Client: McConnell Dowell
Project type: Recreation Planning and Placemaking

Planning Futures was responsible for managing and directing a comprehensive stakeholder and community engagement process on behalf of McConnell Dowell and Gould Thorpe Planning that included the conception and establishment of a Placemaking Group to guide the design and implementation of a significant investment in recreation and open spaces under the Torrens Road bridge at Ovingham.

Whilst driven by the goal to remove the level crossing, the construction of the large bridge over the rail line provided an opportunity to create active spaces beneath to the benefit of the community. Central to the principles of the Placemaking Group was the bringing together of the two local councils with the incorporation of indigenous interpretive art (Aboriginal Urban Design) and architectural elements (Arup, Cox Architecture and Aspect Studios).

Planning Futures was integral to early establishment of the placemaking group and the facilitation of key stakeholders to deliver an award-winning outcome for the community.