Northern Ireland Culture Minister, Edwin Poots has hosted a reception in Belfast for the UK Architecture and Built Environment bodies in advance of their formal meeting at Linen Hall Library.

Speaking at the reception, Minister Poots said: "I welcome this opportunity to acknowledge the UK design bodies for their assistance in helping develop Northern Ireland’s architectural design policy and in the creation of our Ministerial Advisory Group (MAG)."

The Ministerial Advisory Group (MAG) was set up to champion design quality in all sectors of the built environment in Northern Ireland and to advise the Minister on the implementation of the Architecture and the Built Environment policy.

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The Minister said: "Northern Ireland is seeing its biggest investment in infrastructure for many years. In particular, our capital city is seeing the biggest regeneration programme since Victorian times. It is therefore fitting that Belfast be used as the location to host this meeting of all the UK commissions.

"We share a common interest in protecting and raising the quality of design in the built environment. By bringing together key stakeholders from the public, private and voluntary sectors we help to forge new working relationships which will influence change in the quality of design and encourage practice and procedures which deliver exemplary design."

The Architecture and the Built Environment Policy and the Ministerial Advisory Group aim to raise the standard of the design and performance of publicly funded buildings and leave a legacy which generations to come will treasure.

"Attractive, safe, healthy and well-designed buildings can greatly improve our quality of life and impact upon the social, economic and environmental landscape of Northern Ireland," the Minister added.

(VB/JM)