Infrastructure minister Lord Deighton is to lobby planning minister Nick Boles (pictured) to remove blockages in the planning system and improve project delivery in government.
Speaking at today’s British Property Federation annual conference, the former chief executive of Locog said improvements to the planning system were key to improving infrastructure delivery.
“For generations we’ve underinvested in infrastructure and we need to find a way of adjusting that in an environment that is incredibly tight,” he said.
“On the government’s list of priorities infrastructure is sexy for the first time since Victorian times. It is a prerequisite for us being a competitive player in the global race. We would like to accelerate its delivery and improve the way in which we deliver to get best value.”
Admitting government was better at writing policy than ensuring delivery, he said ministers wanted to strike a better balance. “We also need to get the policy right. But government also has a really important role in ensuring the theory of policy transfers to effective implementation. Streamlining planning falls into that. We know there must be smarter ways to get that process streamlined without sacrificing civil liberties.
“Planning is key. My plan of action is to start with planning minister Nick Boles. He is absolutely up for challenging some of the status quo and I plan to pursue that with him.”
Lord Deighton said government needed to improve the way in which it worked. “We are long on smart policy people and quite short on effective project delivery people. How do we effect that rebalancing so government’s own capability is much more effective, so we get a grip and get these projects delivered more sensibly?,” he said.
damian.wild@estatesgazette.com
