We are proud to announce our ongoing collaboration with the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE) to support the regional activation of the NSW Special Activation Precincts (SAPs).
Our works on the SAPs were initially led by our Environment team and has been expanded to include full multidisciplinary support from our Transport, Advisory, Water and Power teams. We will be working on four new packages: the Snowy Mountains Engineering and Environment packages and the Moree Structure Plan and Water Demand Assessment packages.
This follows on from our previous engagements supporting the Parkes SAP and the Wagga Wagga SAP.
SAPs are places identified by the NSW Government as areas with the potential to activate state or regionally significant economic development. They benefit from a place-based planning process to unlock growth.
Graham Pointer, WSP’s Future Ready Lead for Australia says, “Powering regional economic growth is integral for the long-term viability of our regional communities to counter the movement of people towards our densifying centres.
“The SAPs initiative is a fantastic, proactive approach by the NSW Government to create future ready places that will attract investment and improve the liveability of surrounding communities.
“They are particularly relevant in the current climate as many of our regional communities look to recover and grow after the tumultuous events of the first six months of 2020.
“We are very pleased to be partnering with DPIE again. Our goal is to co-design precincts that are distinctly local by amplifying the local economic engines and reflecting the local place context in a way that is resilient to a changing future. One of the things we were proud to include was input from the local Indigenous communities, an approach we implemented on Parkes and Wagga Wagga which was led by Michael Hromek, our Technical Executive for Indigenous Design and Knowledge.
“While all the SAPs are designed to activate selected regions, each project is driving unique outcomes. For the Snowy Mountains, the SAP will help to attract visitors year-round and to cement the region’s status as a playground for tourists.
“Meanwhile the Moree, Wagga Wagga and Parkes SAPs see councils and state government working together towards capitalising on regional strengths and the freight opportunities opened up by the Inland Rail.”
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