Irish Planning Awards 2025

Through the biennial Irish Planning Awards the Irish Planning Institute recognise and celebrate outstanding achievements in the planning profession. These awards aim to:

  1. Promote Excellence: Highlight and reward exemplary planning practices that go beyond statutory requirements and demonstrate innovation, creativity, and effectiveness.
  2. Encourage Sustainability: Emphasise the importance of climate action, sustainable travel, biodiversity, and the re-use of materials in planning projects.
  3. Foster Community Engagement: Acknowledge projects that involve significant public participation and engagement, contributing to the creation of strong, inclusive communities.
  4. Support Economic Prosperity: Recognise projects that contribute to a prosperous economy through thoughtful planning and development.
  5. Celebrate Heritage and Culture: Honour projects that conserve historical buildings or spaces and create cultural venues, ensuring their sustainable use for future generations.
  6. Advance Professional Development: Encourage the growth and development of planning professionals and teams, promoting diversity, inclusion, and the sharing of best practices.
  7. Inspire Innovation: Recognise research and innovative projects that contribute to the ongoing development of the planning profession.

By achieving these objectives, the Planning Awards aim to inspire and motivate planners, organisations, and communities to strive for excellence and make meaningful contributions to the planning profession across the island of Ireland. 

Following a record 80 entries, on 24 July the shortlist was announced, see below. The announcement press release is available here.

Irish Planning Awards 2025 Shortlist

Projects must showcase exceptional plan making that exceeds statutory requirements. Key considerations include climate action, sustainable travel, and active travel. Public participation, deliverability, and implementation are crucial.

  • Community Places – Tullycarnet Place Shaping Plan 2025-2035
  • Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment and RPS, A Tetra Tech Company - South Coast Designated Maritime Area Plan (SC-DMAP)
  • Dublin City Council - Jamestown Masterplan 2023
  • Kildare County Council and Meath County Council - Two Counties, One Town: Coordinating the Low Carbon Future of Maynooth
  • Monaghan County Council - Drum and Rockcorry Community Vision Plans
  • Mountrath Town Team, Laois County Council and project consultants Urbanarq, Connect the Dots, RealSim and David Mulcahy Planning Consultant - The Mountrath Digital Twin Sustainable Communities Plan

Projects must support a prosperous economy while integrating climate action, sustainable travel, and neighborhood integration. The role of planning and the planner should be evident, with clear deliverability and implementation.

  • MKO – Dexcom Athenry
  • South Dublin County Council - Work IQ Innovation Centre
  • Tom Phillips + Associates - Kildare Innovation Campus Masterplan

Projects must focus on town renewal and infill developments, revitalising brownfield lands. Key considerations include climate action, sustainable travel, and streetscape integration. Deliverability and implementation are essential.

3(a)State led

  • Land Development Agency - St. Teresa's Garden/ Donore Project
  • South Dublin County Council - Connecting Communities Through the Regeneration of West Tallaght Parks
  • Tipperary County Council and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage - Kickham Barracks Regeneration, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary
  • Westmeath County Council - Athlone Town Centre Enhancement Project

3(b)Private led

  • Tom Phillips + Associates - Kennedy Quay Mixed Use Development, Cork South Docklands
  • McGrath Group Properties & DOWNEY - Palmers Gate, Palmerstown, Dublin 20

Projects must focus on the conservation of historical buildings or spaces, or the development of cultural spaces. Emphasis should be placed on climate action and the sustainable re-use of materials. The planner’s role should be clearly highlighted, with a strong focus on deliverability and implementation.

  • Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage in conjunction with the Regional Assemblies - Town Centre First Heritage Revival (THRIVE) Scheme
  • Kildare County Council - The revival of Naas Town Centre – Reimagining the Potato Market
  • Sheridan Woods Architects & Urban Planners Ltd and Meath County Council - Duleek Heritage Led Regeneration Plan
  • Tipperary County Council - Templemore Library & Enterprise Centre, Templemore, Co. Tipperary
  • Tom Phillips + Associates - Church of Oak Distillery

Projects must address climate mitigation or adaptation, including for example education, flooding, energy, transport, and green infrastructure. Reducing climate impact is central. Deliverability and implementation should be clear.

  • Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council - Residential Car Parking Amendment No. 9 – Cherrywood
  • Entrust Limited - Blackhall Solar Farm & Substation
  • Kildare County Council - Tackling Climate Change in County Kildare: Bringing Communities from Grey to Green
  • Land Development Agency - The Land Development Agency Sustainable Development Strategy 2024-2028
  • McCutcheon Halley Chartered Planning Consultants - Score for planet earth: Páirc an Chrócaigh Abú!
  • Southern Regional Assembly, Eastern and Midland Regional Assembly and the Northern and Western Regional Assembly - Smart and Sustainable Mobility Accelerator
  • The CUBE Low Carbon Centre of Excellence - The CUBE Low Carbon Centre of Excellence: Driving Local and Regional Climate Solutions

Projects must prioritise biodiversity protection, aligning with for example the EU Nature Restoration Directive and national biodiversity plans/strategies. Deliverability and implementation are crucial.

