Major reports on infrastructure

Design principles for national infrastructure

The UK’s first ever Design Principles for National Infrastructure, developed by an expert Design Group (including Andrew Grant, Founder and Director of Grant Associates and Louise Wyman, Chartered Surveyor and Landscape Architect, Design Lead for the West Midlands Combined Authority), seek to embed four key considerations – climate, people, places and value – into the planning and delivery of projects to construct and renew nationally significant infrastructure.

– Climate – infrastructure must help set the trajectory for the UK to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 or sooner and be capable of adapting to climate change.

– People – projects should be human scale, instinctive to use and seek opportunities to improve the quality of life for people who live and work nearby.

– Places – schemes should provide a sense of identity for communities, supporting the natural and built environment and enriching ecosystems.

– Value – this should be added beyond the main purpose of the infrastructure, solving problems well and achieving multiple benefits. The Design Group argues that the legacy of infrastructure schemes will be judged on how they succeed in responding creatively to the needs of climate change, the environment and communities. They are calling for the principles to be adopted in the government’s infrastructure strategy, alongside the National Infrastructure Assessment’s recommendations for all nationally significant projects to have design champions and review panels.

The Design Principles for National Infrastructure are the first of their kind and can be applied to all economic infrastructure: digital communications, energy, transport, flood management, water and waste. The document is to be used as a guide by anyone involved in planning, constructing and maintaining national infrastructure.

Change in approach urged for Scotland’s infrastructure

The Infrastructure Commission for Scotland 2 (ICS) has presented Scottish Government with a 30‐year infrastructure strategy (Key Findings Report – A blueprint for Scotland) with an emphasis on delivering an inclusive, net zero carbon economy.

The first publication of its kind in Scotland, the strategy follows a period of extensive engagement with key stakeholders and organisations from across Scotland and beyond. It sets out 8 overarching themes and 23 specific recommendations for Scottish Government to consider. The themes are:

1. Future infrastructure decisions to be based on delivery of an inclusive net zero carbon economy

2. Increased emphasis on “placebased” infrastructure

3. Maximise, broaden the use of and better maintain existing assets

4. Accelerate the decarbonisation of heat and transport

5. Develop appropriately devolved regulatory and pricing frameworks 6. Escalate and expand access to digital and technology services

7. Improve and extend public engagement to shape decision making

8. Explore options for long-term and independent infrastructure advice. The global focus on climate change, together with Scottish Government’s own Net Zero Carbon target by 2045, has influenced the work of the ICS in the development of this 30-year strategy.

The next stage of the ICS’ 18-month programme will see the Commission provide guidance to Scottish Government on how best to consider the 23 recommendations set out in the strategy.

UK infrastructure investment in context

Infrastructure investment covers spending on new transport construction and the improvement of the existing network. Infrastructure investment is a key determinant of performance in the transport sector. Inland infrastructure includes road, rail, inland waterways, maritime ports and airports and takes account of all sources of financing. Efficient transport infrastructure provides economic and social benefits to both advanced and emerging economies by: improving market accessibility and productivity, ensuring balanced regional economic development, creating employment, promoting labour mobility and connecting communities. This indicator is measured as a share of GDP for total inland investment and in euros for the road, rail, air, inland waterways and sea components.

Current and future investment in the UK

The Analysis of the National Infrastructure and Construction Pipeline was published by the Government in November 2018. According to its authors, the Pipeline is the single source of the UK’s planned infrastructure investment to 2021 and beyond. The pipeline includes nearly 700 projects, programmes and other investments, and a projection of infrastructure investment over the next 10 years of over £600 billion. The graphs on this and followng pages are extracted from the publication and offer an overview of investment in infastructure ahead of the decisions by the new Government to give the go-ahead to HS2 and related transport schemes.

Recently delivered projects and programmes

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – The majority of infrastructure investment is devolved to each administration, but the pipeline includes a range of investments in non-devolved sectors

Northern Powerhouse – Manchester Smart Motorways M60 J8 to M62 J20 – Proton Beam Therapy centre at Christie Hospital Manchester – £34 million Warrington flood defence scheme

East of England – Broadland Northway (Norwich Northern Distributor Road) – Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult manufacturing centre in Stevenage – Dudgeon offshore wind farm

Midlands Engine – Nottingham Ring Road – M5 J4a to J6 Smart Motorway – Selly Park South flood alleviation scheme

South West – Bath Transportation package – A30 Temple to Carblake improvement – Cannington flood alleviation scheme

South East and London – London Power Tunnels phase 1 – Sibson Building: new home for the School of Mathematics and the School of Business at the University of Kent – Portsmouth International Port’s new £9m linkspan, speeding up disembarkation

Devolved infrastructure investment

The pipeline contains projects and programmes distributed across the UK but the majority of the value of the pipeline relates to spending in England. This is because most infrastructure spending in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is the responsibility of each devolved administration, and therefore is not included in this pipeline.

The split between the responsibility of the UK government and each of the devolved administrations for infrastructure policy and funding varies according to the distinct devolution settlement in place, as set out below. Each devolved administration produces its own infrastructure plan setting out spending in economic infrastructure.

See full article online for graphs and maps