URPS - Urban and Regional Planning Solutions

The New Royal Adelaide Hospital

Following the preparation of the Master Plan and Development Plan Amendment for the site of the New Royal Adelaide Hospital, URPS has continued its role in this $1.7 billion major development by forming part of the team evaluating the tenders.

This involved evaluation of the planning aspects of the voluminous tender documents put forward by the two consortiums bidding for the project. Evaluation was undertaken against both the tender specifications and the policies contained in the Adelaide (City) Development Plan.

The State Government subsequently announced it would start final negotiations with the preferred proponent on the contract for the Public Private Partnership and an Application for Development Approval was lodged in December 2010.

The new hospital will have 172,000m2 of floor space, providing 800 patient beds and 40 operating theatres. Some 3 hectares of railyards will also be returned to the Park Lands.

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:

Develop and oversee the implementation of a framework for attracting renewable energy investment to South Australia
Provide strategic advice to the Government on renewable energy policy issues
Develop pathways for investment for the various sectors of the renewable energy industry and for the various stages of the investment process, namely research and development; deployment; downstream manufacturing; services; and related industries such as transmission and distribution.

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.