Moonee Ponds Creek Strategic Opportunities Plan was named Best in Category Winner for Design Strategy at the Victorian Premier’s Design Awards from a field of nine finalists. The 2019 awards were presented at a special ceremony on 20 November at MPavilion in Melbourne.

The Victorian Premier’s Design Awards recognise the potential of the design sector to influence every aspect of the state’s life – from health and education to transport and the environment.

As an integrated water design and management plan, the Moonee Ponds Creek Strategic Opportunities Plan seeks to change our relationship with, and perception of Moonee Ponds Creek as a stormwater corridor and living waterway. Underpinning the project is McGregor Coxall’s strategy that prompts stakeholders to accept, embrace and work with the creek’s flood cycles. The objective is to transform the waterway into a more resilient, sustainable corridor, using strategies such as alternative land use, catchment-wide collaborative governance and dynamic landscapes.

Moonee Ponds Creek flows 25 kilometres through some of Melbourne’s fastest-growing areas. Rapid urban growth increases the urgent need for innovative ways to manage the risks and opportunities for the creek corridor. McGregor Coxall’s Plan declares, “The liveability of Melbourne is connected to the future of Moonee Ponds Creek.”

Founding Director Adrian McGregor said, “It’s great to see a project that tackles strategic issues around waterway management in an urban context acknowledged by the Premier’s Design Awards”, and congratulated the McGregor Coxall project leader Miranda Wilkinson and the team. “Most importantly we thank our client, the City of Melbourne, and our collaborators at Wave Consulting” McGregor added.