Place

Local areas and the regions of the country experience varying levels of economic and social opportunity, and infrastructure can play an important role in helping to narrow these gaps.

The Commission’s work explores how better connectivity can enable local economies to grow, as well as how well designed infrastructure can help people everywhere to enjoy a good quality of life. It focuses not just on differences between regions but also within them.

The Commission’s programme looks at how infrastructure can support economic growth across all regions and quality of life at the local level. Future work will build on recommendations made in the Rail Needs Assessment and the lessons from our work on regional growth, to demonstrate the role infrastructure can play in supporting places across the country to fulfil their potential.

The role infrastructure – particularly transport infrastructure – can play in levelling up economic opportunities across English regions is one of three strategic themes shaping the Commission’s work programme leading up to the second National Infrastructure Assessment. The Baseline Report for that Assessment confirmed that the Commission will be undertaking two projects on this topic: one on improving urban mobility and congestion, looking at the role of mass transit systems and also the potential of demand management such as through congestion charging; the other on the role of multi-modal interurban transport networks, looking at the investment they need and the potential role to be played by new technologies.

As part of that work, in June 2022 we published Getting cities moving. This says getting more people making more trips into and around city centres is essential for English cities outside of London to have any chance of succeeding in levelling up their regional economies. To do that, in the face of post-pandemic uncertainty about transport demand, cities will need flexible strategic transport plans that can adapt to a range of future transport demand scenarios. And to avoid adding to already congested roads and undermining their efforts to meet net zero targets, they’ll need to actively shift more of those additional journeys from cars to other modes of transport. This interim report will inform the final recommendations the Commission makes to government on urban transport, as part of our second National Infrastructure Assessment in the second half of 2023.

The Commission’s recently completed study on Infrastructure, Towns and Regeneration considered infrastructure can best support economic regeneration and improve the quality of life for people living in towns across England.

The study found that the existing multiple funding streams available to towns tend to be short term, ringfenced and often require rounds of competitive bidding. In response, the Commission recommended central government should simplify these funding streams and provide those county councils and unitary authorities that are responsible for strategic transport planning with more flexible, devolved five year budgets for local transport. This will be important in ensuring the government can achieve its levelling up goals.

Alongside improvements in funding, the Commission’s study encouraged government to ensure all towns have sufficient access to key infrastructure networks, such through addressing gaps in gigabit broadband coverage, including by supporting experimentation in towns, such as innovation pilots related to 5G use cases and on demand bus services.

With a growing population, there is increasing pressure on local government to deliver new homes and communities. The National Infrastructure Assessment highlighted how problems with the deployment of economic infrastructure essential to any home – electricity, water, broadband – are creating barriers to improving the efficient delivery of new housing.

Further research published in 2020 – drawing upon discussions with developers, planners and infrastructure providers – highlights concerns with the relevant legal, regulatory and governance frameworks and argues for greater transparency and coordination along with better allocation of costs and risk to enable more effective delivery of the infrastructure needed for new communities.

Digital connectivity has become an essential service, vital to the country’s economic growth and to people’s quality of life. Businesses, charities and public sector organisations are dependent on digital technology to operate effectively. Individuals rely on digital services to perform day-to-day tasks, access public services and shop online. Future innovations will increasingly rely on digital connectivity, from connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs) to new applications of virtual reality.

The National Infrastructure Assessment recommended that government should prioritise extending full fibre coverage across the whole country to avoid the UK being left behind – and saving up to £5.5 billion in operating costs over the next 30 years. Significant progress has been made since then to expand full fibre coverage and the pace of rollout has been increasing.

As well as offering benefits for home broadband users, enhanced digital connectivity will also facilitate the development of 5G mobile communications and smart infrastructure, enabling more agile and more efficient management and maintenance.

The Commission’s Design Group was established in May 2019 following a recommendation in the National Infrastructure Assessment, which highlighted how projects can benefit from good design. Chaired by Professor Sadie Morgan, it brings together leaders from engineering, architecture, transport and landscape, to champion design excellence in infrastructure.

In February 2020 the group published the Design Principles for National Infrastructure. This set out four principles – climate, people, places and value – that should guide the planning and delivery of major projects. The government has subsequently committed to the principle of embedding good design in all infrastructure projects in its National infrastructure Strategy.

The ‘places’ principle stresses the role of infrastructure in giving places a strong sense of identity. The principle envisages that well planned and well-designed infrastructure will make a positive contribution to local landscapes within and beyond the project boundary. It calls on projects to be inspiring in form and detail, respecting and enhancing local culture and character without being bound by the past.

