Queensland Sites
Our Town Our Future “growing a town and strengthening a region”
A Revitalisation Strategy for Ingham, Queensland
introduction / overview / slides / location / Qld-Projects
Landscape Architect: Vital Places
LOCATION Ingham is rural town located on the Bruce Highway, 110 kilometres north of Townsville, situated in the Herbert River Valley within Hinchinbrook Shire.
OVERVIEW
Our Town Our Future is an integrated revitalisation strategy for the town of Ingham and the Shire of Hinchinbrook. The project aimed to look beyond the typical design response of streetscape beautification to develop a cluster of catalyst projects that would deliver the community’s vision through a sustainable triple bottom line action plan.
To ensure the Council could secure State and Federal funding support, the traditional master plan approach was evolved into creating a “Prospectus Document” for Public and Private sector investment. To date this approach has secured $6million of State Government funding with a further $4 million application to the Federal Government pending.
Whilst there are many high quality lifestyle and community attributes about living in Ingham and Hinchinbrook Shire, there has been a growing concern that there aren’t jobs for future generations. Children leave town for education and employment, and local businesses rely heavily on the sugar industry. The focus on job prospects for young people has been singled out as one of the most important challenges (amongst the host of other challenges faced by rural communities) to be addressed. Our Town Our future aims to dramatically improve this situation. The Strategy is a response to the challenge of protecting local lifestyle and growing employment.
As Mayor Pino says, “We now need to grow jobs as well as we grow sugar cane!”
BUDGET Planning Study Budget $ 170,000
The client’s original brief was for a streetscape improvement plan that would secure State and Federal Government funding to allow it implementation.
From the beginning of the process the client was advised that this approach would not secure funding and more importantly would not provide the long term outcomes the community would expect from such a large investment in public infrastructure.
The recommended process was to undertake appropriate background studies and engage with the local community to identify key values and issues that sustainable change should address for the Shire.
The result is an innovative design driven study that credibly addresses social, economic and environmental issues through a focused program of project driven initiatives.
The planning process has enabled a conservative community to embrace a vision of significant change that has already generated a confidence and local leadership commitment that has been until now unheard of for this Shire.
Innovative Solutions
The Strategy has been developed to meet the lifestyle and employment challenge through a strong place-based enterprise approach.
Notable features of the Strategy include –
Shire Wide Survey
A survey was sent to all households in the shire at the beginning of the process. The main purpose of this survey was to identify key local values as well as set a baseline for current community use of the Ingham town centre. The local values underpinned the development of the Strategies two key challenges:
Challenge 1: “Keeping the Mainstreets for the Locals”.
This challenge is all about protecting the lifestyle that the residents value. This requires the improvement of three mainstreet precincts to make them safer, shadier and more convenient.
Challenge 2: “Developing the Tyto Precinct as a doorway to new employment”
This challenge is all about making Ingham a must-see destination in Far North Queensland and providing local employment. This requires the creation of an eco-tourism, cultural and commercial precinct supporting the new Tyto Wetland Information Centre, a new precinct adjacent to the traditional Ingham Town Centre.
An Integrated Action Plan
Research and consultation had generated a number of discreet actions for the Ingham Revitalisation Strategy. These actions ranged across physical, cultural and economic initiatives to form an integrated action plan. This framework was used to transform the two key challenges into actions, and to derive the triple bottom line benefits to be delivered by the Strategy.
“Ingham Heartbeat Projects” (Challenge 1 Solutions)
The ‘Heartbeat Projects’ will identify, develop, promote, consolidate and deliver community-endorsed and culturally relevant projects for Ingham. These projects will provide local capacity building opportunities to further strengthen community identity and lifestyle.
The “Town Trail Project” will capture the 12 precinct priorities identified through community consultation with public infrastructure and streetscape improvements. The “Town Style Project” will enliven community events and celebrations that are special parts of local lifestyle.
“Ingham Enterprise Initiatives’ (Challenge 2 Solutions)
The 2026 Tyto Precinct Master Plan responds to the outcomes and key opportunities captured in the economic analysis. Key elements of the eco-tourism, cultural and commercial precincts are the -
- Tyto Wetlands Centre (new information centre, natural and productive landscape settings, rehabilitated wetland settings)
- Ingham Cultural Complex (regional gallery, library, museum)
- Enterprise Cluster (business incubators in recycled buildings)
- Sustainable Housing (new town centre housing which showcases tropical design)
Consultation
A comprehensive consultation program has underpinned the development of the Revitalisation Strategy. These activities involved stakeholder workshops, community meetings, newspaper inserts, plan exhibition and information, and feedback forms.
The Council and the community have taken ownership of the Strategy with Councillors (not just consultants!) engaging with the community, and allowing the community to set the precinct priorities. The average support for the priority areas of the Strategy was 82%. Over 600 feedback forms were returned providing an 11.8% response rate and a database of over 200 residents keen to be involved in the Strategy.
A common theme articulated by community members has been a desire for bold ideas and for the Council to stop talking about revitalisation and start doing it.
Environmental responsibility and sustainability:
The Our Town Our Future Revitalisation Strategy integrated best practice environmental planning in the preservation of local wetland flora and fauna. The rare TYTO Grass Owl is the icon for the economic revitalisation strategy. The TYTO Wetlands have been integrated as the unique environmental asset of the town’s revitalisation initiative.
The rehabilitation of the wetlands flood plain is a significant design component of the master plan.
Other Sustainability Principles
Biodiversity
The protection and enhancement of the TYTO Wetlands secures an internationally recognised bird watching habitat. The proposed environmental and cultural tourism initiatives will further secure the biodiversity of this significant habitat.
Landscape Materials
The use and integration of local landscape materials is a critical component of the Master Plan approach for the TYTO Precinct.
Microclimate
The integration and existing parkland trees and the inclusion of extensive new planting within the town and the new employment precinct seek to improve the microclimate in the subtropical extremes of Ingham.
Food Growing & Waste Recycling
The master plan includes the development of indigenous and European food gardens as part of interpreting the cultural heritage of the Shire and town. All new buildings will be required to provide best practice water processes.
Energy Use & Maintenance
All new buildings and public spaces will be required to provide best practice application of energy use and low maintenance requirements.
Relevance to the profession of landscape architecture, the public and the education of the future practitioners:
Our Town Our Future show cases how Landscape Architecture can develop and implement innovative and effective approaches to community engagement. The project clearly shows how local values can be interpreted into a cluster of catalyst projects for the encouragement of long term sustainability. The local and government support for this project demonstrates the power of good landscape architectural practice.
introduction / overview / slides / location / Qld-Projects
2008
