Government unveils raft of reforms to boost infrastructure

The government plans to push a raft of reforms through Parliament to speed up infrastructure and housing developments before next year’s general election.

A forthcoming infrastructure bill, announced in the Queen’s Speech, would speed up the planning process for both nationally significant infrastructure projects and local schemes, permit quangos to make public land available to developers more quickly and turn the Highways Agency into a government-owned company.

The bill also proposes controversial reforms to encourage fracking for oil and gas and changes to the zero carbon homes policy.

The broad range of policies incorporated into the infrastructure bill and the inclusion of the fracking reforms, which are likely to face fierce opposition, sparked concerns the bill may not pass parliament before next May’s election.

Stephen Joseph, chief executive of the Campaign for Better Transport, said: “The infrastructure bill represents a high-risk strategy from Government which badly misreads the public mood.

“A bill combining road-building and fracking will attract serious and sustained criticism from a wide range of quarters in the run up to the next election.”

For nationally significant infrastructure projects, the bill would simplify the process for making changes to development consent orders and enable an examining authority to be appointed earlier in the process.

On a local level the bill would allow certain types of planning conditions to be discharged upon application if a local planning authority fails to promptly notify a developer of its decision.

The bill would permit quangos to transfer land directly to the Homes and Communities Agency, fasttracking making land available for housing developments.

The bill would turn the Highways Agency into a government-owned company, which the government said would ensure “stable, long term funding needed to plan [road projects].”

Jeremy Blackburn, RICS head of policy and parliamentary affairs, said he welcomed the planned boost to infrastructure projects but said there was “a frustrating lack of detail on the much talked about Garden Cities, broadband and immediate delivery of key infrastructure projects.”

The Queen’s Speech also confirmed the government will bring forward legislation to enact its zero carbon homes policy in 2016, which is set to exempt small developments.