Projects per year
Personal profile
Particulars
Dr Heather Ritchie was appointed Lecturer in Planning in the School of Natural and Built Environment in May 2023. Prior to joining QUB Heather was a lecturer in Spatial Planning and Energy Policy in the Belfast School of Architecture and the Built Environment at Ulster University since 2009. She gained her undergraduate degree in Law from the University of Dundee (2:1, LLB Hons, 2004) and then went on to gain a distinction in MSc Environmental Planning at QUB (2005) and then her PhD (2006-2011) on Stakeholder Engagement in Marine Spatial Planning from QUB.
Heather has considerable experience in marine social science research, action research and policy appraisal in the emergent fields of coastal and marine spatial planning. Her background in Law gives her capacity to look at regulation and legislation from a variety of different perspectives. Her experience in lecturing spatial planning provides her with an understanding of current policy issues and debates. She bring academic experience to projects and has an abilty to manage and mediate competing stakeholder interests.
Heather is also a Chartered Town Planning with the Irish Planning Institute and is a member of the Marine Planning Committee and is currently in a deputation to the Marine Planning Education Committee. Heather is a Committee Member of: Environmental Planners Lawyers Association Northern Ireland, Marine Spatial Planning Research Network, MarineSocSci, Co-Secretariat Irish Sea Maritime Forum
Research Interests
Heather's research specialism is in Marine Spatial Planning and Stakeholder Engagement. She also has research interests in land-sea interactions, planning regulation at the coast and beyond, transboundary marine planning, energy and the environment, planning education, environmental impact assessment, planning law, aspects of planning regulation (developer contributions). Heather has a track record of publishing in the journals of Marine Policy, Ocean and Coastal Management, Land Use Policy, European Planning Studies and Energy Policy.
Heather is a Research Associate of the International Centre for Regional and Local Development and regularly contributes to to funding applications and conference organisation.
Heather has acted as PI on the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund project 'Knowledge Exchange for Transboundary Marine Spatial Planning across the Irish Sea' for DAERA. She was also the leading Ulster partner for an ERASMUS+ project 'Knowledge Flows in MSP' with several European Partners. Heather has experience of working on an ESPON project with partners from Ghent, Cork and ICLRD on 'Resilience of European Land Sea Interactions'. Heather has recently joined a project team with funding from the British Irish Council conducting research on MSP in Israel with the Technion Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa.
Heather has experience in supervising PhD Researchers to completion and has acted as both internal and external examiner.
Teaching
Heather has experience of teaching on Planning Law and Regulation, Environmental Impact Assessment and Marine Spatial Planning. Heather has completed her PGCHEP and is a fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Heather is an External Examiner for the University of Gloucester BSc Urban Planning. Heather has published in educational journals. Heather is co-author of a legal planning textbook 'The Essential Guide to Planning Law, Decision Making and Practice in the UK' and is currently working on the 2nd Edition. She has contributed chapters to other legal textbooks.
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
Projects
- 1 Active
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R6800LAW: CoCoMar
Collins, R. (PI), Flannery, W. (CoI) & Ritchie, H. (CoI)
24/10/2023 → …
Project: Research
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Capturing or compensating? - Comparing legitimacies, legitimations and rationales of added value capture instruments
Hengstermann, A., McElduff, L. & Ritchie, H., Mar 2025, In: Land Use Policy. 150, 11 p., 107464.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile3 Downloads (Pure) -
Corrigendum to “Putting people at the centre of marine governance across the UK and Ireland: 20 years of society and the sea”[Ocean Coast. Manag. 255 (2024)], (S0964569124002205), (10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2024.107235))
McKinley, E., McElduff, L. & Ritchie, H., 01 Oct 2024, In: Ocean and Coastal Management. 256, 107279.Research output: Contribution to journal › Comment/debate › peer-review
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Independent investigation in marine spatial planning: necessary or discretionary?
Ritchie, H., Claydon, J., McElduff, L. & Slater, A.-M., 28 Jan 2024, In: Journal of Environmental Planning and Management. 67, 2, p. 401-425 25 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile3 Citations (Scopus)26 Downloads (Pure) -
Putting people at the centre of marine governance across the UK and Ireland: 20 years of society and the sea
McKinley , E., McElduff, L. & Ritchie, H., 01 Sept 2024, In: Ocean and Coastal Management. 255, 13 p., 107235.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile2 Citations (Scopus)16 Downloads (Pure) -
Northern Ireland knowledge exchange for transboundary spatial planning in the Irish Sea
Ritchie, H., McElduff , L. & Ansong, J. O., 01 Apr 2023, Belfast : Ulster University. 150 p.Research output: Book/Report › Commissioned report
Prizes
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ERASMUS Teaching Mobility Grant
Ritchie, H. (Recipient), 01 Mar 2012
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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Green Impact Award (Bronze)
Ritchie, H. (Recipient), 23 Dec 2018
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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Returning Carers Scheme
Ritchie, H. (Recipient), 31 May 2018
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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William and Betty Macquitty Travel Scholarship
Ritchie, H. (Recipient), 01 Jun 2007
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
Activities
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Transboundary Cooperation in Areas of Undelimited Maritime Borders: Finding a Solution for Lough Foyle
Ritchie, H. (Presenter) & Collins, R. (Contributor)
20 Jan 2025 → 21 Jan 2025Activity: Talk or presentation types › Oral presentation
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University College Dublin
Ritchie, H. (Visiting lecturer) & Fox-Rogers, L. (Host)
20 Nov 2024Activity: Visiting an external institution types › Research and Teaching at External Organisation
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Advancing the Blue Economy Approach to Tackle Global Ocean Crises
Ritchie, H. (Examiner), Ballinger , R. (Examiner) & Fones, G. (Examiner)
14 Nov 2024Activity: Examination types › PhD external examination
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Korea Maritime Institute
Ritchie, H. (Visitor), Rooney, D. (Visitor) & Collins, R. (Visitor)
18 Oct 2024 → 25 Oct 2024Activity: Visiting an external institution types › Visiting an external academic institution
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Marine Spatial Planning CPD Webinar
Ritchie, H. (Organiser), Prentergast , T. (Chair) & O'Leary , S. (Organiser)
11 Oct 2024 → 25 Oct 2024Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Participation in workshop, seminar, course
Press/Media
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From Belfast to Busan
Ritchie, H., Collins, R. & Rooney, D.
15/11/2024
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Public Engagement Activities
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MSP CPD Online Series a huge success
01/03/2024
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Public Engagement Activities
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The Marine Spatial Planning Challenge
19/05/2023
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Public Engagement Activities
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Marine Spatial Planning Challenge - promo video for user manual
15/05/2022
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Other
Thesis
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Stakeholder engagement in marine spatial planning
Ritchie, H. (Author), Ellis, G. (Supervisor), Jul 2011Student thesis: Doctoral Thesis › Doctor of Philosophy
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