Table Of ContentPLANNING LAW AND PRACTICE IN
NORTHERN IRELAND
Each of the jurisdictions within the United Kingdom is constantly refining the operational
characteristics of its planning system and while there are some common practices, there are also
substantive divergences. In each territory the planning template is shaped within a dynamic
political and legal context and thus students and practitioners require an accessible, in-depth
and up-to-date literature dealing with this matter. The multi-disciplinary contributors to
this expanded Second Edition of Planning Law and Practice in Northern Ireland explore the
progression of planning within the region and discuss prominent facets of contemporary
development management, development plans, environmental law, property law and
professional practice. Consideration is given to the consequences of Brexit for planning in
Northern Ireland, devolved government institutional structures for planning, and the post-
2015 emergent performance of local authorities in this arena. The book makes an important
contribution to the wider literature in this field and, with its extensive citing of statutes and
cases, provides an essential resource for students, planning practitioners and researchers.
Stephen McKay is Reader in Planning Law and Practice and was Head of Planning at
Queen’s University Belfast. He is a Chartered Town Planner. He was Co-Director of the 2021
award winning UK Knowledge Transfer Project VU City that has created an interactive 3D
digital model to help inform development management decision making.
Michael Murray, prior to retirement, was Reader in Spatial Planning at Queen’s University
Belfast and where, as Honorary Associate, he continues his writing on international planning,
rural development and planning law. His recent scholarship includes The Camino de Santiago:
Curating the Pilgrimage as Heritage and Tourism published by Berghahn Books in 2021.
PLANNING LAW
AND PRACTICE IN
NORTHERN IRELAND
Second Edition
Edited by Stephen McKay and Michael Murray
Cover image: Martin Siepmann | Getty Images.
2nd Edition published 2023
by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2023 selection and editorial matter, Stephen McKay and Michael Murray; individual chapters, the contributors
The right of Stephen McKay and Michael Murray to be identified as the authors of the editorial material, and of
the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any
electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording,
or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for
identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
First edition published by Routledge, 2017
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: McKay, Stephen, editor. | Murray, Michael, 1953- editor.
Title: Planning law and practice in Northern Ireland / edited by Stephen McKay and Michael Murray.
Description: 2nd edition. | Abingdon, Oxon [UK] ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2022. | Includes bibliographical
references and index. |
Identifiers: LCCN 2022017455 (print) | LCCN 2022017456 (ebook) | ISBN 9781032110745 (hardback) |
ISBN 9781032110738 (paperback) | ISBN 9781003218319 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Regional planning--Law and legislation--Northern Ireland.
Classification: LCC KDE135 .P57 2022 (print) | LCC KDE135 (ebook) |
DDC 346.41604/5--dc23/eng/20220831
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022017455
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022017456
ISBN: 9781032110745 (hbk)
ISBN: 9781032110738 (pbk)
ISBN: 9781003218319 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003218319
Typeset in Bembo
by Deanta Global Publishing Services, Chennai, India
To the memory of John H. Caldwell, Senior Lecturer in
Town and Country Planning at Queen’s University Belfast
from 1971 to 1998
CONTENTS
List of illustrations ix
List of tables xi
List of contributors xii
Foreword xiv
Preface to first edition xvi
Preface to second edition xviii
1 The evolving Northern Ireland planning system 1
Stephen McKay and Michael Murray
2 Development and planning applications 33
Stephen McKay and Michael Murray
3 Amenity and special forms of development management 77
Stephen McKay and Michael Murray
4 Continuity and change in development plans 117
Stephen McKay
5 Evolution and application of enforcement 137
Jane McKay and Stephen McKay
6 Developer contributions and ‘planning agreements’ 168
Thomas Murphy, John McCord and Michael McCord
7 Judicial review in the planning arena 188
Stephen McKay and Michael Murray
viii Contents
8 Environmental law in Northern Ireland 222
Brian Jack
9 Environmental health and protection 241
Sean MacIntyre
10 Environmental impact assessment and development management 265
Neil Galway and Stephen McKay
11 Planning and renewable energy 281
Stephen McKay and Michael Murray
12 Planning and placemaking 297
Mura Quigley
13 Marine spatial planning 307
Heather Ritchie, Joseph Onwona Ansong and Wesley Flannery
14 Cross-border spatial planning 326
Gavan Rafferty
15 Equality law, good relations and planning 342
Diane O’Neill and Brendan Murtagh
16 Property law and planning 358
Thomas Murphy, John McCord and Peadar Davis
17 Liquor licensing law and planning 397
Michael Murray
18 Planning and professional practice 416
Gary McGhee, William Orbinson QC, Stephen McKay and Michael Murray
Appendix: Northern Ireland Judicial Decisions 427
Index 437
ILLUSTRATIONS
Figures
2.1 Humpty Dumpty and Alice 52
3.1 C onservation Areas in Northern Ireland, 2022 (with dates of designation) 89
3.2 Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Northern Ireland 108
9.1 An approach to environmental assessment 261
10.1 M atrix of issues to inform a scoping opinion 270
13.1 M aritime zones under UNCLOS 311
13.2 M arine boundary areas and approximate location of the proposed
Tunes Plateau Offshore Wind Farm 312
13.3 New marine governance regime 317
14.1 Regional Authorities in Ireland, 1994 331
14.2 Regional Assemblies in Ireland, 2015 332
14.3 The Irish Central Border Area 335
14.4 The East Border Region 336
Photographs
1.1 S ir Robert Matthew, 1963 4
2.1 C ompletion Notice site in Portstewart, 2012 72
2.2 Completion Notice site in Portstewart, 2014 73
3.1 Off-licence advertisement in rural Australia 80
3.2 Flags mounted on telephone cable posts in Northern Ireland 85
3.3 Belfast city centre Conservation Area building 92
3.4 Property at 141 (centre) and 143 (left) Central Promenade,
Newcastle within The Harbour, The Rock and King Street Area of
Townscape Character 96
3.5 Listed Building at 108 Strand Road, Portstewart 100
