Courage to Create Impact - 2025 VPELA Conference

This year’s annual Victorian Planning & Environment Law Association VPELA Conference (held in Lorne on 28 & 29 August) brought together the planning industry to explore the challenges and opportunities of delivering housing and strategic projects across Victoria.

Under the theme ‘Courage to Create Impact’ the conference served as a call to action for those who lead, innovate and disrupt with purpose. It challenged industry leaders to step into the unknown, rethink the status quo and consider how courage can fuel transformation across planning and development.

Joseph from Hygge contributed to an In Focus Panel Session – ‘Built for Belonging: Community, Housing and the Future of Small Towns’ alongside:

  • Dean Landy, Partner at Clarke Hopkins Clarke – a leader in cities and precincts projects, experienced in regional town revitalisation and complex master planning both in Australia and internationally; and

  • Emma Hall, Director of Placemaking at Village Well – a strategic placemaker with experience in delivering projects aligning place, people and purpose.

Panel discussion with Dean, Emma and Joseph alongside facilitator Jodi Kennedy - General Manager Community and Culture, Bass Coast Shire Council, at the State planning conference.

The panel explored what it means to create vibrant communities in small towns. From the big-picture vision to practical housing delivery, the discussion unpacked how regional communities can respond to growth and change while staying true to their character and sense of place.

Joseph shared insights from Hygge’s work across Victoria’s regional centres, emphasising the balance required between scale and place.

The panel members were grateful to VPELA for facilitating regional Victorian placemaking conversations and enabling knowledge, lessons and perspectives to be shared across the planning and development industries.

Hygge PropertyLaura van Dyk