The arc running between Oxford, Milton Keynes and Cambridge is one of the fastest growing, productive and successful areas of the country, playing a crucial part in its economic prosperity. Estimates produced four years ago suggested that by keeping house building at the 2016 level of 14,000 a year the area might support around 335,000 new jobs to 2050, increasing economic output by around £85bn per annum; doubling the housebuilding rate increases that to around 1.1m new jobs and £163bn per annum.

Affordable housing, integrated transport and other infrastructure are essential to maximising its potential as a global knowledge-intensive cluster, protecting its environment and securing new homes and jobs. This study recommended a new deal between government, local areas, and communities capable of supporting up to 1 million new homes by 2050. A new government spatial plan announced in February 2021 will adopt an arc-wide approach to planning, in line with the Commission’s recommendations.

London’s transport systems were increasingly under pressure as a result of growth. New areas in and around London for housing need to be found to meet projected population growth, which has been forecast to grow to 10 million people by 2030. In 2016 the Commission reviewed the strategic case for additional large scale transport infrastructure and a clear strategic case for Crossrail 2 to happen.

While it is difficult to predict the long term impact of the pandemic on patterns of public transport use in London, continued delay in making big strategic decisions risks constraining economic growth in the future.

This study, published in 2016, sets out a series of recommendations to ensure good mobile connectivity is available where we live, work and travel, and that the UK’s road and rail network is made 5G ready. Since then, progress has been made on widening 4G coverage and enabling the early rollout of 5G technologies.

In February 2020, a follow-up review on mobile connectivity on UK roads and railways called for further progress in four areas: government leadership; access to trackside land; overcoming commercial barriers through a competitive process and filling evidence gaps.

To help manage peak time congestion on the urban transport network, local authorities should include a plan for urban freight within the infrastructure strategies they are developing. These plans should review local regulations to incentivise low congestion operations, consider the case for investments in infrastructure such as consolidation centres, and identify the land and regulatory requirements of new and innovative low congestion initiatives.

Government should produce new planning practice guidance on freight for strategic policy making authorities. The guidance should better support these authorities in planning for efficient freight networks to service homes and businesses as part of their plan making processes. This new planning practice guidance, which should be prepared by the end of 2020, should give further detail on appropriate considerations when planning for freight, such as the need to:

• provide and protect sufficient land/floorspace for storage and distribution activities on the basis of population and economic need, with particular consideration for the floorspace requirements for last mile distribution and consolidation centres;
• support the clustering of related activities within a supply chain, minimising the distance that goods must be moved and maximising the potential for efficient operations;
• maximise the potential for freight trips to be made at off peak times; and
• accommodate deliveries and servicing activity at the point of delivery.

The Commission recommends that government should set a target for recycling 65 per cent of municipal waste and 75 per cent of plastic packaging by 2030. Government should set individual targets for all local authorities and provide financial support for transitional costs. The government should establish:

• Separate food waste collection for households and businesses (to enable production of biogas) by 2025.
• Clear two symbol labelling (recyclable or not recyclable) across the UK by 2022.
• A consistent national standard of recycling for households and businesses by 2025.
• Restrictions on the use of hard-to-recycle plastic packaging (PVC and polystyrene) by 2025.
• Incentives to reduce packaging and for product design that is more easily recyclable by 2022.
• A common data reporting framework for businesses handling commercial and industrial waste by the end of 2019, ideally through voluntary reporting but if necessary by legislation.

The Commission recommends that government should make £500 million a year of funding available from 2025/26 to 2034/35 for local highways authorities to address the local road maintenance backlog.

The Commission recommends that cities should have the powers and funding they need to pursue ambitious, integrated strategies for transport, employment and housing.

• By 2021, metro mayors and city leaders should develop and implement long term integrated strategies for transport, employment and housing that will support growth in their cities.
• By 2021, government should ensure city leaders have the right powers to deliver these integrated strategies, including the power for metro mayors to make decisions on major housing development sites.
• Government should set out devolved infrastructure budgets for individual cities for locally determined urban transport priorities in line with the funding profile set out by the Commission. Budgets for 2021-2026 should be confirmed by mid 2019. Government should pass legislation, by 2020, requiring cities to be given regular five year infrastructure budgets.
• Government should allocate significant long term funding for major capacity upgrades in selected growth priority cities, in line with the funding profile set out by the Commission. Cities benefiting from major projects should make commitments on housing delivery and provide at least 25 per cent of funding. Priority cities should be identified by mid 2019, with long term investment commitments agreed by 2020. Future rounds should take place no more than twice a parliament.

