Plans are being drawn up to develop Dundalk and Newry as a cross-Border "mini-metropolis" with the aim of ensuring that the two towns are not eclipsed by the accelerating growth and influence of Dublin and Belfast.
The concept of a "third city" half-way between them is being put forward as a way of liberating the region from "negative attributes of its historic and political legacy," according to Louise Browne, of Colin Buchanan planning consultants.
She told the Irish Planning Institute's annual conference in Sligo yesterday that the collaborative project is being advanced by Newry and Mourne District Council, Louth County Council and Dundalk Town Council.
Though lying within the Belfast-Dublin economic corridor, Newry and Dundalk had not benefited from the success of the two cities and the region they occupy, which includes south Armagh, is often negatively perceived in terms of its "frontier" status.
"As transport infrastructure improves, bringing Belfast and Dublin closer together, the risk for the intervening settlements of Newry and Dundalk is that they will be physically and psychologically bypassed," Ms Browne said.
"Mindsets that have labelled them as peripheral Border locations are equally threatening. They are not peripheral, they are central, enjoying a location that has the largest population catchment within one hour travel time than anywhere else on this island.
"To reclaim their territorial influence, they must join forces," she said. "Not only can they assemble the critical mass to compete effectively for inward investment, they can also jointly provide a portal to one of the most impressive mountain regions on the island.
"To achieve this potential, they must overcome a series of social, economic and physical barriers. Some are within their gift to remove and some are not. Currency differentials will stay, for example, but there is much that can be done to make doing business easier."
Jim Hetherington, principal planning officer in Northern Ireland's Department of Regional Development, cited the "twin-city" plan for Newry and Dundalk as the most advanced example at present of cross-Border collaboration and "joined-up thinking".
He suggested that one of the benefits of having a single spatial framework for the whole island might be that it would enable planners in both jurisdictions to produce more consistent or coherent strategies and plan more effectively to meet infrastructure needs.
Robert Collins, head of the Irish Regions Office in Brussels, told the conference that the Government needed to have a clearly defined objective of balanced regional development, supported by adequate funding, rather than a "one size fits all" approach.
