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An ‘independent infrastructure entity’ for New Zealand
There are not many countries around the world which have created a comparable body to the National Infrastructure Commission, although many face similar challenges in incorporating long-term and evidence-based thinking into infrastructure decision making. New Zealand could be the next. Infrastructure New Zealand, a membership organisation representing companies across the different infrastructure sectors, have been...
Harnessing the enthusiasm for the future of the Growth Arc
In June, Commissioner Professor Sadie Morgan spoke at the Oxford-Cambridge Corridor economic growth conference in Milton Keynes. Here, she writes on the enthusiasm and energy there is for the future of the area, and our recommendations for investing in its infrastructure. June’s Economic Growth conference highlighted for me the real excitement and enthusiasm there is...
Can the UK have an energy system based on renewables?
Renewables have a major role to play in the future of the UK’s energy system. It is widely accepted that they will be an important aspect of solving the energy trilemma: how to reduce carbon emissions, keep energy costs down and ensure security of supply. Where opinions differ is how much further we can, and...
The importance of a resilient water supply
Homes and businesses across the North West of England recently faced the prospect of a hosepipe ban, imposing similar restrictions to those consumers in Northern Ireland have been living with since the end of June. Fortunately for them, this was called off after summer storms brought some much-needed relief. This year’s exceptionally hot summer –...
Improving transport links between and within our cities
Sir John Armitt writes on the benefits of HS2, the need for Northern Powerhouse Rail and Crossrail 2, and how following recommendations in the National Infrastructure Assessment would mean providing £43billion funding between now and 2040 and extra powers to mayors and city leaders across the country – including those on the HS2 route –...
The National Infrastructure Assessment – putting people at the heart of infrastructure policy
Today’s National Infrastructure Assessment marks the culmination of the first phase of the National Infrastructure Commission’s work – a phase that began in October 2015, when the establishment of the Commission was announced. At that point, its complete resources comprised Lord Adonis, me and two Treasury staff loaned to us for a few weeks to...
A National Infrastructure Assessment fit for the future
I’m proud that today we’re publishing the UK’s first-ever National Infrastructure Assessment. Far from being an unrealistic wish-list of projects, it offers a fully-costed, forward thinking and wide ranging strategy aimed at guiding investment decisions over the coming years – all with the aim of delivering the infrastructure this country needs up to 2050. No-one...
Infrastructure as a key priority for Metro Mayors
Whether it’s the testing of driverless cars in Birmingham and Coventry, the establishment of a new Mersey Tidal Power Commission or Manchester’s investment in full-fibre broadband, infrastructure has been a key part of the work of the Metro Mayors in their first year. Their continued commitment to tackling these issues for their regions will be...
Putting design at the heart of infrastructure
At its best, infrastructure can do so much more than help a community to function – it can help it to flourish. Walking around such landmarks as London King’s Cross or Birmingham New Street offers a clear demonstration of the impact that good-quality design can have on an area. If we are to avoid the...
VeloCity: against the odds
In a discussion after a recent talk I gave about the VeloCity project at Museum of Architecture, someone in the audience asked: “How can you [architects] be so positive against all the odds? Surely the odds are just too great – so why even bother?” The odds against VeloCity – the winning strategy in the...
Transforming the nation’s roads
The advent of connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs) will revolutionise how we think about and use the roads and motorways that criss-cross our country – and I’m delighted that the brightest and best of the British infrastructure industry have turned their minds to the challenge that poses, through our Roads for the Future competition. Launched...
Mind the infrastructure gap
I’ve been spending a lot of my time in the past few months trying to get the bottom of an apparent paradox. An often cited McKinsey & Company report states that the world has an $800 billion annual infrastructure finance gap. On the one hand, institutional investors around the world have large volumes of capital...
Building a resilient future for England’s water supply
One of the first questions that people ask me when discussing my work is: “what do you mean by drought?” In working on our new water supply report Preparing for a drier future, I have assessed the implications of low rainfall on England’s water supply. What struck me is that water restrictions are an abstract...
How soon will electric vehicles become the norm?
Electric vehicles will play a major part in our future lives. And so, as part of its work on the forthcoming National Infrastructure Assessment, the Commission is looking at how and when a national network of charging points for electric vehicles could be delivered. One of the big questions that poses is how quickly electric...
Building better flood preparedness
The Commission has recently been running workshops with Ipsos Mori to gauge the public’s understanding of the UK’s infrastructure priorities. While trains, roads and broadband are readily raised around the tables up and down the country, flooding is sometimes conspicuously absent from the conversation. It’s understandable. Flooding is infrequent and unless you live in a...