It is a common misconception that planning and environmental regulation is the same across the whole of the UK. While it could be said that, in general, the situation in Great Britain is reasonably uniform, the situation is different in Northern Ireland. The distinctions are partly historical and political but, particularly in relation to planning, are also driven by geographical differences between Northern Ireland and the mainland. A direct copy of the British legislative framework would not fit the bill.
That is not to say, however, that the legislative framework in Northern Ireland is ideally suited to the complex economical, political and societal pressures that exist today – far from it. With the differences in legislation also come a variety of problems in terms of planning and environment regulation that are also unique to Northern Ireland and require specialist local knowledge to deal with.
