Bayside Council took home two prestigious planning awards at the 2022 Awards for Planning Excellence held at The Fullerton Hotel in Sydney on 3 November.
The Awards are run by Planning Institute of Australia (PIA), the national body representing planning and the planning profession.
Bayside Council won the Technology & Digital Innovation Award for the innovative way Council integrated its corporate applications with the NSW Planning Portal.
"Bayside's integration with the NSW Planning Portal is leading the way for local government in NSW. Integration means that we have seamless, automated transfer of information between Council's systems and the Portal, which improves efficiency and customer experience," Bayside Mayor Dr Christina Curry said.
"I would like to congratulate all staff involved in this project.
"While most NSW Councils have had to employ additional staff to undertake manual administrative processes to work with the Planning Portal, the automation that comes with Bayside's integration solution has allowed us to redeploy administrative resources into other areas of Council that deliver direct services to our community."
Bayside Council's child-orientated community engagement around the Sir Joseph Banks Masterplan received the Stakeholder Engagement Award.
Council shares this Award with Cred Consulting and Collective Impact Arts who were engaged by Council to help deliver the community consultation.
The Award recognises the best practice public engagement and collaborative process Council undertook in planning the regional play space now under construction.
"The engagement for Sir Joseph Banks regional play facility was intentionally focussed on the children that the facility is being provided for. The feedback was so insightful that it allowed our designers to shape and tailor the facility in a very purposeful and meaningful way," Mayor Curry said.
"Bayside is very grateful to the kids and families who participated in this innovative engagement. Now we know that the adventure play facility ticks the boxes of the kids who will use it, we are confident it will be a huge success."
