National Infrastructure Plan 2013

by | Dec 4, 2013 | Free Publications

PDF Icon National Infrastructure Plan 2013

The Government has published a new National Infrastructure Plan. The plan sets out investment for energy, transport, flood defence, waste, water and communications infrastructure up to 2030 and beyond. The Plan articulates the specific rationale for selecting the Government’s Top 40 ‘Priority investments’; identifies key projects within those individual investments and provides more detail on the timing, funding and status of each. It also sets out new ways in which it will drive delivery of the Top 40 investments, including a dedicated ‘hot-desk’ in Infrastructure UK where Top 40 project owners can raise issues of concern, and a new Major Infrastructure Tracking unit which will allow it to track the progress of each Top 40 investment.

Aviation related projects in the Top 40 Priority Investments

Among the Top 40 Priority Investments The Plan states that the Government will particularly monitor the active investment programmes at the UK’s two largest South East airports:

  • Heathrow capital investment programme; and
  • Gatwick capital investment programme.

The Plan also states that the Government will particularly monitor the active investment programmes at the regional airports servicing the two largest conurbations outside the South East:

  • Birmingham Airport runway extension; and
  • A6 Manchester Airport relief road.

The Plan also states that the Airports Commission has recommended a package of measures (described in a letter from Sir Howard Davies to the Chancellor of the Exchequer dated 26 Nov 2013, available here and on the Airport Commission’s page of the SASIG website) for improving surface access to key airports which the Government has committed to delivering. These measures include:

  1. committing £50 million towards a full redevelopment of the railway station at Gatwick, subject to satisfactory commercial negotiation with the Airport;
  2. setting up a new study into southern rail access to Heathrow;
  3. accelerating a Network Rail study into the Brighton Mainline;
  4. extending the scope of the East Anglian Mainline study to include access to Stansted;
  5. including the Gatwick to London route on a planned trial of smart ticketing (subject to ongoing commercial negotiations); and
  6. including access to Gatwick in the Highways Agency study on local motorways.

The plan states that this new package builds on existing projects which are currently being delivered with Government assistance, such as the Northern Hub at Manchester Airport, Birmingham Gateway project and the development of western rail access to Heathrow.

The Plan and its associated documents are also available here.