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Water Affecting Activities Permit System

A common challenge for Natural Resources Management (NRM) is to interpret and act upon legislative requirements. This is certainly the case with 'Water Affecting Activities' (WAA) and the related permits. The Eyre Peninsula NRM Board was identified in its regional NRM Plan as the body responsible for some WAA, which meant that the Board needed to develop a permit system for receiving, assessing and determining WAA permit applications.

URPS assisted the Board by interpreting and translating the legislative requirements as set out by the NRM Act and the Regional NRM Plan into an efficient, effective and user friendly permit system. The project culminated in the preparation of an instruction manual which explains the administrative procedures associated with receiving permit applications, assessing applications, and issuing (or refusing applications for) permits. URPS also recognised the need for an ongoing 'refresher' of the permit system and self-administered training for new staff members and so we developed a narrated PowerPoint presentation for this purpose. The presentation explains the information contained within the manual and steps to take through the WAA permit system.

The Board is a relatively small organisation and it was therefore necessary to ensure the WAA permit system used staff efficiently and matched skills and expertise to the tasks at hand. The WAA permit system was therefore developed in a way that will maximise the use of time and expertise of all staff, ranging from administrative staff and assessment officers through to the general manager.

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.