Issue Two
Does the sustainability of development depend on infrastructur?
The sustainability of development depends on infrastructure. It might be unfashionable to call for more central government as well as a whole new tier added to the planning system, but some things simply don’t happen by themsel
Infrastructure is the backbone of any sustainable community. It ought to go without saying that communities need schools, hospitals, services, good public spaces and other facilities as well as jobs and homes. They need to be supported by utilities and protected from flooding, served with good public transport and well connected to existing neighbourhoods.
All communities require the right infrastructure to be sustainable and new housing developments might not be viable at all without it. The Treasury’s 2004 report on housing supply noted that 40,000 completions were held up in the South East alone by lack of infrastructure. Report author Kate Barker, speaking at the 2004 Planning Convention, remarked that she should probably have focused on infrastructure rather than land supply.
Inadequate infrastructure planning and investment can have an indirect impact on housing supply by strengthening local authority and community opposition to new development, playing to fears of unbearable pressure on existing services. These existing deficiencies can create particular problems where new development land straddles boundaries between owners, developers and local authorities, all of whom might have different timetables and budgets.
Town planning is the only discipline capable of associating infrastructure needs with housing provision. The new planning system is designed to create a framework in which the principle has already been agreed of what can be built and where. Working within this framework should offer clear guidance for investment, certainty on such matters as design, infrastructure needs and levels of affordable housing and, above all, timely decision making. It can both identify need and timetable provision.
The planning system can achieve much more through co-ordinated infrastructure provision and proactive provision than simply speeding up housing supply – however valuable that is. Investment can be better distributed to tackle deprivation in existing communities and to address regional imbalances.
It is clear that infrastructure provision is not being given the level of attention and investment required. Planning obligations alone on new development are not a satisfactory means of ensuring adequate provision.
Public and private infrastructure providers do not appear to be planning for the future in a co-ordinated way. All the key service delivery agencies must plan for development growth and need to be involved in strategic decision making especially on housing.
A new national level of spatial planning – a tier above the current regional level – could guide and co-ordinate major infrastructure investment such as ports, airports, highways and other economic drivers.
Closer working and communication are needed between all government departments to address a lack of integration across sectors. Government investment in new schools, for example, is unrelated to housing and employment strategies for deprived areas. A Ministerial Committee (MISC22) chaired by the Prime Minister has a role in co-ordinating the creation of sustainable communities, but the impression is that infrastructure is simply not emerging as a priority of this committee.
A positive starting point would be the appointment of an ‘Infrastructure Tsar’ – a champion to work with government and other agencies to improve co-ordination and integration of infrastructure provision and to clarify and direct the priorities and responsibilities of the parties involved.
Current policies – planned levels of construction, renewal of housing markets and a focus on sustainability – offer a unique chance to deliver the highest standards of development throughout the UK. We should not allow a piecemeal approach to infrastructure to get in the way.
What's your Perspective?
Ron Tate, President of the Royal Town Planning Institute in 2005, argues that extra government intervention might be a price worth paying for essential infrastructure.