Award success for the Milford Sound | Piopiotahi Masterplan

The Resource Management Law Association (RMLA) named the Masterplan their 2022 Project of the Year; and the New Zealand Planning Institute (NZPI) gave it the 2022 Best Practice Award for Strategic Planning and Guidance.

The Masterplan sets a strategy for land use, transport and infrastructure, ecological conservation, natural hazard management, cultural experience and the operation of tourism within Piopiotahi Milford Sound, Milford Road, Te Anau basin and the surrounding area. It intends to address concerns about managing the rapid increase in visitor numbers, aging tourism infrastructure and the potential impacts of these on the character of the landscape and mana whenua values.

The RMLA Award was presented to Boffa Miskell and Stantec, jointly, and recognised the project team “for their outstanding masterplan, combining simplicity, vision and robust analysis, and likely to deliver excellent and lasting outcomes for Piopiotahi and the wider Southland community.”

Landscape planner Yvonne Pflüger is a member of the RMLA, and part of the project team.

“The Masterplan acknowledges the rarity of what we have, and the need to protect the natural splendour and ecological integrity of Milford Sound Piopiotahi, while also allowing for its continued visitation and enjoyment,” Yvonne says.

Jane Rennie is a planner and member of the NZPI, and accepted that Institute’s Best Practice award, together with urban designer Tim Church and Emma Monk of Stantec.

Jane says, “We are very honoured that the Milford Sound Piopiotahi Masterplan has been given the 2022 NZPI Award for Strategic Planning and Guidance and to accept this award as a member of the Milford Opportunities Project team; on behalf of the Governance Group, Project Working Group and the wider Boffa Miskell and Stantec consultancy team who led the Masterplan process; and on behalf of the many other groups and stakeholders who have contributed to this landmark document.”

The Masterplan is the critical middle stage of a three-stage process, bridging the gap and providing Guidance between the Vision (prepared by others) and the Implementation Stages. It has enabled Government ministers across Conservation, Tourism, and Transport portfolios to jointly coordinate and agree, through Cabinet, the allocation of $15 million dollars of establishment funding. This has, in turn, allowed the Project Partners to set up a governance structure, a dedicated implementation unit and then progress the planning, design and consenting of the Masterplan recommendations.

For further information please contact Jane Rennie, Tim Church or Yvonne Pflüger