海角社区

The 海角社区 proudly announced the winners of the 2024 VIC Awards for Planning Excellence at their Awards ceremony on November 15.

This prestigious event, held in Melbourne at the Windsor Hotel, brought together over 230 planning professionals and allied experts from the built environment to honour outstanding achievements in planning across twelve categories in the presence of The Hon. Sonya Kilkenny MP, Minister for Planning and Minister for the Suburbs. 12 Awards and 12 Commendations were awarded by a jury of peers from across the industry.

The 海角社区 awards for planning excellence recognise the contributions that planners make in so many ways to enhance communities and create liveable, thriving and sustainable places. Much of the profession’s work has an intangible quality to it – just like the pain from accident or injury that didn’t happen through good work practices, or the misery of unemployment avoided through good economic management, it may be hard to imagine how much uglier, harsher or unworkable our cities and communities would be without the good work of planners. These awards celebrate our often quiet achievements, and perhaps more celebrated ones, that make life better.

We extend our heartfelt congratulations to all the winners and commendations!馃弳

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Climate Change & Resilience Award Winner | Climate Resilience Index

Awarded to: Tract and OneMap

The CLIMATE RESILIENCE INDEX developed by TRACT and its affiliate OneMap is an innovative approach that evaluates the capacity of neighbourhoods to practically address climate change.

Funded from the TRACT business as an internal research project it is a publicly available tool which is easy to use and can be built upon or used as is to support the understanding and advocacy for climate improvements at a neighbourhood level by the public, consultants, and councils alike.

Applying four key indicators – amenities, transport and movement, environment and biodiversity and hazard resilience across 24 datasets, the tool provides a view from the suburb level zooming to a single allotment.

Having such an accessible baseline against which to evaluate the effects of measures which authorities put in place will provide ongoing assistance in ensuring climate resilient planning is the way planning is done.

Good tools help us deliver great outcomes.

The judges consider this tool deserving of the Award as by pulling together layers of spatial information which can drill down to a practical scale it is able to be used by the profession and public alike.

The tool will strengthen professional and public knowledge enabling evidence-based planning system improvements to be put in place to manage this challenge.

Climate Change & Resilience Commendation | Hazelwood North Renewable Energy Hub

Awarded to: Cogency Australia

The Hazelwood North Renewable Energy Hub in Latrobe Valley is the largest proposed solar farm in Victoria, a showcase for at scale renewable energy planning and design.

The project is a significant step away from coal and displays a strong commitment to site responsive design, through preservation and restoration of the site’s degraded waterways, protection of cultural heritage sites, and generous landscaped buffers to nearby residential areas. It demonstrates that energy generation and agriculture can co-exist, featuring a pioneering form of agrisolar. It also features best practice engagement - receiving a remarkably low number of objections for such a major project. The project received planning approval in August 2024.

The judges consider this project worthy of a commendation, as it demonstrates efficient use of land and existing power infrastructure, a development that builds social license for renewable energy projects in an area – the La Trobe Valley in Gippsland – that needs real investment and solutions to transition one of Victoria largest regions and its community to a sustainable social and economic model for the future.

Climate Change & Resilience Commendation | Newstead - small town with big energy

Awarded to: NGH/Renewable Newstead

The Newstead Solar Farm project showcases how small towns in regional Victoria can contribute to a shift to renewables at a local scale. It is a model that exemplifies that planning is not a quick and easy process but can be the statutory enabler to a long-term vision and commitment of a small town to deliver renewable and affordable energy to its community and beyond with its three-megawatt generating facility and five megawatt battery energy storage system.

Fiona Cotter from NGH in collaboration with Renewable Newstead, are commended for navigating the planning approvals process to give light to the Newstead community vision which began in 2011 as a feasibility study and was then supported by a 2018 business case. The community’s goal was to develop, document and implement a plan for switching to 100 per cent locally generated, renewable energy in a commercially viable way, that would benefit everyone in the Newstead area.

Newstead residents are now reaping the environmental, social and economic benefits from their foresight and good planning.

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Community Wellbeing & Diversity Award Winner | Frankston Public Toilet Action Plan

Awarded to: Frankston City Council LatStudios

The Frankston Public Toilet Action Plan provides a strategic framework and holistic approach to public toilet improvements across Frankston City.

