TRC studies win Qld landscape architecture excellence award, off to October national final

A love for Toowoomba and its diverse array of natural and urban places was at the heart of the Toowoomba Regional Landscape and Urban Character Study and a Regional Scenic Amenity Study which were recently recognised with an Award for Excellence at the Queensland awards of the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA).

Toowoomba Regional Council (TRC) Planning and Development committee chair Cr Megan O’Hara Sullivan said Council was proud to have a major project honoured at the AILA Landscape Architecture Awards.

“It is especially pleasing to have our Toowoomba Regional Landscape and Urban Character Study and Toowoomba Regional Scenic Amenity Study honoured with an Award for Excellence and progress to the national award presentation in Brisbane in October,” Cr O’Hara Sullivan said.

“These studies were part of a broader suite of strategic studies informing the preparation of Toowoomba Region’s new planning scheme. The result acknowledges the extensive community engagement by Council’s strategic planners and our consultant partners in our wider Toowoomba Region Futures project and the importance that was placed on achieving excellent design outcomes.

“Good planning responds to residents’ strong connections to highly prized elements of the natural landscape and the character of our built environment. Council’s strategic planning is incorporating feedback around our community needs and expectations that will shape our prized lifestyle attributes.

“Landscape architects play an important part in creating lively and functional communal spaces for different community uses.

“The Toowoomba Region has many enviable lifestyle attributes, from our parks and open spaces, the special character of our rich heritage across Toowoomba city and our regional towns and our established infrastructure, that attracts people to live, work, play and study here.”

LatStudios was commissioned by TRC through a tender process to prepare both studies, which form part of Council’s Toowoomba Region Futures Program.

Associate Georgina Pratten said Wendy Davies, Practice Director and leader of the firm’s landscape planning team had completed similar studies in the United Kingdom, but this was a unique opportunity to apply their experience in Australia, alongside partners Trace Visual Planning and Design, Extent Heritage, PSA Consulting and The Comms Team.

The success of the projects relied heavily on obtaining accurate information on the opinions and preferences of the Toowoomba community, which proved challenging with the onset of a global health pandemic and there was a need to think outside the box to connect with the large community.

“We commissioned The Comms Team to develop a community consultation strategy, which was delivered online, and incorporated the ‘Love Your Local Landscapes’ photography competition. The competition provided Toowoomba community members with the opportunity to capture their favourite parts of their city, and the results highlighted the community’s love for the city’s proximity to rural landscapes, its big trees, green streets and vibrant parks,” Ms Pratten said.

Community involvement expanded to a scenic preference survey whereby residents could rank their favourite Toowoomba scenes. The scenic preference survey was used to test the findings of the previous Scenic Amenity Study prepared in 2009 and identify additional local scenic landscapes that would benefit from additional protection on account of their scenic value.

“The community played a pivotal role in confirming and testing our preliminary study findings and identified the types of landscapes that were most valued by the community. This process ensured that the local community’s values were at the heart of the development of the scenic amenity study, and the resulting scenic amenity layer has that community preference embedded into the mapping outputs.

“What is very pleasing to us is that we have had positive feedback from Council, including that they have provided new members of their team with the local character statements to bring them up to speed with the localities within Toowoomba and the local community’s values. We have been told that as a practical tool for Council, it has been very useful.

“Some of our recommendations have formed part of the Growth Plan modelling, which is another aspect of the broader Toowoomba Futures Project, which, along with other studies, will also inform the future planning scheme. It’s encouraging to see both Council and the community onboard in supporting the protection of the Region’s natural, urban and cultural assets and testing possible future growth outcomes to achieve this.

“Scenic amenity and urban character values also cross-pollinate with other areas of focus, such as urban greening, ecology, habitat. It is all interconnected and we are just one piece of the puzzle,” Ms Pratten said.

The Australian Institute of Landscape Architects’ awards were held around the nation during July, with Judges acknowledging the Toowoomba project for its incorporation of community values into the strategic planning for the city.

AILA Queensland President Tessa Leggo highlighted the positive impact that landscape architecture is having on how we interact with our spaces and places across the state. It is wonderful to see this important work recognised with an Award of Excellence. It is work which will inform the Toowoomba Region Futures program.

“The landscape architecture awards recognise the work of talented professionals across the nation, both tangible outcomes and projects such as this one, which will pave the way to create a picturesque Toowoomba for the community to enjoy,” Ms Leggo said.

The national awards will be held in Brisbane on October 14.

Caption: AILA Queensland chapter President Tessa Leggo (left), Lat27 Director Damian Thompson and TRC Planning and Development committee chair Cr Megan O’Hara Sullivan with the Queensland Award for Excellence.