  • EirGrid - Bat-tery Storage: New Bat House Lights Up Electrical Project!
  • FuturEnergy Ireland - Carrownagowan Wind Farm
  • SLR Consulting, Studio Aula and Haller Clarke - Derryounce Lakes & Trails 10 Year Plan 2024-2034

Projects must strengthen communities and placemaking, addressing local needs and ensuring infrastructure access. Residential developments should offer diverse tenures, mixed use, and high-quality design, with climate action and sustainable travel considerations. Deliverability and implementation are key.

  • John Spain Associates - Glencairn Residential Development
  • Land Development Agency - Bluebell Waterways
  • Community Places – Tullycarnet Place Shaping Plan 2025-2035
  • McGrath Group Properties & DOWNEY - Palmers Gate, Palmerstown, Dublin 20
  • Tom Phillips + Associates - The Goulding’s Site, Cork
  • Tom Phillips + Associates - Waterfront South Central

Projects must deliver essential infrastructure, considering climate action and biodiversity. Focus areas include energy, water, and transport. Deliverability and implementation should be clear.

  • EirGrid - Dublin's Electric Dreams: EirGrid Powers Up Transmission Transformation!
  • Entrust Limited - Blackhall Solar Farm & Substation
  • McCutcheon Halley Chartered Planning Consultants - Greenore Port Offshore Wind Energy Operations and Maintenance Facilities
  • Uisce Éireann - Arklow Wastewater Treatment Plant

Projects must contribute to the planning profession’s development through innovative research by individuals or organisations.

  • Carlow County Council - Carlow Pre-Planning Enquiry Service: A Research-Led Digital Innovation Supporting Early Career Planners and Improving Service Delivery
  • Eastern and Midland Regional Assembly, Southern Regional Assembly, Northern and Western Regional Assembly, All-Island Research Observatory (AIRO), Tailte Éireann GeoHive Platform - National Census Atlas
  • Land Development Agency - The Land Development Agency Sustainable Development Strategy 2024-2028
  • Louth County Council - Improving Public Participation in the Strategic Environmental Assessment Process as part of the preparation of the Dundalk Local Area Plan
  • Southern Regional Assembly, Eastern and Midland Regional Assembly and the Northern and Western Regional Assembly - Smart and Sustainable Mobility Accelerator
  • South Dublin County Council - SDCC Housing Supply Monitor

Projects must support minority group inclusion, with evidence of steps taken. The planner’s role should be clear, with a focus on deliverability and implementation.

  • Action Ireland Trust in conjunction with Fingal County Council (FCC), Portmarnock Community School (PCS) and the Lesotho Town and Regional Planning Institute (LTRPI) - Planning for Diversity and Inclusion in Ireland and Lesotho

Projects must celebrate consultancies and in-house teams that support professional development, diversity, and inclusion, focusing on early career planners’ growth.

  • Brock McClure – We are Brock McClure
  • John Spain Associates – John Spain Associates
  • Land Development Agency - The Land Development Agency - Planning Team
  • McCutcheon Halley Chartered Planning Consultants - McCutcheon Halley Graduate & Intern Training Programmes
  • Tom Phillips + Associates - Tom Phillips + Associates

Projects must celebrate planning authorities that support professional development, diversity, and inclusion, focusing on early career planners’ growth.

  • Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council - DLR - where planners are made
  • Kildare County Council - Kildare County Council Planning Authority: Challenging, Progressive, Dynamic
  • South Dublin County Council - Planning with Purpose: People at South Dublin County Council

  • The President's Award will be selected from across category winners.

Judging

The judging panel comprises:

  • Gavin Lawlor MIPI (President, Irish Planning Institute)
  • Brian McCarthy MIPI (Vice President, Irish Planning Institute and Senior Planner, Clare County Council)
  • David O’Connor MIPI (Head of Environment and Planning, TU Dublin)
  • Laura Brock MIPI (Founding Partner, Brock McClure)
  • Robert Keran MIPI (Council member, Irish Planning Institute and Robert Keran Consulting)
  • Deirdre Scully MIPI (Former City Planner, Dublin City Council)
  • Carol Tallon (CEO, Property District)
  • Claragh Mulhern MIPI (Principal Planning Adviser, Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage)

We ensure that judges declare any conflicts of interest and recuse themselves from judging categories where they may have a conflict as required and that sponsors are treated equally.

Ceremony and tickets

The 2025 awards will be presented at black tie gala dinner and ceremony in Clontarf Castle Hotel on Thursday 25 September 2025.

Click here for images of the 2023 awards ceremony.

Tables of 10 are priced at €2000, half tables (5 people) at €1000 and individual tickets are available at €210.

Book online here or email [email protected] or call +353 (0)1-8788630.

 

Sponsors

Thank you to our sponsors: Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, FuturEnergy Ireland, Uisce Éireann, Office of the Planning Regulator, Hacketts, Fehily Timoney and Company, Wave Dynamics Acoustic Consultants, PrePlanning.ie.