South Dublin County Council lands two awards at the Irish Planning Institute’s Irish Planning Awards 2023

The Irish Planning Institute (IPI) has announced South Dublin County Council as the winner of two categories, ‘Research and Innovation’ and ‘Workplace of the Year’ at this year’s Irish Planning Awards.

The awards gala ceremony took place on 28th September 2023 at Clontarf Castle Hotel.

South Dublin County Council’s ‘Instantaneous Data – A South Dublin Approach to Active Land Management’ project was declared the joint winner in the ‘Research and Innovation’ category, and the ‘#Making it Work @ SDCC Planning’ project was declared the winner in the ‘‘Workplace of the Year’ category.

The ‘Instantaneous Data- A South Dublin Approach to Active Land Management’ project produced a unique, effective, user-friendly instantaneous suite of information that provides evidence-based site data and map viewers which are multifunctional and futureproofed.

The Planning Department for South Dublin County Council was also recognised for its ‘#Making it Work @ SDCC Planning’ project as the winner for ‘Workplace of the Year’.

Members from South Dublin County Council receiving the award for the ‘Workplace of the Year’ category and this year’s Irish Planning Awards from Mary Mac Mahon, President of the IPI.

It had key initiatives in the workplace such as introducing a new Delivery Team in the Department, implementing a paid summer placement programme for student planners, and a Graduate Planner programme with three Graduate posts.

South Dublin County Council was also commended and highly commended for projects in the Climate Action and Biodiversity, Urban Regeneration and Heritage and Plan Making categories.

The Awards acknowledge a diverse range of projects and plans nationally taking place at a local, county, and regional level in complex and dynamic environments. The Awards this year recognised innovation and excellence in Irish planning in eight categories.

Speaking at the awards, IPI President Mary Mac Mahon said: “The Irish Planning Awards serve as a testament to the invaluable role of planning in our society. They celebrate our diverse, dynamic, and sustainable projects, showcasing the positive impact of planning on our communities. As President, it’s been my privilege to elevate the profile of planning and to honour the achievements, diversity, and potential within our sector. With entries spanning the island, our winners from Dublin to Donegal exemplify excellence. I extend my gratitude to all entrants, congratulate the winners, and acknowledge our sponsors for making these awards possible.”

The eight category winners were:

–              Workplace of the Year – South Dublin County Council – #Making it Work @ SDCC_Planning

–              Research and Innovation – Joint 1st Winners – EMRA on behalf of the Three Regional Assemblies of Ireland – Regional Development Monitor (RDM) & South Dublin County Council – ‘Instantaneous Data’ – A South Dublin Approach to Active Land Management

–              Plan Making – Kildare County Council – The Athy Local Area Plan 2021-2027 and the Development of a New Generation of Local Area Plans for Kildare

–              Employment & Enterprise – County Kildare Leader Partnership CLG – Barrow Blueway Economic Plan

–              Urban Regeneration and Heritage – Donegal County Council – Ballyshannon Historic Towns Initiative Project

–              Climate Action Biodiversity – EirGrid – The Celtic Interconnector – Good Practice linking Planning, the Planner & Climate Change

–              Sustainable Communities and Placemaking – Meath County Council – Kilcloon Community Development

–              President’s Award – Limerick City and County Council – Young Person Participation in Land Use Planning

This year’s judging panel comprised of Mary Mac Mahon MIPI (Irish Planning Institute President), Charlotte Sheridan MIPI (RIAI President), Henk van der Kamp FIPI (Secretary General of the ECTP-CEU, the umbrella organisation for spatial planning institutes in Europe and past president of the IPI), Terry Prendergast MIPI (former board member of An Bord Pleanála) and John O’Hara MIPI (former Dublin City Council Planning Officer).

The Department of Housing, Local Government, and Heritage are the main sponsor of the awards with additional sponsors Wave Dynamics Acoustic Consultants and Uisce Éireann. The individual categories of Climate Action and Biodiversity and Research and Innovation are sponsored by FuturEnergy Ireland and the Office of the Planning Regulator respectively.