CLARENCE RIVER WAY MASTER PLAN

Clarence Valley, NSW

With more than 400 kilometres of waterways, the Clarence River, in the Northern Rivers district of NSW, has the potential to become Australia’s premier river holiday destination. The Clarence River Way is an integrated market-driven development initiative designed to enhance the site as a tourist spot and increase economic outcomes by linking towns and villages in the region.

CLOUSTON’s master plan aimed at leveraging the Clarence Valley’s unique selling points and greatest competitive advantage – the Clarence River and related built, natural and cultural attractions. The project, underpinned by extensive community and industry consultation, was described at its inception by local mayor Richie Williamson as “not just another plan. It’s about setting development and infrastructure goals for the region, establishing a single destination vision.”

Three years on and three awards later, Clarence Valley Council’s general manager Scott Greensill could report (in The Daily Examiner, 3 September 2012), “The Clarence River Way Master Plan is not gathering dust. It has been embraced by the whole of council and feeds into many areas of operational planning.”