Armitt publishes Bill and Labour endorses it

Angus Walker picture-13This entry reports on the latest developments with the Armitt Review of infrastructure planning.

Background

Back in September 2013, I reported on the publication of the Armitt Review. Sir John Armitt had been asked by shadow chancellor Ed Balls MP to consider improvements to long-term infrastruture planning and delivery.

The review proposed a National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) of up to 15 people (not to be confused with the Infrastructure Planning Commission), which would produce a National Infrastructure Assessment (NIA) every ten years, setting out evidence-based policy on need for national infrastructure over the following 25-30 years.

For each infrastructure 'sector', the relevant government department would then produce a sector infrastructure plan within two years, which would set out how the relevant infrastructure in the NIA in that sector would be delivered.

Latest developments

Last week three new documents were published on the Armitt review website:

  1. a covering letter  from Sir John to Ed Balls;
  2. a draft National Infrastructure Bill that would implement the Armitt commission proposals;
  3. a timetable for implementation.

At the NIPA conference on Monday, shadow planning minister Roberta Blackman-Woods MP said that the party endorsed the proposals and would implement them if elected in 2015.

Analysis

It is clear that SIPs are to replace National Policy Statements (NPS), since the draft Bill replaces the latter phrase with the former wherever it occurs in the Planning Act 2008. Perhaps it would be simpler to retain the original name, although I accept that SIP is more pronounceable than NPS. 

It is also clear that the NIA would replace the National Infrastructure Plan currently produced by Infrastructure UK, part of the Treasury each year - because Roberta Blackman-Woods confirmed that when I asked her on Monday. In fact the timetable suggests that Infrastructure UK would be 'incrementally phased into' the NIC.

Although Sir John produced his proposals independently, they will be firmly associated with the Labour Party since they appear on its website and were commissioned by it. That unfortunately means that the other main parties are unlikely to endorse them, but it is possible that they may come up with their own proposals that are not too different.

Indeed, the coalition government has already set up a commission to produce evidence-based policy on need in one part of one sector - the aviation sector, namely the Airports ('Davies') Commission. The NIC looks very like that but extended to all sectors and endorsed by Parliament.

That neatly takes me to mentioning that the Davies Commission is asking for submissions on the best (legal) route to consent a new runway in the south-east of England, by 15 August. It suggests a Hybrid Bill (like the HS2 Bill), a development consent order, or another route if someone comes up with one. Of course the correct answer is a development consent order. The Davies Commission is also asking for comments on a study of environmental impacts of a Thames Estuary airport, suggesting a compensatory habitat of up to 6800 hectares (over 26 square miles) might be needed. Ouch!

It is also possible to provide comments to the Armitt Review on the draft Bill and the timetable, by 31 October - to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

If the other parties don't come up with an alternative we may go into the election with the ironic position of Labour seeking to change the Planning Act regime it originally introduced, while the other parties seek to defend it.