April 19, 2015
Iwi star in planning awards
Maori focused projects featured heavily in the New Zealand Planning Institute Awards presented in Auckland this weekend.
Awards chair Andrew Willis says planners are grappling with some of the most complex issues facing communities today.
He says the winners have made a positive impact on New Zealand communities.
Hamilton based Bloxam, Burnett and Olliver and the New Zealand Transport Agency won both the Supreme Best Practice Award and the Best Practice Award for District and Regional Planning for work on the Huntly Section of the Waikato Expressway.
Judges said they demonstrated outstanding creativity and innovation in planning for a culturally sensitive environment.
Chorus won an award for its consultation on the Mana Whenua Fibred project, where the network company created a separate process to deal with its roll out of broadband fibre in some of the 3000 areas designated as being signficant to mana whenua iwi covered by the Proposed Auckland Unitary Plan.
Waikato-Tainui Te Kauhanganui Inc won a best practice in non-statutory planning award for its Tai Tumu, Tai Pari, Tai Ao environmental management plan, while Te Puke-based Tapuiki Iwi Trust was commended for its environmental plan.
Tere Waitomo Community Trust and Beca were commend for their work on the Waitomo Caves Village Structure Plan.
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