23 March 2018
A joint initiative to make district plans more accessible to the public as well as planners has achieved the supreme accolade at this year’s New Zealand Planning Institute (NZPI) awards.
The New Plymouth District Council’s Draft Digital District Plan – developed in conjunction with Isovist Planning – won both the award for Best Practice District/ Regional Planning Guidance and the NZPI’s supreme award, the Nancy Northcroft Award.
The Draft Digital District Plan, which was compiled directly into an e-plan, is the first of its kind in New Zealand and paves the way for other local district councils to go digital.
NZPI chief executive David Curtis says the judges drew attention to how the project “displayed innovative and creative excellence in planning and tapped into cutting-edge digital technologies in order to facilitate easier access.
“The project demonstrates a commitment to emerging technologies and how it can be used to positively impact the way planners and homeowners interact with Council. The project teams’ commitment to finding a relevant and useful solution promotes continued public interest and participation.”
Other key awards related to infrastructure planning in Curio Bay, a toolkit designed to help Maori landowners and a project plan for the Onehunga regeneration led by the Auckland Council.
Commenting at the end of NZPI’s conference in Tauranga, Curtis said the top three planning issues addressed were water quality and allocation, rapid urbanisation and the effects of growth on housing, infrastructure, and social equity, and the impact of natural hazards and climate change. Agri-food disruption, housing supply, biodiversity offsetting, new technologies and the implications of the National Policy Statement on Urban Development Capacity were also on the agenda.
More than 500 delegates attended the conference. In addition to planners and resource management practitioners, this included industry leaders, iwi, designers, scientists, members of the legal profession and judiciary, and local and central government representatives.
The NZPI conference, which has been held annually since 1964, tapped into the considerable learnings of international speakers who shared their insights and best-practice approaches to key issues.
NZPI 2018 Awards winners are:
Nancy Northcroft Supreme Planning Practice Award and Best Practice District/ Regional Planning
PROJECT: Building a Digital District Plan
AWARD WINNERS:
Best Practice District or Regional Plan
PROJECT: Unlock Avondale High Level Project Plan
AWARD WINNER:
Best Practice Integrated Planning and Investigations
PROJECT: Curio Bay Tumu Toka Infrastructure Collaboration
AWARD WINNERS:
Best Practice Consultation and Participation Strategies and/or Processes
PROJECT: Manurewa Takanini Papakura integrated area plan
AWARD WINNER:
Best Practice Non-Statutory Planning
PROJECT: Te Tai Tokerau Papakainga Toolkit
AWARD WINNERS:
Rodney Davies Project Award
PROJECT: Ponsonby Countdown & Mixed-use Development (Vinegar Lane)
AWARD WINNERS:
Distinguished Service Award
AWARD WINNER:
Lance Leikis NZPI Young Planner Award
AWARD WINNER:
John Mawson Award of Merit
AWARD WINNERS:
Congratulations to all!
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New Zealand Planning Institute (NZPI)
Established in 1949, NZPI has more than 2000 members involved in strategic planning initiatives, development and implementation of urban and rural plans.
NZPI members work in cities, towns, district councils and rural areas and specialise in a variety of different disciplines for example transport, urban design or conservation.
This year’s New Zealand Planning Institute (NZPI) conference, Breaking New Ground, looked at the new technologies and fresh approaches influencing planning practice, for both growth and decline.
Speakers at the three-day event (March 21-23) included international planning expert David Dixon, global head of Agribusiness Ian Proudfoot, Victoria Planning Authority CEO Stuart Moseley, renowned researcher Richie Poulton and US neighbourhood crowdfunding platform founder Erin Barnes.
For more information, please contact:
Sumeera Dawood
Convergence Communications
E: Sumeera@conv.co.nz
M: 021 0853 8711
Vanessa White
NZPI Event Manager
E: vanessa.white@planning.org.nz
M: 021 166 1802