The project established a series of design principles and guidelines, safe; equitable; accessible; sustainable; looked after; convenient and comfortable; and integrated with their setting. These principles were designed to ensure new and upgraded facilities are of a high quality, well-considered, align with industry best practice and meet the needs of both Council and the community.

Public toilets are essential facilities that support access and use of public places for all the community. Inclusive signage was a key outcome of the project.

The project recognised and celebrated the value and importance of public toilets. The project tried to address provision, equity and quality shortfalls. The project sets a new standard for the planning, design and delivery of public toilets that can better respond to the community’s diverse toilet needs, ensuring they are safe, comfortable, accessible and inclusive for all.

Community Wellbeing & Diversity Commendation | Community infrastructure: contemporary delivery and operational models

Awarded to: SGS Economics and Planning; Wyndham City Council

Community infrastructure: contemporary delivery and operational models provides a fresh and much needed innovative approach to community infrastructure planning. The project explores diverse community infrastructure models, establishes a flexible approach and sets a new standard of excellence to meet the diverse needs of the City of Wyndham’s growing population and ensure sustainability of its infrastructure.

Based on research and engagement with service teams and providers, developers and other local governments, the approach ensures understanding available infrastructure options and tailoring each model to optimise outcomes for current and future communities. The models considers high service standards, partnerships, cost efficiency and the models and guidelines include a comprehensive spectrum of community infrastructure approaches which are highly transferable to other local government areas.

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Great Place Award Winner | Transforming Southbank Boulevard and Rocks on Wheels

Awarded to: City of Melbourne with T.C.L and Mike Hewson

The Finish American Architect Eero Saarinen said “Always design a thing by considering it in its next larger context – a chair in a room, a room in a house, a house in an environment, an environment in a city plan.” The best place-based outcomes don’t happen by accident, they take a great deal of thought and appreciation of the local context. Afterall, every place is different and should be respected accordingly.

This project is a culmination of innovative spatial thinking, robust stakeholder and community collaboration and commitment to improving the public open space adjacent to the Yarra River in response to the Yarra River – Birrarung Strategy. This public open space enhancement plays on the natural local attributes and character of the locale and will attract the littlest of people to use and enjoy the space. Adding to the unique place that is Melbourne, this attraction further activates and promotes the identity of the Birrarung within the local area.

Great Place Commendation | Nightingale Ballarat

Awarded to: Niche Planning Studio and Hygge Property

This project is an original and innovative place-based development of high architectural design that respects the history and heritage of the area. It is strategically aligned with the vision of the locale and thoughtful in responding to the key policy directions.

The project was well executed and much thought was given to its implementation and impact in the local context. That said, its social, economic and environmental attributes are transferable. The collaboration with key stakeholders having regard to different views is evident resulting in a project that continues to make a great contribution to the local place.

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Improving Planning Processes Award Winner | Emerald Town Model Structure Plan for Rural and Regional Municipalities': Structure Planning Guidance for Rural and Regional Victoria

Awarded to: Regional Planning Partnerships, Department of Transport and Planning and Plan2Place Consulting

This project is a comprehensive and innovative approach to providing guidance for rural and regional councils undertaking town and settlement structure plans. Balancing growth in our rural and regional areas whilst also protecting productive agricultural land, economic resources and biodiversity assets is critical to the state's economic and environmental sustainability and a key challenge for these locations.

The Judges noted the significant need that this resource would address, as other resources are metropolitan focused. This project particularly helps councils with limited budget and resources. The project provides support to the 48 rural and regional councils, allowing for consistency, efficiency, and increased capability in structure planning across Victoria.

Improving Planning Processes Commendation | Dry Stone Wall Toolkit for Victoria

Awarded to: City of Whittlesea, Colleen Lazenby Coordinator Heritage Strategy and Programs

Dry stone walls (DSW) in Victoria are protected in the Victorian planning provisions and by the Heritage Act 2017. Little direction is provided to give effect to Clause 52.33 and only three local governments – Melton, Whittlesea and Wyndham – have completed municipal studies and developed local policies.

While DSW are in at least 21 Local Government Areas (LGA) in Victoria alone there is a significant gap in knowledge and limited understanding about how to integrate DSW into urban environments where they are most under threat from growth and change associated with changing land uses. The toolkit is a hands on tool for farmers, developers Councils and heritage advisors.

