Following an excellent response to the call for entries to the inaugural CAP Awards for Outstanding Planning Achievement in the Commonwealth our three eminent Judges (Trudi Elliott CBE, Professor Barbara Norman and Emeritus Professor Cliff Hague OBE) have identified a short list of entries.

Congratulations to the following entries which have made it to the Awards shortlist:

(in alphabetical order - click project name for further details)

• Embedding Young People in Planning and Engagement Processes
  Key organisations: Cred Consulting, City of Parramatta Council.
  Location: Parramatta CBD, Western Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

• Curio Bay Tumu Toka Infrastructure Collaboration
  Key organisations: Opus International Consultants Ltd, South Catlins Charitable Trust, Southland District Council, Department of Conservation.
  Location: Curio Bay, Southland, New Zealand

• Ghana  40-year Long Term National Development Plan
  Key organisations: Government of Ghana, Ghana Institute of Planners.
  Location: Ghana

• Innovative risk-based planning & engagement for Natural Hazards
  Key organisations: Bay of Plenty Regional Council, Enfocus, GNS Science & Integrity Professionals Limited.
  Location: Bay of Plenty Region, New Zealand

• Manurewa, Takanini and Papakura Integrated Area Plan
  Key organisations: Auckland Council.
  Location: Auckland, New Zealand.

• New Plymouth District Council - Building an E-Plan
  Key organisations: New Plymouth District Council, Isovist Ltd.
  Location: New Plymouth District, New Zealand.

• Risk Mapping and Planning for Urban Preparedness
  Key organisations: Beca International Consultants Limited.
  Location: Port Vila and Luganville, Vanuatu

• Te Tai Tokerau Papakāinga Toolkit
  Key organisations: Barker & Associates, in collaboration with Far North District Council, Kaipara District Council, Northland Regional Council and Whangarei District Council.
  Location: Northland, New Zealand.

Click here to view shortlist on the CAP Good Practice Platform

The Overall Winner of the Award and a number of Commendations will be announced at the Planning Africa Conference in Cape Town on 16 October 2018.

Clive Harridge
Secretary-General

Embedding Young People in Planning and Engagement Processes

Key organisations: Cred Consulting, City of Parramatta Council.

Location: Parramatta CBD, Western Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

The City of Parramatta, located in Western Sydney, Australia, is experiencing significant growth and transformation through urban renewal. By 2036, young people (aged 12 to 24) will represent 16% of the population (64,000 people), while thousands of young people from diverse backgrounds visit the Parramatta CBD each day to work, study, and shop. The Needs of Young People in the Parramatta CBD study aimed to recognise the contribution of young people to the City, identify opportunities to make the CBD more welcoming for young people, and make recommendations to embed engagement with young people in Council’s planning activities. This resulted in the first youth led annual Parramatta Youth Forum which provides an ongoing mechanism to build community capacity in planning, engage with young people, and inform major planning and policy projects.

Curio Bay Tumu Toka Infrastructure Collaboration

Key organisations: Opus International Consultants Ltd, South Catlins Charitable Trust, Southland District Council, Department of Conservation.

Location: Curio Bay, Southland, New Zealand.

The Curio Bay Infrastructure Collaboration was a project focused on addressing visitor related environmental issues at Curio Bay in Southland, New Zealand.  Curio Bay is a small coastal settlement and a popular tourist destination. Three parties (South Catlins Charitable Trust (SCCT), Southland District Council (SDC) and the Department of Conservation (DOC) came together to agree on a shared vision for the area.  Each party through the collaboration identified an infrastructure project they wished to progress, aiming to provide a better experience for tourists to the area whilst addressing the environmental effects of high visitor numbers. SCCT proposed development of a Visitor Centre, SDC a wastewater treatment plant and DOC an amenity upgrade incorporating a new carpark and toilets. The project has achieved the aim of each organisation and improved overall amenity and visitor experiences while providing advanced protection and conservation of the natural and physical resources of Curio Bay.

Ghana  40-year Long Term National Development Plan

Key organisations: Government of Ghana, Ghana Institute of Planners

Location: Ghana. 

In 2010, the government of Ghana set up a Constitutional Review Committee to review the national Constitution which has been in practice since 1992. The Committee teased out 44 items to engage the public in the discussion. In the end, 50% of the respondents requested for the preparation of a long-term national development plan which should be made binding on all successive governments. The government rejected it as it will 'have the effects of a command model of development planning and tie the hands of successive governments to the ideological interest and policies of a particular political party' .  The Ghana Institute of Planners adopted an advocacy role by engaging the public through data collection, sensitization of its members, press briefings, stakeholder engagements, dialogue with key stakeholders to make our position known to the government. In the process other national bodies joined the 'crusade' and the government eventually adopted the concept and the plan is being prepared for implementation.

