Nigel Jackson, chief executive of the
The announcements made in the government’s Autumn Statement to fund more local transport schemes and road maintenance work need to convert into live projects this year and be sustained into 2014/15 and beyond.
“There is growing frustration at the continuing gap between the positive public statements about infrastructure investment and the lack of meaningful action on the ground. Office of National Statistics (ONS) data shows that infrastructure construction declined by 15% in 2012. The additional road spending announced in the Autumn Statement was welcome but amounted to less than the record 45% decline in road construction last year,” says Jackson.
The London School of Economics (LSE) Growth Commission recently reported “underinvestment and inadequate maintenance characterise the provision of roads, railways and airports,” and the MPA says that what was once seen as a long term issue has become a short term matter of real concern. Fixing the supply side of the economy is a necessary precursor to fixing the economy and better infrastructure is central to that.
There are clearly persistent and long standing institutional and structural blockages in the way of delivery of major transport and critical energy projects in the UK, which have to be addressed in the national interest. Time is of the essence and a far greater sense of urgency and a ‘can do’ approach is needed if bigger and more costly problems are to be avoided over the next few years, says the MPA.
If ever there was a time for these key strategic issues to be gripped it is now. A clear short term delivery plan, that translates our acknowledged road, rail, aviation, energy and other utility needs into growth activity, is urgently required if confidence is to be rebuilt to encourage private sector investment in housing and other forms of development, adds the organisation.