The judges were impressed with the clarity and utility of the Toolkit to understand the construction style, stone shapes and wall features of DSW and how to protect, maintain and enable creative reuse and adaptation of DSW. It is evident that the Dry Stone Wall Toolkit has been particularly useful in greenfield estates where the DSW has become an important integrated part of the landscape. Whittlesea Council is commended for both the merit of DSW Toolkit as well as demonstrating how a toolkit can take a planning provision and create a valuable practical implementation tool to preserve an important part of our landscape.

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Planning Research Award Winner | Key Worker Housing Definition Research

Awarded to: City of Melbourne in partnership with .id Consulting and Micromex Research and Consulting

This research on defining key worker housing in the City of Melbourne is both timely and impactful. The robust methodology, combining statistical and document analysis with stakeholder workshops, ensured a thorough and practical approach. By involving council staff from multiple departments, the project built shared understanding as well as applied research capacity in government.

The resulting definition directly supports local policymaking amid the current housing affordability crisis and has already been successfully endorsed, demonstrating its value to urban planning practice. There is significant potential for further implementation through continued collaboration with the State Government, other local councils, and developers involved in affordable housing initiatives.

Planning Research Commendation | Community Green: Rediscovering the Enclosed Spaces of the Garden Suburb Tradition

Awarded to: David Nichols and Robert Freestone R海角社区 (Fellow)

This book provides an account of an era of Australian urbanism that has defined and shaped Australian cities but also created a legacy 4 forms of urban greening personal and community recreation and the expectations of what is the ‘good life’ in Australian suburbia. It's timely to consider how these small often privileged places of leisure and recreation shape urban mythology but also create a template for contemporary urbanisation particularly in a time where concerns at the impacts of the quality and scale of urban greening have become acute under climate change.

We therefore commend this work as offering present day planning practitioners insights to the legacies and traditions of this form of urbanism but also an opportunity to raise questions about that legacy and the scope for its continuity. The potential of lessons from historical urban forms should not be lost and this text demonstrates extensive historical research add a thread of argument and narrative that should be a strong interest to those planning Australia’s current cities.

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Planning with Country Award Winner | Barongarook Gulidjan Burial Place

Awarded to: Hansen Partnership & the Eastern Maar Aboriginal Corporation

The Barongarook Gulidjan Burial Place project represents a shift from western views for urban park planning, design and regeneration to a country-centred approach. The judges were impressed by the innovative planning and design process and the culturally informed outcomes, which included resolution of the sensitive issue of the repatriation of Aboriginal remains.

The project demonstrates genuine collaboration with Eastern Maar and continued cultural capacity building throughout the project's life cycle. The project shows how power and understanding can be shifted through cultural understanding, knowledge exchange and co-design. The project outcome builds individual connection with Country and community through a culturally informed design and uses.

This project demonstrates healing of Country and relationships through land-use planning and design.

Planning with Country Commendation | Shoreline Drive Precinct Landscape Plan

Awarded to: Aspect Studios in collaboration with Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation in Joint Management with Parks Victoria

This project demonstrates a strong and steady balance in cultural capacity building and delivery of GLaWAC's Whole-of-Country Plan as well as the Parks Victoria Joint Management Plan. Attention to community engagement and capacity building of GLaWAC and its Rangers demonstrates the high value given to a collaborative approach to parks planning and management. The project provides a model for addressing the complexity of competing uses, through a cultural lens to protect cultural heritage and cultural uses. The principle of reciprocity in relationships and knowledge exchange was clearly demonstrated.

The judges commended the project team for working towards greater self-determination for Traditional Custodians in parks planning and management.

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Stakeholder Engagement Award Winner | People Panel on Affordable Housing

Awarded to: City of Melbourne and MosaicLab

The judging panel was particularly impressed by the quality of the submission, level of rigour and use of data for the City of Melbourne’s deliberative panel which was established to respond to the question: “how to increase affordable housing in the City of Melbourne”. They approached this in a holistic manner considering planning issues and other mechanisms.

Panel members were selected to represent the demographic characteristics of City of Melbourne residents. A clear process set out the journey Roadmap and captured not just the process but also the outputs and recommendations that were further developed with the Panel.

The panel informed the level of Council investment and advocacy to support greater provision of affordable housing.

Council supported the intent of all recommendations and resolved to commence three key outputs to implement them: an advocacy plan, a community education plan, and an internal processes and policy development plan. Each of these outputs is underway.

