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Kangaroo Island Strategic Tourism Plan

Kangaroo Island is South Australia's premier nature based tourism destination and one of the top four places international travellers visit in Australia. It provides iconic landscapes and wildlife experiences such as Remarkable Rocks and Seal Bay. The island is home to many species of flora and fauna, which have evolved without some of the negative influences and predators experienced on the mainland, such as foxes.

The Kangaroo Island Strategic Tourism Plan outlines the economic, social and environmental directions required for sustainable tourism on the island. It provides guidance on the planning policy changes required to ensure that future tourism developments enrich the natural wilderness experiences without compromising the ecological assets that underpin these. Perhaps nowhere else in South Australia is the need to balance the needs and wishes of visitors with the environmental impacts of their behaviour as critical as it is on Kangaroo Island.

At every stage of this project we were aware that setting a framework for a viable and environmentally responsive tourism industry was a big responsibility. The active engagement of all those with an investment in the outcomes was crucial to the strategy's success. Accordingly we worked hard to build a strong sense of shared commitment through our interaction with a broad-based project steering committee, tourism operators and community leaders. Such stakeholder and community buy-in is essential to making this strategy a 'living' document that will be successfully implemented.

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.