Paul Hirst, head of transport, Addleshaw Goddard, said:
“Whilst there is firm commitment to the highest investment in the road network since the Seventies, the much needed investment in rail transport in and between Northern Cities at this stage remains a work in progress. A study into the new HS3 East West rail line will report with options in March 2015 and so remains in the aspirational category. The announcement that bidders for the Northern and TPE rail franchises will be encouraged to replace out of date pacer trains and bring all other trains up to modern standards reflects exactly what is required – but how is this major investment to be funded?”
Mike O’Connor, head of infrastructure, projects and energy, Addleshaw Goddard, said:
“With low yielding bonds and volatile equities markets, the marketplace to invest in infrastructure is really competitive. This is potentially a line of attack our chancellor could make more of in paying for the roads, railways and energy plants.
“However, any roadmap for infrastructure has to look at jobs and housing alongside it and currently there’s too much of a silo mentality around different parts of government. A credible long term National Economic Plan is needed to map out everything alongside each other: for instance, HS2 has potential to create whole new communities along the route just as Crossrail in London is bringing new, previously disconnected districts into being. It’s vital there’s strategic oversight of these opportunities with the funds and impetus to kick start them.”
Marnix Elsenaar, head of planning, Addleshaw Goddard, said:
“Garden cities are fine in principle but we shouldn’t forget Gordon Brown’s eco-towns which are now nowhere to be seen. What’s crucial is considering what makes a place: jobs, social infrastructure and connectivity. A growing focus on urban living means we should prioritise satellite towns around London and Manchester which have good connections to jobs and where land exists to develop. Speeding up planning, investing in transport and potentially building homes with public money all make sense.
“Tough decisions are needed in planning in terms of building new developments and transport links. That’s why it’s important decisions don’t get lost in short-term political point scoring and it’s why we need a genuine generation-spanning plan.
“Our view is having a National Economic Plan setting out what we build and where enables many of the debates to be had up front and vastly reducing legal battles later on.
“Ultimately, we’ve got a pronounced shortage in housing supply yet no politician will stand up and say, “Let’s reduce house prices.” The public sector owns swathes of land it could use for homes and as we know house prices are unlikely to fall over in the long term, this could be a sensible investment in our economic as well as social future.”
