Our Approach

URPS has experienced and well respected people who have long-established working relationships with each other and throughout the development and planning professions. One of the fundamental strengths of our organisation is that the people who are nominated to undertake work on a project actually do the work. We also structure our work so that there are at least two people involved, providing our clients with at least one point-of-contact in the office as much as possible. This ensures that we are able to respond quickly when issues arise.

At URPS, we also understand that successful planning outcomes are based on strong partnerships. Working closely with our clients, we adopt the "PS" approach to all of our projects:

Project Scoping - Understanding the issues, defining the challenge, and establishing clear objectives for the project.
Project Synthesis - Consideration of influencing factors through research, consultation and detailed analysis to create new ways of thinking.
Pragmatic Solutions - Promoting a sustainability agenda, creating clear links between consultation findings and planning outcomes, and delivering tangible, action-oriented recommendations expressed in clear and concise reports and plans.

We also appreciate the importance of a project that is completed on time and within the agreed budget. This is why we take pride in our reputation for responsive and responsible project management.

Our Values

Our values are central to the way URPS operates and include:

  • Honesty, integrity and social responsibility
  • Professional leadership
  • Respect for all involved in the planning process
  • Care for the environment
  • Responsibility and accountability
  • The importance of a balanced lifestyle

What We Offer

Experience
We have senior people with a wealth of experience across the public and private sectors undertaking our projects. We are proudly 'top heavy' ensuring that senior people with the right experience work on projects and remain accessible to our clients.

Innovation
We have a reputation for 'pushing boundaries and challenging conventional wisdom', as evidenced by the wide range of PIA Awards won over the past six years and our contributions to planning debate via our own newsletter "Planning Matters".

Collaboration
We work in partnership with our clients so that they are part of the solutions. We have established relationships with other professionals to ensure appropriate specialist input. We also ensure that all consultation influences the planning outcomes we recommend and that there is transparency between messages heard and actions taken.

Competitiveness
We are of a size that means we can deliver projects on time and within budget by having an experienced and efficient team, while at the same time keeping overheads down.

Independence
We do not have a financial interest in any development firm or other consultancy organisation.

Innovation is important to us at URPS. We like to 'push boundaries’ where appropriate. It keeps us on our toes and delivers the best possible outcomes for our clients who have to adapt to constant change. This is why we take such pride in winning PIA Awards – they provide evidence of our success in striving for innovation.

We were delighted to receive a commendation at the PIA SA 2011 Awards for Planning Excellence for the Mount Barker Town Centre Community Engagement Project – our 15th PIA Award/Commendation over the past 9 years.

A genuinely collaborative project, staff from Mount Barker Council worked closely with the URPS team to deliver a range of engagement techniques carefully targeted to the various audiences. According to the awards publication, "the judges were impressed by the extent of the community engagement process and the use of a wide variety of consultation mediums, including social media, a youth ‘walk out and talk out’ session and a series of 'speak out’ sessions".

We were also delighted to celebrate Marcus Rolfe's elevation to the position of Fellow of the Planning Institute of Australia at the Awards evening. The elevation recognises Marcus' ongoing contribution to the planning profession.

URPS Director Nicole Halsey has recently been appointed as a member of the Premier's Climate Change Council and the Board of Renewables SA.

The primary function of the Climate Change Council is to provide independent advice to the Minister for Sustainability and Climate Change about matters related to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to climate change. The Council also takes a leading role in consulting with business, the environment / conservation sector and the wider community on climate change issues.

Key elements of the charter of Renewables SA include:

We look forward to supporting Nicole in these significant roles.

URPS and Natalie Fuller and Associates, together with a team of dedicated staff and volunteers at the City of Salisbury, recently held a "Street Talk" event outside the Len Beadell library for the Salisbury Town Centre Renewal Project.

Over 500 people participated, providing their views on what they like about the Town Centre, what can be improved and how they would like to see it develop in the future.

The Manager Urban Development at the City of Salisbury, Harry Pitrans, described this as a "very successful day for the City of Salisbury", also praising "the opportunity we provided to support the team of engagement volunteers" and our "professionalism and fun during the day".

We would also like to extend our thanks to the engagement team of Brian Pledger, Janine Harding, Jo Lasham, Julie Fyfe, Kate Naumann, Michelle Tucker, Tammie Hamilton and Hiroe Terao.

This type of successful community engagement will have a significant positive impact on the development and delivery of the Town Centre Renewal Project.