The Spit Wins National Award

The Spit Master Plan has won the award for Public Engagement & Community Planning in the  PIA National Awards for Planning Excellence 2020.

Released in May last year, the master plan set a clear direction for the site’s 201 hectares — balancing tourism, recreation, environment and cultural heritage.

The plan was a huge step forward after years of uncertainty for the iconic Gold Coast location. It delivered a cohesive blueprint for The Spit’s future, built on a foundation of inclusiveness, collaboration and consensus between stakeholders and the community.

Our project team included the Department of State Development, Manufacturing, Infrastructure and Planning, John Gaskell Planning Consultants, Deicke Richards, Aspect Studios, Articulous, City of Gold Coast, Gold Coast Waterways Authority.

PIA: “The community played an active role at key decision points and was integrally involved at each stage of the master planning process – delivering a master plan developed ‘by the community, for the community’. This has overcome community scepticism, provided transferable lessons for planning for contested places and demonstrates the importance of planning to the wider community.”

Read about our role in The Spit Master Plan project in our case study.