Welcome to the March 2026 edition of the MAG Newsletter
We have taken the opportunity in this edition of our newsletter to outline a number of areas of our work that may be of interest to you.
Safe and Sustainable Neighbourhoods - The Importance of Good Design
On Wednesday 19 November, the annual MAG Symposium took place at St Comgall’s, Belfast. This year’s theme, “Safe and Sustainable Neighbourhoods: The Importance of Good Design” brought together speakers from across a range of disciplines to explore the future of housing, placemaking, and community safety in Northern Ireland.
Andrew Haley, MAG Chair, set the tone for the ambition, shared by all present, to share knowledge to create better places for our fellow citizens, reminding all that collaborations and relationships are the resource and the basis for learning from each other to get the best outcome for the places we desire.
The panel of speakers comprised:
- Paul Price, Deputy Secretary for the Housing and Sustainability Group within the Department of Communities who opened the event.
- Dr David Coyles, Senior Lecturer at Ulster University and MAG Member, followed with a concise historical overview of housing in Northern Ireland.
- Pete Connolly MBE, tutor and assessor at the Secured by Design Police Crime Prevention Academy, presented on the relationship between policing and design.
- Chris Sloan, Service Lead for the PSNI Design Out Crime Unit, reinforced the importance of a practical, common-sense approach to crime prevention in design.
- Anita Conway, Director of Development at Radius Housing, outlined her organisation's achievements to date.
- Richard Doorly, Director at Henry J Lyons Architects, discussed the increasing complexity of regulatory frameworks in the Republic of Ireland, identifying this as a key challenge for architects.
- Sam Dill, Director at Studiorogers, presented a selection of their Northern Ireland projects, each shaped by its specific context.
Throughout the day, attendees participated in roundtable discussions exploring housing on greenfield sites, experiences with Secured by Design, and the integration of green technologies into new developments. These sessions generated constructive debate and highlighted diverse perspectives across the room.
Next steps
MAG has collated the responses from the round table discussions and are working towards further influencing this sector to provide better outcomes in terms of design, creation of secure neighbourhoods and ease of delivery.
Please visit the DfC website for more information on the MAG Housing Symposium 2025 including speakers, presentations and photo gallery:
Guest speakers at the MAG symposium Safe and Sustainable Neighbourhoods - The Importance of Good Design
MAG Principles paper launch
The Ministerial Advisory Group on Architecture and the Built Environment has been developing two new Principles documents that consider how the design, planning and management of the built environment in Northern Ireland can support healthier, safer and more inclusive places.
The Urban Green and Blue Space Principles respond to the specific urban, landscape and environmental context of Northern Ireland, recognising the importance of parks, waterways, coastlines and everyday green infrastructure in towns and cities. The principles are intended to support planners, architects and urban designers in embedding high-quality green and blue space within development and regeneration, contributing to health, wellbeing, biodiversity, climate resilience and equitable access across communities.
The Prevention of Violence Against Women and Girls in Outdoor Public Spaces Principles consider how the planning, design and stewardship of streets and outdoor public spaces in Northern Ireland can help reduce risk and improve perceptions of safety. Aimed at those shaping and managing the public realm, the principles emphasise inclusive design, everyday activity, visibility, connectivity and long-term care, recognising local patterns of movement, use and governance.
Together, the documents are intended as practical, design-led resources to inform policy, planning and project delivery across Northern Ireland. They will be launched as part of an event on “Designing Healthier Cities: A cross-sector summit on health, equity and place” event on Tuesday 12 May at Titanic Belfast. If you are interested in attending, please register at:
Spaces are limited.
"Designing Healthier Cities: A cross-sector summit on health, equity and place” event flyer
DfC policy update on residential building safety
MAG member Rodney Hall attended DfC policy update on residential building safety in the Clayton Hotel, Belfast on 27 November 2025.
The Northern Ireland high rise residential asset is approximately 280 existing buildings, approximately half of which are in public ownership, social housing, and a further 40 are corporately owned, leaving approximately 100 in private ownership.
High rise buildings are currently defined as those over four storeys (five or more storeys). DfC presented its proposals to improve the safety of high-rise residential buildings (HRRB) in Northern Ireland which includes legislation which seeks to reinforce the current Building Regulations and current mandatory standards and practice. A new ‘duty holder’ will be created, the high-rise responsible person (HRRP), and this person will have an ongoing duty to the occupiers post completion of the building.
The HRRP is proposed be a consultee at planning stage, primarily to ensure that site is appropriate for high rise, and that the design includes appropriate access for NI Fire and Rescue Service. The HRRP is proposed to have ‘STOP’ powers at defined key stages (planning, design and construct, completion and occupation), with plan approval and site inspection duties remaining with Local Authority Building Control teams. The HRRP will have ongoing duties throughout the life of the building to ensure fire safety integrity is retained. The legislation will be drafted to clearly define the roles and scope, learning from the experience of recent building safety legislation implemented in England.