Stakeholder Engagement Commendation | Timboon Precinct Plan

Awarded to: Corangamite Shire Council CoFutures... IncluDesign

A special commendation was awarded by the panel for the Timboon Precinct Plan, for the genuine nature of the wonderful grass roots approach to facilitate creative, low-cost community participation and foster interest across all ages using a creative visioning, deliberative design, and voices of the future process. The Council utilised an artist to visually capture ideas and incorporated a design charrette workshop model that allowed for a ‘deeper’ dive to unpack key issues and identify solutions. The process incorporated creative activities and processes to capture youth engagement which was particularly important given 25% of the population is 19 years and under.

At the heart of the project was the desire to create a true community led vision for the town that provides for the community, attracts increased tourism, supports local business, sense of ownership and pride.

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Strategic Planning Project Award Winner | Banyule Public Realm Framework and Technical Notes

Awarded to: Mesh in collaboration with Banyule City Council and Flow Design Studio

Mesh Planning, in collaboration with Banyule City Council and Flow Design Studio, has set a new benchmark in public realm planning with the creation of the Public Realm Framework (PRF) and Technical Notes. These innovative documents unify visionary strategy with practical implementation, addressing the need for a cohesive approach to public spaces that transcends the typical ad-hoc methods focused solely on open space contributions. The PRF integrates diverse elements—from transport and biodiversity to public art and climate resilience—into a single framework that reflects Banyule’s unique needs. This approach ensures that public realm projects are consistently designed and delivered to the highest standards, facilitating collaboration across Council departments and with relevant stakeholders.

By aligning diverse inputs, standardizing guidelines, and ensuring consistency, these documents have not only improved internal collaboration but have also set the stage for more efficient and effective public realm projects.

As a result, Banyule’s public realm projects are given the best opportunity to be well-designed, functional, and strategically aligned with broader regional and state objectives. This innovative approach positions the PRF and Technical Notes as a model for integrated, high-quality urban development that can be adopted across municipalities, ensuring vibrant and sustainable public spaces for future generations.

Strategic Planning Project Commendation | Activating Lake Eildon Master Plan

Awarded to: Murrindindi Shire Council Urban Enterprises

The Activating Lake Eildon Master Plan by Murrindindi Shire Council and Urban Enterprise promotes recovery in tourism in the Lake Eildon district following the millennium drought and 2009 bushfires. It is bold in that it tackles the challenge of water supply, integral for water-based tourism, in the context of unpredictable weather patterns.

With this nomination, the Judges appreciated innovative project c, the collaborative approach as well as excellent implementation solutions such as a shortlist of shovel-ready projects with business cases prepared, ripe for funding advocacy.

Strategic Planning Project Commendation | The Frankston Metropolitan Activity Centre (FMAC) Structure Plan

Awarded to: Brooke Whatmough Coordinator Strategic Planning (Frankston City Council) With the support of Tract Consultants (Michael Natoli and Tammy Shepherd)

The Frankston Metropolitan Activity Centre (FMAC) Structure Plan is awarded a commendation as an excellent example of comprehensive strategic planning and provides certainty to Council, the community and developers.

The robust technical studies, including the engagement of Tract consultants to address sensitive environmental and residential interfaces identified in the structure plan, led to creation of ten key planning principles. The preparation of a detailed Action Plan to support implementation of the structure plan demonstrates Council’s appetite to make the plan a reality.

The judges commend the plan for being forward thinking in it’s ambition as it aligns with Victoria’s Housing Statement and proposed housing targets for council.

Strategic Planning Project Commendation | Victorian Goldfields Master Plan

Awarded to: Arup and Victoria Goldfields Tourism Executive

The Victorian Goldfields Master Plan is awarded a commendation for the development of an innovative long-term strategy to support the pursuit of a UNESCO World Heritage listing that celebrates the most extensive and best surviving landscape of the global goldrush phenomenon.

The project is visionary in terms of its scale, levels of engagement and proposed strategic initiatives. The master plan covers large parts of Victoria and has required an extensive engagement process with key stakeholders including 15 local government authorities, regional tourism bodies, industry, local communities, as well as participating Registered Aboriginal Parties.

Of particular note is the Master Plan’s commitment towards achieving social and economic benefits for the region, as well as considering the layered history of First Nations story telling in combination with the goldfields story.

