Newry-Dundalk

Reports on the Twin City project

Published in 2006, the report was prompted by the third Annual Ireland–Harvard Conference, which took place in Newry in September 2003 and which introduced the concept of the bi-polar city.

The objective of the study was to evaluate the case for the creation of a Newry/Dundalk twin city, and to provide a development strategy for the project that could reconcile spatial planning, economic development and preservation of the environment. The 2009 report by the International Centre for Local and Regional Development repeats the proposals of this study and develops them within the framework of the European Union’s 2020 Strategy. The reports focus on four flag-ship projects:

  • The creation of a Dundalk/Newry Centre of Excellence to establish a community around research on sustainable-energy, linked to European projects in this area. This project falls under the “sustainable growth” objective of the “Europe 2020” strategy.
  • The promotion of geo-tourism, the management of a shared landscape and the preservation of natural heritage.
  • A coordinated regeneration strategy for older areas in Newry and Dundalk, while simultaneously promoting the distinctiveness and the complementarities of the two cities. This strategy reinforces the sustainable development of the region by focusing new development within existing designated urban zones and protecting environmentally sensitive areas from over-development.
  • A Newry-Dundalk Cross-Border International Services Zone linked to international financial and other related services.

In addition, the 2009 report proposes a cross analysis of initiatives taken in the areas of education, transport, services, economic development and the environment:

Transport

The development of transport infrastructure is key to cooperation between the two cities. The objective is to improve connections to road and rail networks. Initiatives are focused around the Southern Relief Route and the Narrow Water Bridge, two infrastructure projects that link Newry and Dundalk. The diversion of traffic away from the city centres along these routes is a major priority for the Twin City project.

Education

The players involved in cross-border cooperation are working to implement initiatives to encourage the mobility of students on either side of the border, and access to courses at the Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT) and the Southern Regional College in Newry. This involves the adaptation of the competencies of future graduates while overcoming the administrative and legal obstacles existing between the two higher education establishments.

Services

The Southern Regional College and the Dundalk Institute of Technology also have an important role to play in the setting up of the international services zone between the two cities. They are part of the working group in charge of executing the project. The harmonisation of public services between Newry and Dundalk is also highlighted as a long-term necessity in the 2009 report. Impetus must come from both the national and local levels.

Economy, environment

The growth in economic potential of the cross-border territory, the first objective of the cooperation, involves lowering rents and introducing affordable housing on either side of the border, in order to be able to cope with the increasingly large workforce in the two cities. Joint measures across both jurisdictions appear necessary in order to cope with the challenge of jobs.
Protection of the environment and natural heritage in the cooperation area is also dependent on joint management of resources and attracting investors in the two border cities.

The planned creation of specific working groups for the twin cities and the will to strengthen the “Joint Senior Management Group” – a body composed of representatives of different levels, whose objectives include the integration of Newry-Dundalk in the national cooperation space – shows the emergence of a system of governance common to the two border cities.

The Twin City project is supported by the EU Interreg cooperation programme, and also by the national development plan (2007-2013) and Northern Ireland’s strategic investment plan. Since 2012, the two towns have been seeking to create a special economic zone status for Newry and Dundalk, which would contribute to a further rapprochement between the two cities, and also between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.