Inglenooks Victorious In Planning Institute Of Australia Awards

May has ended with yet another community-led project within the City of Stirling recognised for its excellence; this time for the 2021 Planning Institute of Australia Planning Excellence Awards.

The Inglewood on Beaufort community group has helped breathe new life into the Beaufort Street shopping precinct with the construction of two beautifully landscaped civic spaces.

Dubbed ‘Inglenooks’, the vibrant public open spaces face Beaufort Street and have transformed previously underutilised garden beds and paved areas between Ninth and Tenth Avenues into an inviting destination offering shade, lighting, art, games and gardens for the public to enjoy.

Inglewood on Beaufort previously won the Australian Institute of Architecture’s WA Chapter Great Place Award and this week took out the 2021 Great Place Award at the National Awards for Planning Excellence, livestreamed in a virtual ceremony.

Chair of Inglewood on Beaufort, Damien Giudici said the Inglenooks civic spaces encouraged shoppers and locals to take a seat and relax with a coffee or a bite to eat, meet friends and neighbours or take a break from a walk with the kids or your fur baby.

“Involvement from the local community, businesses and landowners was a key factor in making Inglenooks a reality,” he said.

“Locals identified the space, came up with ideas for what should go in the spaces and helped carry out landscaping works at a planting day hosted by Inglewood on Beaufort where more than 270 native and non-native plants were added.”

“We’re very proud of the spaces we dreamt up, designed and delivered for our growing throngs of Inglewood-lovers to enjoy.

“After many years, conversations, emails, meetings, funding applications and dedication, we’re delighted to see so many people seek out the Inglenooks to soak up the sun (or shade under the new umbrellas), meet up with friends or watch their kids play.

Mayor Mark Irwin said for the past five years, Inglewood on Beaufort had managed the seasonal and highly successful Monday Night Markets, where up to 50 vendors offer international food flavours along both sides of Beaufort Street.

“Over the past month the City of Stirling community has received a number of awards across a wide variety of services and projects,” he said.

“The new Bina Parkland was awarded Park of the Year; long-serving City staff member Keith Rickman was named Waste Champion 2021, and Scarborough Beach Pool won a Gold Waterwise Award from the State Government.

“Now, the Inglewood on Beaufort Town Team has been recognised for planning excellence and place activation, and I am thrilled that the local community and City staff have been able to come together to deliver a better place that is competitively compared to other precincts and places across Australia.”

In awarding the project, the Planning Institute of Australia panel stated that Inglenooks had empowered the local community, created new energy for events in the area, and supporting local businesses.

“Inglenooks has transformed road-widening setbacks, and created outdoor living rooms for a suburb that is reinvigorating its identity with events and community organisations. This great place has illustrated that small projects can have very big impacts, evidenced by their high level of use by the community," the panel said.

Funding for the project was provided via revenue from the Monday Night Markets and grants from the Federal Government, State Government, the City of Stirling and RAC WA, and features art by WA artist and designer George Domahidy, who specialises in public art, murals and community projects.

The City’s work to reduce red tape was also highlighted at the national awards, with the Small Business Friendly Approvals Project one of five nominees across Australia in the Improving Processes and Practices Category.