• 1a: Government should progress work on East West Rail, the Expressway and new settlements through a single co-ordinated delivery programme, with cross-government ministerial commitment and oversight. The aim of this programme should be to unlock opportunities for transformational housing growth through the creation of well-connected new communities. As part of this programme Government should commit:
  • £1bn to deliver the infrastructure necessary for a high quality and resilient rail commuter service between Bicester and Bedford, accelerating delivery of this section of East West Rail to a target date of 2023;
  • to accelerate work on the development of the new East West Rail line between Bedford and Cambridge, and commit to open the line by 2030; and
  • to deliver the ‘missing link’ of the Oxford-Cambridge Expressway, accelerating development work to deliver a clearly-defined and agreed route by 2025, enabling construction to begin as part of the next Road Investment Strategy (RIS 2) and be complete by 2030.
• Key milestones and decision points in the development of East West Rail and the Expressway should be subject to “in principle” agreement to the development of significantly more ambitious proposals for housing growth in the arc, including major new settlements and urban extensions, and subsequently, progress in identifying, evaluating and designating sites. “In principle” agreement should be provided within 12 months. The schemes should be futureproofed to ensure the potential for expansion and improvement is not permanently and prematurely closed.
• 1b: Government should seek to introduce fast, direct services to London to enable growth in the arc between Bicester and Bletchley and improve connectivity between London and Aylesbury. Any such improvements should be contingent on local authorities’ commitment to major development between Bicester and Bletchley and around existing settlements.
• 1c: Government should work with the private sector and the relevant local authorities to agree funding packages and progress schemes to support housing and employment growth now. These should include:
  • essential works required to enable passenger services between Oxford and Cowley no later than 2019
  • the acceleration of East West Rail phase 3 works around south Cambridge to enable the deliver of a Cambridge South station in 2022 as part of Control Period 6.
• Substantial private sector and local contributions, reflecting the benefits that these parties gain, will be required to enable the delivery of these schemes.

• 2a: Government and local authorities should work together, through a robust and transparent process, to designate locations for new and expanded settlements by 2020. This should involve:
  • commissioning formal studies to identify and assess options for new settlements required, and potential locations for these settlements
  • consultation with communities, statutory agencies, infrastructure providers, wider stakeholders and public examination of proposed sites
  • formal designation of sites and the publication of such assessments as legally required.
• The Commission is optimistic that Government and local authorities will reach agreement on the scale and location of new settlements in the national interest. However, if agreement cannot ultimately be reached, the Secretary of State should designate these new settlements.
• 2b: Government should:
  • work with local authorities to establish appropriate delivery vehicles for new and expanded settlements across the arc, considering the role that can be played by locally accountable Development Corporations, Mayoral Development Corporations, the Homes and Communities Agency and Urban Development Corporations
  • establish New Town Development Corporations to deliver larger new and expanded settlements.
• In so doing, it should:
  • work with local authorities to define and agree the objectives, membership and reporting arrangements for new development corporations
  • provide a clear remit to support the economic success of large new settlements as centres of employment, and assist the development corporation by using wider policy levers to support local economic growth
  • explore the full range of options for funding development corporations’ programme of land acquisition, including providing public funding with a view to unlocking substantial private investment, and balancing considerations of short term affordability and long term value for money.

• Government should work with local authorities to put in place an independent design panel for East West Rail, the Expressway and new and expanded settlements across the arc by April 2018. This panel should work in concert with existing infrastructure design panels and new development corporations to specify, scrutinise and challenge settlement designs, plans and delivery, with a view to:
  • making most efficient use of new and existing infrastructure (including transport and utilities)
  • supporting positive social outcomes (including better mental and physical health)
  • achieving net gains in biodiversity and natural capital across the arc
  • improving quality of life for existing and future residents
• Government should establish arrangements for the long-term stewardship of valued community assets in each new or expanded settlement, placing responsibility and resources in the hands of the community – learning from both the Parks Trust in Milton Keynes and the Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation
• It should ensure that strategic infrastructure, including new elements of East West Rail and the Oxford-Cambridge Expressway, are planned and developed to achieve net gains in biodiversity and natural capital across the arc.