New research from Queen’s University Belfast, covered by Derry Now, presents a timely challenge and a strategic opportunity for FM leaders across Ireland. Drawing on case studies in Skeoge in Derry and Ballynafoy in Belfast, the study finds that housing developments without adequate community infrastructure risk long-term social and operational failure. Led by Dr Brendan Sturgeon, the report sets out 12 recommendations, including better infrastructure planning, stronger joined-up government, and sustained investment in community development.

For FM leaders, the findings are a call to expand the sector’s contribution. The research confirms what facilities professionals have long understood: that buildings require ongoing, professionally managed services to function as communities. The gap the research identifies is precisely where integrated FM adds its greatest value.

The report identifies three structural failures in new housing developments: a disconnect between housing delivery and community facility provision; the absence of community hubs; and the misalignment of services with residential timelines. Each points directly to an FM opportunity. Where community hubs are professionally managed from handover, where building services are maintained to a standard that supports occupant wellbeing, and where FM teams act as the bridge between residents and landlords, communities stabilise more quickly. The research was supported by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive’s Housing for All Shared Housing Programme, involving five housing associations managing 53 shared housing developments across Northern Ireland.

The challenge is directly mirrored in the Republic. The Government’s Delivering Homes, Building Communities 2025 to 2030 action plan targets 12,000 social homes and 15,000 affordable units per year, backed by a €1 billion Infrastructure Investment Fund. In 2025, the Irish Council for Social Housing reported that 10,571 social homes were delivered, with Approved Housing Bodies accounting for 52% of output. At that scale of delivery, the quality of FM services embedded in new developments will be a defining factor in whether those homes become the communities they are intended to be.

FM organisations working in social and affordable housing should act on three priorities. First, engage at planning and design stage to ensure community hubs are built and handed over with professional FM contracts from day one. Second, develop FM service models calibrated for mixed-tenure developments, incorporating resident engagement, preventive maintenance, and active estate management. Third, work with housing bodies and local authorities to embed long-term FM planning within delivery frameworks, so infrastructure commitments are met in step with residential occupation.

The Queen’s University Belfast research makes a compelling case that housing quality alone does not determine community outcomes. In Ireland, where housing delivery is accelerating rapidly, FM providers that position themselves as essential partners in community building will help define the success of the country’s most ambitious housing programme in a generation.

(The views expressed by the writer are his/her own and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of BusinessRiver.)