Consultant Symonds has been picked as project manager for the £300m Wembley stadium project, whose future will be decided next month.
Symonds beat off bids from rivals Mott MacDonald, Arup, Osprey PMI and EC Harris to win the job. The appointment was rubber-stamped at the start of the month by client Wembley National Stadium Limited.

The appointment is the latest addition to the Wembley project team. Contractor Multiplex said this month that it was close to finalising its team of specialists for the job, including steel, demolition and M&E contractors.

QS Cyril Sweett was called in at the end of last month to help the government to decide whether to back the scheme.

A revised planning application for the project was due to be heard by Brent council on Wednesday night. Planning officers recommended that planning permission for the scheme be granted, despite raising concerns over transport links to the north-west London site.

The meeting came as reports this week claimed there were doubts that the financing of the scheme would be in place in time for next month's deadline. The government has said that if financing is not in place by 30 April, the chance to build the stadium will be offered to Birmingham. The April deadline comes nearly a year after design work stopped because of a funding crisis.

The government and the FA approved a scaled-down version of the original Foster and Partners/HOK Sport-designed scheme in December.