Mid Richmond Place Plans

Place Design Group in partnership with Meridian Urban were engaged by Richmond Valley Council to prepare combined place planning and disaster adaptation strategies for the Mid-Richmond villages of Coraki, Woodburn, Broadwater-Riley’s Hill and Evans Head. While these communities had been severely impacted by catastrophic flooding in 2022 and were facing an uncertain future, their strong connection to their homes, village environment and social networks endures. Council wanted to ensure that, wherever possible, they could remain safely in place and continue to adapt and thrive.

While Council had previously commissioned Place Planning for its inland communities, it had never attempted to integrate these plans with disaster adaptation pathways. In this regard, Place Design Group’s creative approach, supported by the expertise of specialist consultants Meridian Urban, proved invaluable. The consultants’ use of the CSIRO’s ‘maintain, modify and transform’ approach to frame community conversations was particularly powerful. It developed pathways that residents found easy to understand and engage with and provided the tools they needed to move towards greater self-determination. The Place Plans helped these communities to see that they had a collective future and could play an active role in recreating and adapting their villages to face the challenges of a changing climate.

PIA acknowledged the success of the Place Plans with an award for excellence in the Climate Change & Resilience category and a commendation in the Strategic Planning category in the 2024 PIA NSW Planning Awards.