Planning in the outback
The Northern Flinders Ranges is a special place for many reasons — the majestic landscapes, the wildlife, the natural beauty, and tranquil spaces, to name a few.
Uniquely, the region is the only place in the world where 350 million years of near-continuous geological sequence can be seen, and that demonstrates the evolution of a habitable planet and the dawn of animal life.
In the interest of recognition and preservation, the South Australian Government has lodged a world heritage nomination for the Flinders Ranges. This international status will give rise to increased visitors to the area.
To plan for this Jensen PLUS has been engaged by Outback Communities Authority to review infrastructure requirements that will support increased visitor numbers to the Northern Flinders Ranges.
Senior Urban Designer + Urban Planner Pat Iwanyshyn started the project with a three-day tour of the region to develop a deeper understanding of the area, townships, and challenges these communities will encounter in the face of increased tourists.
“The Northern Flinders Ranges is a vast region covering Wilpena Pound to Leigh Creek,” says Pat.
“We covered a lot of ground in the three-day tour, visiting townships and key destinations and meeting a lot of people who were very engaged in the conversations and keen to share their experiences, local knowledge and ideas.”
With others from Outback Communities Authority and Regional Development Australia, Pat visited Rawnsley Park, Wilpena Pound Resort, Willow Springs, Binman, Angorichina Village, Parachilna, Beltana, Leigh Creek, Copley, Nilpena, Aroona Sanctuary, Copley, Wadna and Willow Springs.
“It was the first time I had visited some of these places. Each town is unique and each presents unique challenges and opportunities when it comes to tourism.”
The tour formed part of a tourism infrastructure audit and the conversations on the ground provided Pat with a local and lived perspective, shedding light on a number of key considerations for the next stages of the project.
“Engagement with community is an essential part of the process and this tour was invaluable, highlighting vital issues, such as traffic movement and peak times, that I otherwise wouldn’t have known,” says Pat.
“There are exciting opportunities for the region but with this comes some complex problems. For example, some of the towns will need to expand water and power supply, improve road networks and enhance waste collection and disposal services.”
But Pat says this only scratches the surface.
“With an influx of tourism undoubtedly on the doorstep, access to additional land may be required for development. However, much of the land is Crown or pastoral land which means it cannot be easily developed and the towns cannot be expanded. These are some of the challenges that the project team will be working through in the next stages of the project.
“Using findings from the tourism audit, the next stage of the project will include stakeholder engagement that will be undertaken in the coming months. This will mark the first major engagement piece of the project and will include testing and workshopping ideas and seeking more input from stakeholders.”
