The ICLRD research report, Strategic Spatial Planning and the Framework for
Cooperation: Strengthening Alignment on the Island of Ireland, launched on 29 April
2026, provides the most comprehensive assessment to date of cross-border spatial
planning practice and strategic alignment between Northern Ireland and Ireland.
Over the past 25 years, strategic spatial planning has become an increasingly
important mechanism for guiding sustainable development across the island of
Ireland. Commissioned by the Royal Town Planning Institute – Northern Ireland
Branch, the report conducts the first detailed comparison of the 2012 Regional
Development Strategy (RDS) 2035 and the revised National Planning Framework
(NPF), published in April 2025, and evaluates the role and continued relevance of
the Framework for Co-operation (2013). Utilising a methodology that employed both
qualitative and quantitative data, and sector-wide engagement through the RTPI
Northern Ireland Annual Planning Conference 2025, the report considers the degree
of, and potential for further, policy alignment/divergence across three key policy
areas:
Transport,
Health, well-being and quality of life, and
Economic development.
The research finds that while cross-border co-operation is widely valued and actively
taking place, it remains uneven and constrained by structural, institutional, and
political barriers. Increasing divergence between spatial planning strategies in the
two jurisdictions risks undermining long-term alignment, particularly in the context of
evolving economic, environmental, and governance challenges.
The report’s conclusions and recommendations underline a critical moment for
spatial planning on the island of Ireland. With increasing pressures from climate
change, economic transformation, and infrastructure demand, the need for more
aligned, strategic, and collaborative approaches has never been greater.
The official launch event in Newry on 29 April brought together planning practitioners
from Ireland and Northern Ireland, with a panel discussion after the presentation of
the key research findings, which included the research team, Rosemary Daly, Chief
Planner for Northern Ireland, Department for Infrastructure (DfI), Claragh Mulhern,
Chief Planner for Ireland, Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage
(DHLGH) and Sinéad Mullen, Office of the Planning Regulator (OPR).
Download report here.