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City Wins Two State Planning Excellence Awards
On Friday, 9 December 2011, the City of Melville was twice awarded for planning excellence by the Western Australian Division of the Planning Institute of Australia (PIA).
PIA is the national body representing the planning profession.
The City won Western Australia’s Improved Planning Processes and Practices for Optimise – an innovation offering end-to-end electronic processing of its planning and building applications.
The judges awarded Western Australia’s Best Planning Idea to the City’s Canning Bridge Precinct Vision - with the Department of Planning, WA Planning Commission, City of South Perth and GHD Pty Ltd joint recipients.
PIA WA President Charles Johnson said the City’s winning entries were "extremely visionary".
"I congratulate the City of Melville on these well-deserved wins and look forward to these projects competing at a national level with other winning planning projects from around Australia."
City of Melville CEO Dr Shayne Silcox said the City was delighted to be recognised twice by the state awards.
"These awards demonstrate the City and our efforts in continuous improvement are leading the way in both strategic planning and procedural planning processes," Dr Silcox said.
"The Canning Bridge Precinct Vision is a long-term plan which takes into account the state government’s Directions 2031 – which highlights the need for anticipated population growth to be planned around inner-city transport hubs.
"The Vision plans for a mixed-use area, including cafes, residential and commercial developments. The City consulted extensively with the community on this Vision and we will continue to engage the community as this project unfolds.
"The improved efficiency of Optimise has multiple benefits for the community, Council and environment. The judging panel applauded the innovation and courage in implementing the Optimise program."
Background
Canning Bridge Precinct Vision PIA’s WA winner: Best Planning Idea
Canning Bridge has been identified as well-placed to develop into an important strategic centre because of its accessibility and close proximity to the Perth central business district.
The Canning Bridge Precinct Vision includes land in close proximity to the Canning Bridge Railway Station and provides a planning framework for development 50 years into the future. The Vision document considers the most appropriate way to utilise the land close to the Canning Bridge public transport infrastructure and the existing commercial centre located west of the river.
The judging panel applauded the project noting it would regenerate an important activity location while dealing with the challenge of fragmented property ownership. The judges said the vision was based on solid analysis by a strong and committed partnership between state, multiple local governments and consultants. They noted that a comprehensive process of community engagement was also involved.
The judges’ citation said the strength of the project was considered to be its adaptive scope which would ensure the implementation of the Vision occurs over time, striving for continual improvements.
Optimise PIA’s WA winner: Improved Planning Processes and Practices
The City of Melville’s Optimise project resulted in the introduction of an innovative end-to-end electronic processing system. This provides the ability for customers of the City’s planning and building service to engage electronically with the City, and for the City to assess and determine applications in a more efficient and customer-focused manner.
The key innovation of the Optimise system is its end-to-end electronic processing of planning and building applications. The final result is a planning and building application solution that provides better and more accountable customer service.
Other key benefits include 24/7 online lodgement, tracking, the electronic assessment of applications (whether submitted online or manually) and online approval notification.
The judges’ citation said that Optimise delivered cost savings for customers and the City, improved accountability and governance, and streamlined the entire planning and building application process.
To lodge a planning application using Optimise go to:
www.melvillecity.com.au/online-services
For further information contact 1300 635 845 or visit www.melvillecity.com.au or www.planning.org.au