The judges commend Arup and the Victoria Goldfields Tourism Executive in bringing together such a comprehensive and forward-thinking master plan that has the capacity to bring significant benefits to regional Victoria.

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Technology & Digital Innovation Award Winner | Climate Resilience Index

Awarded to: Tract and OneMap

The Climate Resilience Index (CRI) is an innovative, publicly available interactive mapping tool that evaluates the capacity of Melbourne’s neighborhoods to effectively address climate change. It synthesizes complex multi-layered data across identified factors which contribute to a sustainable urban environment via a custom-built user interface that successfully and clearly disseminates the research findings in the form of an interactive map. It can be updated as more data or changes to data occur and thus has longer term relevance.

It provides a visual representation of a neighborhoods’ capacity to effectively address climate change and thus a tool that can be used by Planners in collaboration with their community to help understand the issues, how policy and decision making can address specific issues and their level of success. The judges were impressed with the quality of the graphic language, the user experience, and its ability to be used across the planning industry and related professions, as well as its potential to be a public educational tool.

Technology & Digital Innovation Commendation | Enhancing the digital planning experience for community with generative AI – Building a Self-Service Digital Planning Enquiry Portal

Awarded to: Yarra Ranges Council, MyLot & GovPartners

This project utilizes generative AI to create a self-service digital planning enquiry portal on the Council’s website, which has the potential to be adopted by any local government area to improve their pre-application planning service delivery to customers as well as assisting the local community in understanding sometimes complex and technical planning scheme requirements.

The portal seeks to address a range of issues, such as high volumes of enquiries and applications, shortage of qualified planners and complex technical information which can be overwhelming, in order to deliver better planning outcomes for all stakeholders. It does so by improving transparency, improving the quality of applications, reducing assessment timeframes and streamlining processes. The judges commend Council’s focus on delivering a more transparent, engaging and holistic pre-application experience for its community.

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Young Planner of the Year Award Winner | Nivedita Ravindran M海角社区, Senior Urban Designer, Niche Planning Studio

Nivedita is a deserving recipient of the 2024 Young Planning of the Year award, displaying qualities of emerging leadership, professional maturity, and a supportive nature that is admired by her work colleagues and industry peers. Nivedita’s tireless efforts in contributing to the planning profession, whether it be the formal mentoring of other young planners, participating as a community member of the City of Melbourne Design Excellence Advisory Committee, convenor of the Victorian Young Planners Network, as well as being a founding member of the International Planners Network; reveals her strengths in contributing to the industry outside of her workplace. In the words of Nivedita’s nominee ‘… she exemplifies all the qualities valued by both 海角社区 and her peers in her personal approach to life and more broadly within her career’.

Nivedita is also known for her inclusive working style, consistently collaborating with other professionals to facilitate improved urban design and planning project outcomes.

Congratulations, Nivedita.

Young Planner of the Year Commendation | Karen D'Mello 海角社区 (Assoc.)

Karen is commended for her contributions to the planning profession and her emerging leadership qualities. She actively supports the planning industry as a member and secretary of 海角社区’s Victorian Young Planners Committee, contributing to mentoring, outreach activities, and industry events. Her involvement, including volunteering with the International Planners Network, demonstrates her commitment to supporting emerging and international planners.

Congratulations, Karen.

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People's Choice Award | Nightingale Ballarat

Awarded to: Niche Planning Studio and Hygge Property

Niche Planning Studio and Hygge Property have won the competitive People's Choice Award. With over 450 votes recorded the project Nightingale Ballarat was successful with a competitive lead.

This project is an original and innovative place-based development of high architectural design that respects the history and heritage of the area. It is strategically aligned with the vision of the locale and thoughtful in responding to the key policy directions.

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President's Award | Royce Millar

The President’s award for 2024 recognises independent journalist Royce Millar for his career spanning work of investigative reporting and examining planning projects.

Royce is one of Melbourne’s longest serving journalists and recently left full-time employment at The Age after well over 20 years. He rightly delved into planning decisions by both sides of politics – an ex-colleague described him as ‘fearless’. In his work Royce has shown a genuine interest and concern about the future of Melbourne and Victoria.

With this award, 海角社区 President, Pat Fensham takes the opportunity to honour Royce on behalf of the profession and the people of Melbourne and Victoria.

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Thank you to our Awards partners

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