Planning matters

The Government has also published a new Funding and Finance Supplement setting out how planned investment in the pipeline supply is likely to be financed and the opportunities for private investment. These publications come hot on the heels of the Autumn Statement unveiling of the National Productivity Investment Fund (NPIF) that will direct £11 billion of additional investment into infrastructure projects and programmes across the UK, aimed at boosting productivity.

The NICP unashamedly showcases a wide range of projects and highlights that the country’s infrastructure sector is very much open for business and will continue to be post-Brexit. Indeed, significant private investment is needed to deliver the pipeline supply of projects and is estimated to make up more than half of the £300 billion of investment needed for the identified projects up to 2020/21, and a significant amount thereafter.

NLP has undertaken analysis of the project breakdown in the NICP. Figure 1 below provides a breakdown of the near £500 billion investment planned from 2016/17 onwards combining private and public sector investment for the main types of infrastructure. The largest sector in the pipeline supply is energy, totalling £206 billion. Unsurprisingly, nuclear power projects make the largest contribution to planned investment in this sector. The top 3 single largest projects all include nuclear power plants, and account for 22% of overall investment.

The next biggest sector is transport, with the total value being heavily skewed by High Speed 2 (accounting for 40% of the total planned investment).

Utilities are the third biggest sector with around £75 billion of investment to be directed towards electricity and gas transmission and distribution. The characteristics of this sector are inherently linked to the high performing energy sector. Interestingly, the utilities sector is the only sector identified in the NICP that is to be entirely funded by the private sector.

Around 40% of the £300 billion of projects up to 2020/21has been allocated to individual English regions - the other 60% cannot be allocated because it relates to schemes or programmes that cover multiple regions. Figure 2 below shows NLP’s analysis of the spatial variation of infrastructure investment from 2016/17 onwards.

Different regions have different priorities allocated in terms of infrastructure investment. It is noteworthy that a focus for London will be significant investment in transport improvements, which accounts for over two-thirds of its £29 billion planned private and public investment. Crossrail and tube line modernisation represent 2 of the big ticket items for the Capital alongside a large range of other comparatively smaller projects. The NICP shows that the North West and South West regions will attract the largest share of investment in the energy sector compared to the other regions in England, which elevates them into 1^st and 3^rd place respectively in terms of total planned infrastructure investment for the English regions (over £36 billion and £22 billion respectively). This is largely accountable to significant sums of private sector investment in new nuclear power stations at Moorside (West Cumbria) and Hinkley Point (Somerset). London comes in 2^nd overall, spurred on by its planned transport improvements.

NLP has also analysed the timings of planned investment which shows that the energy and transport sectors are planned to receive the majority of investment from 2016 onwards (Figure 3 below). A decline in investment is anticipated in the 2-year post-Brexit era (assuming the UK leaves in 2018), which could just be a coincidence.

Certainly ‘Brexit-blight’ has the potential to influence Government spending priorities and private investor confidence, and generally reduce potential sources of funding. For example, the role of The European Investment Bank (EIB) as a source of debt finance for infrastructure projects in the UK is noted in the Funding and Finance Supplement, as is the EU’s “Investment Plan for Europe” which uses a 21 billion euro guarantee fund to enable the EIB to lend to an increased range of infrastructure projects. Whilst the EIB has continued to approve and sign financing deals with UK projects since the referendum, with over £2 billion of EIB financing approved and over £400 million of deals signed for UK projects since 23 June 2016, this support is only likely to continue while we remain a Member State.

It is also notable that investment in infrastructure post 2020/21 is anticipated to be dominated by the energy sector, accounting for 63% (around £127 billion) of the total planned £201 billion. This sector is predominantly privately funded, with overseas investment playing a pivotal role. Economic volatility is likely to hamper the UK’s ability to attract this form of investment.

The Government’s ability to drive the economy forward in the post-Brexit era will therefore be integral to securing the necessary funding and achieving its growth ambitions for infrastructure development in the UK. The NICP and Funding and Finance Supplement will hopefully help by highlighting investment opportunities and inspiring investor confidence.

Do you need help establishing open space and recreational needs for your local authority; or for your development project?

NLP’s new ‘Fit for Purpose’ methodology is assisting public and privately sector clients plan more effectively for future needs. 

Fit for Purpose works by combining GIS mapping capabilities and catchment area analysis and presenting the quantifiable demand of additional facilities required in the local area through a tangible, accessible and clear infographic report seeking to offer practical ways forward.

The UK is an increasingly health conscious nation. UK gym membership is at an all-time high^[1], the number of adults playing sports once a week is up 1.75 million over the past decade[2] and the Leisure Sector in the UK is now worth an estimated £60billion per annum[3].

This sectorial momentum shows no sign of abating, with Experian projecting that Leisure expenditure per person will increase by 25% over the next decade.

Despite this growing demand, NLP’s research shows, many local planning authorities’ do not have robust and up-to-date assessments of the need for sports and recreation facilities, as required by the NPPF, and are therefore struggling to determine what provision is required now and in the future.

Similarly, promoters and developers of large scale residential developments are being asked to contribute through CIL/ and planning obligations, or through the delivery of green infrastructure to meet the needs of new resident. Determining these requirements in different contexts can be complex.

In response, to this challenge, NLP has developed Fit for Purpose; an innovative cost efficient and robust methodology for quantifying existing and future needs for sport and recreational facilities within any defined area.

Think you could benefit from Fit for Purpose? Find out more about how NLP can help, and how to get in contact here.