J.E.S.S.I.C.A.

JESSICA, which stands for the ‘Joint European Support for Sustainable Investment in City Areas’, is an urban development initiative set up by the European Commission in conjunction with the European Investment Bank (EIB) to support investment in urban regeneration with particular emphasis on an integrated and project-focused approach.

The Department for Social Development (DSD) had expressed an interest in using JESSICA and as such the EIB decided to explore if this was feasible within the context of the existing regulatory constraints such as planning structures and funding.

A scoping study was produced that analysed the benefits of using the JESSICA instrument in Northern Ireland, and proposed practical and robust options for its implementation including recommendations for further steps towards introducing appropriate financial engineering mechanisms.

Our Involvement

We provided planning input into the JESSICA scoping study for Northern Ireland, which was led by Price Waterhouse Coopers on behalf of the European Investment Bank.

Our tasks included a series of desk based research, such as, providing an overview of current policy and Government priorities, a high level review of the law and policy affecting regeneration, and an analysis of the recent Greg Lloyd review of the planning system in Northern Ireland.

In addition, we identified from a land use planning perspective what is needed or desirable to be in place to support the implementation of a JESSICA in Northern Ireland. We also participated in team workshops to collate findings, and undertook consultation with a number of government organisations and private developers.