National Infrastructure Commission

Year of publication: 2017

The report, the first interim National Infrastructure Assessment, seeks to identify key priorities ahead of the Commission’s 2018 National Infrastructure Strategy. It identifies three challenges: congestion, capacity and carbon.

The assessment calls for more efficient use of existing infrastructure to reduce congestion, emphasising the role of technology. It also calls for more investment in alternatives to cars (from walking and cycling to rail and metro networks), as well as congestion and pollution charging in cities.

The Commission argues that more needs to be spent on additional modern infrastructure (‘capacity’), listing 4G mobile coverage, new power generators, additional railway track and new water storage as priorities. The report describes housing as “the greatest infrastructure capacity challenge of all”, calling for increased housebuilding through enabling infrastructure development.

Finally, the report considers carbon, calling for greater reduction in CO₂ emissions through the more widespread use of electric cars and renewable energy generation.

It concludes that these reforms should be delivered through partnerships between local and national government, as well as combined authorities and the private sector.

Content type: Environment

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