Following the DfC presentation, the meeting was opened for questions from the floor. Around 60 people were present, including architects, developers, and estate managers, and a lively response followed.
The issues raised included: the robustness of definitions; consistency of interpretation; responsibility of HRRP; resourcing the new roles and additional duties; potential of additional costs for maintenance and repair of high-rise residential buildings; and proportionality of application of the regulations for privately-owned building stock.
Improving safety in high rise residential buildings in NI
2026 Northern Ireland Federation of Housing Associations - Housing Development and Asset Management conference
Tackling the challenges ahead
The 2026 Housing Development and Asset Management Conference on 12 February brought together leaders and specialists from across Northern Ireland’s social housing sector, including directors of development, directors of asset management and maintenance, CEOs, board members, and senior management teams from housing associations and the Northern Ireland Housing Executive.
This year’s event focussed on the evolving challenges and emerging opportunities shaping the development and asset management landscape. As demand for high‑quality social and affordable housing continues to grow, development and asset management teams face increasing pressure to deliver more homes, upgrade existing stock, and meet higher standards while navigating tight financial constraints and a changing regulatory environment.
Sector challenges: delivering more in a harder environment
Housing professionals across Northern Ireland continue to operate against a backdrop of:
- rising construction and materials costs that place strain on development budgets
- limited availability of suitable land and increasing financial pressures
- a changing housing market, requiring careful approaches to mixed‑tenure communities
- higher design expectations, with a growing emphasis on future‑proofed homes that meet modern standards
- climate‑related obligations, including decarbonisation, energy efficiency measures, and adapting existing stock
- infrastructure barriers, particularly the ongoing water and sewerage capacity deficit that continues to restrict new development
- recent changes to the Department for Communities' funding model, which have created additional pressure when delivering new schemes.
Against this complex backdrop, the conference aimed to provide a practical and strategic platform for discussion; shining a light on how the sector can continue to deliver high‑quality homes and maintain existing stock effectively.
Spotlight session: new design guide standards and their financial impact
One of the key sessions explored the introduction of new standards within the Housing Design Guide and what these changes will mean for both development and asset management.
MAG Member Barry McCarron presented an overview of the proposed changes, offering insight into:
- key revisions currently under review within the Housing Design Guide
- the expected practical impact of both upward and downward movements in design requirements
- the relationship between new standards and DfC’s revised social housing development funding rates, and whether the updated guide can support housing associations in delivering planned projects within budget
- essential take‑away messages for organisations across the housing association and NIHE sectors as they strive to deliver new homes and maintain existing ones during a period of significant public funding pressure.
This session provided valuable clarity for development and asset management professionals who must balance quality, compliance, and cost‑effectiveness in a challenging environment.
MAG: Passivhaus for the Public Sector series launch - 23 February 2026
Attendees pictured at the event
The launch event of the MAG Passivhaus for the Public Sector series in Northern Ireland, titled “The Importance of Good Design: Reducing Risk, Cost and Carbon,” proved to be a significant success, attracting strong engagement from across the public-sector built environment community.
Delivered in collaboration with the UK Passivhaus Trust, the Passive House Association of Ireland, and Queen’s University Belfast, the session explored how the Passivhaus standard offers a robust, evidence-based pathway for delivering high-performance public buildings. Discussions focused on reducing operational costs, lowering carbon emissions, mitigating long-term asset risk, and enhancing occupant health and comfort through quality-led design.
Hosted in the Council Chamber at Queen’s University Belfast on 23 February 2026, the event was well attended, with representation from central and local government, housing providers, estates teams, and professionals spanning design, engineering, construction, and sustainability policy.
The session also marked the formal launch of a forthcoming three-part online webinar series, which will examine:
- 25 March, 1pm to 2.15pm - Small-scale public projects
- 22 April, 1pm to 2.15pm - Large-scale public developments
- 21 May, 1pm to 2.15pm - Public-sector housing delivery in Northern Ireland
Feedback from attendees has been overwhelmingly positive, highlighting both the quality of the presentations and the relevance of the content to current public-sector delivery challenges. MAG looks forward to building on this momentum through the upcoming webinars and continued cross-sector collaboration. Full details and copies of the presentations will be published in the next MAG Newsletter.
If you would like to express your interest in attending any of these MAG webinars, please contact the magsecretariat@communities-ni.gov.uk
Living High Streets - The Shankill: A Plan to Grow
The Shankill: A Plan to Grow a community-led plan for the area was launched on 19 February 2026. The Local Action Group, facilitated by Carlin Planning and DfC, used the Living High Streets Craft Kit to produce a community-led plan for the area.
Communities Minister Gordon Lyons has welcomed the launch of a new plan to support the growth of the Greater Shankill area in Belfast.
For more information, visit:
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