National Infrastructure Commission

Change at the top of the Commission: our CEO James Heath will step down in March 2025 from his role leading the Commission's team and work programme, to take up a new private sector role. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/e5DPQ_hU

This morning the Environment Agency has published its updated National Assessment of the #flood and #coastalerosion risk facing the UK - and its shows 6.3 million homes are now at risk of river/sea or surface water flooding, with the number of properties at risk of the latter having risen by 43 per cent since the agency's last assessment. Our Commissioner Jim Hall says this new data provides "a stronger basis for directing future strategic interventions and investment to the highest priority areas." Read our full response here: https://lnkd.in/e-kS_hby #floodrisk #floodresilience #surfacewaterflooding

Our Chair Sir John Armitt is the guest on the last-but-one episode of The Infrastructure Podcast for 2024 ... and the last edition too (it's a two-parter). John and host Antony Oliver cover a range of #infrastructure-related topics in this wide-ranging chat: the challenge of turning policies into delivery; the #planning process for major projects; the interlinking of infrastructure with the government's #growth, #industry and #housing objectives; and a look ahead at the Commission's transition from NIC to NISTA in 2025. The second part of the interview should be up next week. https://lnkd.in/ebsmfx6n

This morning the government has set out its #CleanPower2030 Action Plan, setting out the steps it plans to take to speed up the rollout of the new flexible generation tecnology, grid upgrades and energy storage technology which will support the UK's transition to a fully #renewable economy. Our policy colleagues are now poring through the fine details in the plan, but the headline proposals are encouraging, and in many cases align with recommendations the Commission set out in our second #infrastructure assessment last year on steps to enable this once-in-a-generation #energy transition. The Action Plan includes among other things plans for compensation for communities which will be hosting major energy infrastructure, something we first recommended in our April 2023 planning study and reflected in the assessment. There is also action promised on speeding up the system for grid connections, more powers for planners to prioritise critical energy infrastructure, and a bigger auction process to increase the amount of energy projects which get built. So, lots to absorb. Our Chair Sir John Armitt's immediate response is below.. For any followers with accessibility needs, the full text of Sir John's response is available on the front page of our website; the space available for alt text on the image unfortunately isn't sufficient to include the full text of his response.

Understandably the focus of today's National Planning Policy Framework (#NPPF) update is on measures to speed up and expand #housebuilding; but it also positive announcements on #infrastructure planning, including on proposals that will support the rollout of more renewable energy projects. Other measures of note include: a requirement for a 'vision-led' approach to #transport planning (beyond just predict and provide), along with the prioritising of sustainable transport modes when considering new development; an explicit requirement for planning to support the transition to #netzero by 2050; and an extension of the expectations around the use of #SuDS to include minor (and not just major) developments. Here's our initial response: https://lnkd.in/g8WvJuVE

The Prime Minister's 'Plan for Change' speech this morning included a commitment by his government to grant 150 Development Consent Orders or #DCOs for major infrastructure projects over the lifetime of this Parliament. It's a 'big ask', but one that government will need to meet if it's to deliver the level of transformational infrastructure the UK will need over the next five years, and beyond Here's the immediate response from our Chair, Sir John Armitt: #NSIPs #Planning #MajorProjects #energy #water #transport

Today we've published the Commission's Equity, Diversity & #Inclusion Statement for 2024-25, and our Deputy Chair Julia Prescot CBE has written a post on our website exploring both the changes we've made to our internal culture and processes, and the role of the forthcoming #Infrastructure #Diversity Charter in ensuring a focus on ED&I principles becomes a strategic asset for the wider industry. The case for the Commission undertaking such a change programme is clear, Julia writes: "As a public body, if we don’t recommend approaches that support the needs of [our] changing society, then we won’t build a strong legacy. In fact, we set ourselves up to fail." The statement builds on the programme of work we started in 2020, and reports on both the milestones achieved and the areas where there is further work still to do. https://lnkd.in/g_Txs9W2

Positive to see a policy update last Friday from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs setting out the government's approach to implementing the 'simpler #recycling' elements of the 2021 Environment Act. Our second National Infrastructure Assessment found that existing delays in implementing these reforms were creating uncertainty in the sector and preventing #investment in new recycling capacity. The update proposes a new default recycling requirement for councils; while exceptions are possible, our Commissioner Jim Hall says "government must be mindful of any cumulative impacts on waste capacity and make sure that any increased demand for post-collection separation can be met." Read our response here: https://lnkd.in/e3VNrk75

Our Chair Sir John Armitt has today written to the Chief Secretary to the HM Treasury Darren Jones setting out the input the Commission will provide to support and inform the development of the government’s ten-year infrastructure strategy. This work supplements the Commission's second National Infrastructure Assessment, which set out a long-term view of the UK’s economic #infrastructure needs and priorities along with a set of fully costed recommendations. We think these recommendations provide a strong foundation for the ten-year strategy. However, there are a number of areas that would benefit from further analysis to reflect, in particular, the government’s focus on the benefits of infrastructure #investment, its #housing and #industrialstrategy commitments, and the desire to develop a credible project pipeline. We will work with relevant government departments, agencies, local government, industry and others to develop our analysis. You can read Sir John's letter here: https://lnkd.in/edrbN27J

"We don’t do enough to connect big #infrastructure projects to people’s daily lives. We don’t talk enough about the difference they’ll make. And that’s a big part of the reason why it’s so difficult to build new infrastructure in this country." That's an extract from a speech our Deputy Chair Julia Prescot CBE gave last night (Thursday, 21 November) to the NIPA-UK annual dinner, making the case for a more people-centred approach to reform of the #planning system for infrastructure. The full text of her speech is now up on our website, here: https://lnkd.in/euUtE6Ut