Planning applications received by council in Northern Ireland: Changes from 2021/22 to 2024/25 Overall, planning application volumes peaked in 2021/22 (13,600 total received, post-COVID recovery) and have declined steadily since, reaching 9,716 in 2024/25 — a cumulative decrease of ~28.5% over three years. The pattern is broadly similar across councils: most saw significant drops, reflecting […]
Year-on-year planning application volumes in Northern Ireland (financial years, April to March) show a downward trend in recent years, based on official statistics from the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) and NISRA. Recent annual figures for applications received: This indicates a post-2021 peak decline, with volumes dropping over 28% from 2021/22 to 2024/25. Longer-term context suggests […]
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Why a Bridge Matters: What a Major Economic Report Tells Us About Our Region Understanding the economics behind the Strangford Lough Bridge The Report Everyone’s Talking About In December 2025, Ireland’s leading economic research organization (the ESRI) published a major study comparing economic performance across Ireland and Northern Ireland. While it might sound like dry […]
Strangford Lough Crossing: Building the Case for Strategic Infrastructure A Comprehensive Analysis of Need, Viability, and Best Practice Delivery December 2024Kevin Barry BSc(Hons) MRICS Executive Summary The Strangford Lough Crossing (SLC) represents one of Northern Ireland’s most significant unrealised infrastructure opportunities. A permanent crossing between Portaferry and Strangford would: This analysis examines the evidence base […]
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Why Northern Ireland Needs to Use All 24 Hours of the Day — and Why the Strangford Lough Crossing (SLC) Is a Critical First Step Northern Ireland’s long-term productivity problem is well known. Output per worker lags the UK average, investment is low, and our rural areas suffer from restricted accessibility and limited economic participation. […]
Why Northern Ireland’s Productivity Can Only Rise by Using All 24 Hours — Lessons from the World Northern Ireland consistently ranks near the bottom of UK productivity tables.The reasons are familiar: small firms, weak infrastructure, limited capital investment, rural geography, and a historic dependence on public-sector employment. But the biggest structural constraint is rarely acknowledged: […]
Do Bridges Kill Villages? What UK and Irish Evidence Really Says About Strangford–Portaferry During an Adjournment Debate on traffic flows in Newtownards, Kellie Armstrong MLA said she does “not agree with the idea of a bridge from Portaferry to Strangford”, arguing that: “The villages would end overnight because the bridge would not be where the […]