Innovative risk-based planning & engagement for Natural Hazards

Key organisations: Bay of Plenty Regional Council

Location: Bay of Plenty Region, New Zealand.

In 2012 the Bay of Plenty Regional Council (New Zealand) embarked on a process to change its Regional Policy Statement (RPS) to better manage risk through land use planning. 

The resulting 2016 operative RPS has risk-based natural hazards provisions that provide a regionally-consistent framework for managing the region’s natural hazards, including low likelihood and high consequence hazards, according to their risk (determined by both likelihood and consequence). This outcome, at the forefront of the nation’s risk approach to avoiding and mitigating natural hazards, was achieved through:

• formal governance direction and decision making,

• a collaborative project management process reflecting the complexity of the subject matter and the breadth to interests involved, and

• responsive policy formulation that took account of evolving national guidance, led innovative community engagement, and addressed the needs of stakeholders.

Manurewa, Takanini and Papakura Integrated Area Plan

Key organisations: Auckland Council.

Location: Auckland, New Zealand.

The Manurewa, Takanini and Papakura Integrated Area Plan, developed by Auckland Council, is a spatial plan that guides the long-term future of these areas. Its successful  collaborative and innovative public engagement process, has demonstrated great innovation and planning practice in community consultation and public engagement.  From start through to completion, Council set the challenge to carry out engagement that was easy to read, meaningful to the community, and would allow a diverse range of people to participate in the planning process.  The result was creating a fluro-orange branded campaign with interactive engagement tools to create maximum visual impact. It was distinctive and created a common visual identity and engagement brand for the community and got people talking. The success of this approach is evident in the amount of feedback received and through the new relationships formed with the community, that truly represents the views of the people that live there.

New Plymouth District Council - Building an E-Plan

Key organisations: New Plymouth District Council, Isovist Ltd.

Location: New Plymouth District, New Zealand.

The New Plymouth E-plan is an on-line platform that provides a one stop shop for planning.  E-planning will be a statutory requirement in New Zealand that councils will need to transition to over time.  Being the first council with Isovist Ltd to produce a new GIS driven plan in a digital format we have created significant opportunities for others to benefit and leverage from so we can deliver more robust and consistent plans for our communities.  The principles and innovations in this project are transferable to other planning systems not only in New Zealand but also in the Commonwealth.

Risk Mapping and Planning for Urban Preparedness

Key organisations: Beca International Consultants Limited.

Location: Port Vila and Luganville, Vanuatu.

The project assembled and interpreted a substantial body of existing data into risk maps fir the five natural hazards (flood, earthquake, wind, coastal inundation and tsunami) for the two main urban settlements of Vanuatu - Port Vila and Luganville.  The maps categorised risks from natural hazards using a simplified "traffic light"approach.  Future growth trends were examined as well as recent settlement patterns.  A risk responsive management strategy was developed to address mapped hazard distributions including risk sensitive land use planning development controls (building code) and early warning system for evacuation planning.  Community lead tsunami evacuation plans were developed and signage provided for evacuation routes.  Evacuation drills have been undertaken.  The project has provided the Government of Vanuatu planners and managers with evidence based, realistic but simplified hazard models and maps to allow risk responsive future planning.

Te Tai Tokerau Papakāinga Toolkit

Key organisations: Barker & Associates, in collaboration with Far North District Council, Kaipara District Council, Northland Regional Council and Whangarei District Council.

Location: Northland, New Zealand.

In mid-2017, four councils and a planning consultancy based in Northland, New Zealand began to work collaboratively on a guidance tool to assist Māori land owners to navigate the planning process to undertake papakāinga developments on their ancestral lands. The outcome of this collaboration was the Te Tai Tokerau Papakāinga Toolkit (‘the Toolkit’) and an associated summary brochure, which provide an accessible and informative medium to assist Māori land owners. The Toolkit simplifies the planning process into five identified steps with key contact details and associated questionnaires, checklists and diagrams. The document marries together traditional Māori concepts (tikanga) with the technical knowledge required to navigate the planning process. Communication is universal. The planning profession is often criticised for being overly wordy and long winded. The Toolkit shows that effective graphic design and simple communication techniques can be applied across the Commonwealth to effectively engage with stakeholders and communities.