Engineering, management and development consultancy Mott MacDonald is urging the government to ensure its 10-year Infrastructure Strategy is delivered in full.
Responding to the announcement, Richard Risdon, executive board director and regional managing director for UK and Europe at Mott MacDonald, urged the government to become “the guardian of a long-term approach to new infrastructure”.
“The government has demonstrated that it understands improving the UK’s infrastructure is vital to increasing productivity and driving positive economic, social and environmental outcomes. Its belief that funding the management of existing assets is just as important as the investment in new ones, is most welcome,” he said. “The confirmed plans for significant investment across a wide range of sectors will help deliver a place-based approach.
“It is critical now that the government ensures the plan is built to last and transcends politics, so future governments see through the whole 10 years. It’s not just the strategy that matters though. We need government to adopt a holistic approach to encouraging people to join our sector and to develop the skills needed to design and deliver all this new infrastructure.
“I have always been clear that the private sector will need to play an increasingly involved role in major projects. However, the industry must demonstrate confidence in its ability to deliver on the plan in order to attract the investment needed for the strategy to be successful too.
“Responsibility for the success lies with us as an industry as the strategy will ultimately be judged on whether it delivers the expected outcomes, alongside tangible progress in how we deliver.
“We look forward to the publication of the announced infrastructure pipeline and the increase transparency that this will give to the public about what will be built, when and where.”
Meanwhile, Angela Jones, President of ADEPT, said: “ADEPT welcomes the publication of the National Infrastructure Strategy, which provides much needed clarity on the government’s long-term vision for addressing the UK’s infrastructure challenges. The strategy comes at a critical time when local authorities are grappling with a mounting infrastructure crisis.
“In particular, we welcome the government’s new approach to funding, which promises long-term certainty of five years. This commitment will enable local authorities to move away from the cycle of emergency repairs and adopt a more strategic, preventative approach to infrastructure management – ultimately delivering better value and more reliable services for communities.
“Local authorities have been dealing with the consequences of decades of underinvestment while simultaneously facing new pressures from more frequent flooding, heat damage and severe weather.
“The strategy’s recognition of these climate resilience challenges is particularly important as we work to futureproof our networks. The commitment to flood resilience through the 10-year flood defence investment programme will be crucial in breaking the reactive cycle of emergency repairs and building long-term resilience into our infrastructure.
“The announcement of £1 billion for road structures through the new Structures Fund was a welcome step in addressing critical road maintenance needs, but it highlights the scale of investment required across all infrastructure assets.
“We also welcome the strategy’s recognition that delivering 1.5 million new homes requires coordinated infrastructure investment across transport, utilities, and digital connectivity – areas where local authorities play a vital delivery role.
“We look forward to reading the new Infrastructure Pipeline in July to understand the further detail of how this ambitious strategy will be implemented.”
(File picture – Mott MacDonald)
