through a series of marketing and business development roles. She now plays an integral part in the ongoing growth of Alan Wood & Partners.

Debbie started her career in construction in 2006 when she joined the pre-construction team of a well-known main contracting business, supporting the pre-qualifications and tender process. From here, she became the Marketing Manager for the same business, eventually moving into Business Development to fulfil her ambition of being more client and consultant facing.

Within this role Debbie was responsible for developing and implementing business development and marketing strategies to support the overall business plan.  Specifically, she took charge of driving business development and marketing initiatives across the East of England, spanning regions such as North East, Humber, and Lincolnshire. Her role entailed identifying approximately £350 million in annual opportunities across diverse sectors, including health, education, commercial ventures, retail, public sector projects, civil engineering, and industrial and process industries.

Alongside this role, Debbie chaired the company’s charitable steering group and assisted with many of their CSR activities. She was involved in industry groups including Humber CATCH, the Humber Chamber of Commerce Business Peer Group, a member of the 4GoodFund Board (YORbuild Framework), representative at North East Process and Industrial Cluster forums and was the Company’s NEPO Civils Framework representative.

In 2022, Debbie joined Alan Wood & Partners as Lead on Business Development & Marketing, working with the Directors to develop and deliver the company’s business growth and CSR strategies.

Debbie qualified with a Diploma in Marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing in 2010, achieving the highest grade in the Humber region.

A Chartered Engineer, Peter Drenon joined Alan Wood & Partners in a business-change position to help drive the company forward. Over the past 12 years, he has played an integral role in achieving six-fold increase in turnover across the business.

Peter joined Alan Wood & Partners in 2012 after a varied and successful career spanning almost every aspect of the built environment.

A Chartered Engineer by training, he started his career with Cleveland Bridge in Darlington, moving on to work for developers, contractors, and building consultants. He has held Board level positions in global enterprises such as AECOM and WSP.

Peter continues to use the experience, knowledge and contacts to drive significant growth for Alan Wood & Partners. Over the course of his tenure, he has played a leading role in growing the business to six regional offices with an accompanying rise in turnover. He has spent many years bringing new engineers through the organisation and supported them during their careers.

Peter is known for his unwavering commitment to assisting clients, often going to great lengths to ensure their satisfaction. Additionally, he is recognised for his strong work ethic and dedication to his responsibilities.

He has been involved in numerous major projects during this career, including the iconic Humber Bridge and was the lead technical advisor to the lead lending bank, Deutsche Bank on the new Wembley Stadium.

Peter is a member of the Chartered Institute of Civil Engineers (ICE) and sits on the Humber Bridge Board. He is also a long-term member of the local branch of the ICE.