Conference Proceedings

Abstract

A consultation on draft high level guidance for road design of streets in town and city centers in Northern Ireland ended in October 2013. The addition to the guidance through this proposal needs examples to allow designers to apply the high level guidance mentioned in practical situations. For mixed use developments in Northern Ireland designers have to apply the Design Manual for Roads and Bridge (DMRB) and seek formal departures and relaxations through the planning service in order to gain approval for proposals for a development. This is an unwieldy process and recognizing this, the authorities in England, Scotland and Wales have moved to provide design guidance. Northern Ireland has therefore fallen behind in in this respect. Seven case studies in the Belfast City Council area which is the largest council in Northern Ireland are used in this paper to provide a gap analysis in the existing legislation and suggest ways the current consultation proposal could be implemented on the ground.