Policy Convergence, Divergence and Communities: The Case of Spatial Planning in Post-Devolution Britain and Ireland

The implementation of devolution (1999) in the UK was assumed to lead to fractured relationships with the national centre and a fragmented state as a consequence. However, discourse analysis and policy reviews in spatial planning demonstrate that policies and legislation implemented by central and devolved governments since devolution demonstrate marked similarities in intention and type (albeit with some differences in name and delivery route). Having demonstrated a lack of the expected policy divergence, we explore the role of two civil service forums, the British-Irish Council's spatial planning workstream and the 'Five Administrations' meetings of Chief Planners as policy communities.