As is perhaps the case in England and Wales, the timescales required for the delivery of planning consents often do not lend themselves well either to the negotiation or delivery of timescales under the project agreement. The issue of the Crown Exemption in respect of seeking planning approvals causes issues (as it does in England and Wales) for the private sector when assets are migrated. In Northern Ireland there has historically been a greater reliance by the local public sector on the Crown Exemption when seeking consents or permissions, and therefore the issue of whether the private sector provider can rely on such consent for assets it is acquiring responsibility for has arisen on a number of locally procured projects.