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Inside Track – Insights and Analytics event

On 13 June our Belfast team hosted their annual Inside Track event.

The event, held in the heart of the city, was the second annual Turley Inside Track, building on our successful event last year, and provided a comprehensive update on the performance of the Northern Ireland planning system.

The analysis focused on the performance and decision making of each of the 11 planning authorities, both in processing planning applications and progress made in Area Plan making. We were joined by speakers from University of Ulster, who added their research insights into the current trends in the residential sector.

Head of Planning Northern Ireland, Michael Gordon welcomed guests explaining that in the four years since Planning Reform in April 2015, we have seen increasing maturity in council decision making.

Presentations led by Director, Strategic Communications, John Davison and Associate Director, Planning, Sara Tinsley shared the findings of  statistical analysis of every decision made by each of the planning committees since the transfer of planning functions to local councils in April 2015. We have analysed the performance of the 11 authorities across three key metrics: volume, speed and quality of decision making, and set out the year on year, council v council and in year trends.

Director, Planning, Angela Wiggam and Associate Director, Planning, Emma Walker provided their thoughts on the delivery of Local Development Plans (LDPs). In the period since Planning Reform several of the local council’s LDPs have reached draft Plan Strategy stage, with more expected to reach that milestone later this year. There are, however, no plans to be adopted this year meaning that no council has delivered within the departmental target aspirations of 40 months.

We were also joined by University of Ulster guests, Professor Martin Haran and Sean MacIntyre who provided insights to the conclusions of their recent work for the Forum for a Better Housing Market in Northern Ireland. The research sought to investigate the key barriers to the provision, performance and implementation of housing development and to provide effective evidence-based solutions for the delivery of a more sustainable housing market that works for Northern Ireland.

Presentations were followed by a Q&A led by Director, Planning, Brian Kelly, with discussions ranging from questions around strategic housing growth numbers and council co-operation in Plan making, to the value of pre-application discussions in reducing application determination timeframes and measurability of that stage.

For more information on Local Development Plans, please visit our showcase page here, or for further information on the event please contact Sara Tinsley.

24 June 2019