The Royal Town Planning Institute's (RTPI) Chief Executive, Dr Victoria Hills, says the institute supports the long-term and integrated approach to infrastructure planning set out in the government's 10-year Infrastructure Strategy, but warns that more is needed to support the preparation of spatial plans to deliver it.
Published on the 19 June, the 10-Year Infrastructure Strategy is intended to address a "maintenance backlog" that has left schools, colleges, hospitals and courts in a "state of disrepair".
According to the strategy document, it is "long-term in nature" and is backed by at least £725 billion of government funding for infrastructure over the next decade. It covers both economic and social infrastructure "for the first time, recognising that schools and hospitals are just as vital to living standards as road and rail".
The government said that of the £725 billion, at least £9 billion will be allocated during 2025-26 to address the "critical maintenance needs" of health, education and justice estates, rising to over £10 billion per year by 2034-35.
Through the strategy, the government aims to increase access to quality, modern public services, "following years of underinvestment".
The strategy document states that the government is taking a spatial approach to planning infrastructure to join up across different sectors and geographies to address national and local needs. Updates to the strategy will also set out national spatial priorities for England.
The National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA), established by the government this year, is going to lead the development of the government's new national infrastructure spatial plan too. The strategy document states that this will complement the government's Land Use Framework, which is due to be published later this year.
In addition, NISTA will be working with devolved governments in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to "build consistency" between each of their infrastructure pipelines and improve read-across.
The strategy also sets out how the environment will be improved, which includes a strategic and spatial approach to the environment to drive nature recovery alongside economic growth and streamlining the process of environmental planning assessments.
Provision of £500 million over three years is intended to make it simpler and quicker for developers to "meet their environmental obligations, without compromising on environmental improvement", through the Nature Restoration Fund and Marine Recovery Fund.
Hills said: "The RTPI supports a long-term and integrated approach to infrastructure planning set out in today’s 10-year Infrastructure Strategy. This includes the creation of the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA), which we hope provides more joined-up working across government to deliver the country’s infrastructure needs".
"The intention to better integrate sectoral plans and strategies spatially and proposals to publish national spatial priorities in future updates have been a long-term ask from the RTPI".
"However, to deliver this strategy, the government needs to do more to support the preparation of spatial plans across the country".
"Strategic plan production could require 150-200 new planners, alongside workforce demands from the government to expedite and improve local plan coverage and establish more development corporations".
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