MediaResponding to the National Infrastructure Commission’s latest report, Sam Richards, founder and campaign director for pro-growth campaign group Britain Remade, said:
“The National Infrastructure Commission has rightly identified that our outdated and sluggish planning system is one of the key barriers to building the economy boosting, job creating infrastructure Britain desperately needs.
“If we’re to become a clean energy superpower, if we’re to have the roads that connect our towns and cities and if we’re going to have the laboratories needed to deliver the latest cutting-edge tech, then the Government needs to stop dithering and act.
“As the report points out, the time it takes for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects to be approved is two-thirds slower than it was just a few years ago. This should be a wakeup call for everyone in Government that wants to see growth delivered across the country.
“One of Britain Remade’s first recommendations to speed up the delivery of clean energy infrastructure, such as new onshore wind and utility scale solar farms, was the introduction of Clean Power Zones. These zones would be located in the areas where environmental concerns are lowest, new renewable projects would benefit from fast-track approvals and less red tape. With the Commission calling for better use of environmental data and a greater role for integrated spatial planning, I’m pleased the NIC has adopted this approach.
“Not only would this speed up the building of the clean sources of energy needed to make Britain more energy secure - thereby slashing energy bills for millions of people, it would also help protect nature far more than existing rules do.”