What is the NPPF?

The NPPF sets out national planning policies for England.  These apply with immediate effect.

The NPPF reduces and distils over 1,000 pages of policy across more than 40 documents into just 59 pages.  The intention is that this will lead to a simpler, more accessible planning system while aiming to strengthen local decision making and reinforce the importance of up-to-date plans.

It supersedes and replaces almost all previous national planning policy statements (PPS) and planning policy guidance notes (PPG).  One notable exception is PPS 10 on waste which remains in force until the National Waste Management Plan for England is published.  The Government has also signalled its intention to revoke Regional Strategies.  This will happen as soon as the environmental assessment of that decision has been completed.

The NPPF does not address nationally significant infrastructure projects, which will be set out in national policy statements for major infrastructure.

What is ‘Sustainable Development’?

The NPPF introduces a presumption in favour of sustainable development.  This is the golden-thread now running through the new guidance.  If it can be demonstrated that proposed development is sustainable and fits with local policy then it should have a good chance of being approved.

The NPPF goes back to the high level 1987 Bruntland Report definition of sustainable development which talks about meeting today’s needs without compromising the needs of future generations.  It also refers to the five guiding principles established in the 2005 UK Sustainable Development Strategy, being (1) living with the planet’s environmental limits; (2) ensuring a strong, healthy and just society; (3) achieving a sustainable economy; (4) promoting good governance; and (5) using sound science responsibly.

Sustainable development will be achieved through implementation of policies set out in paragraphs 18 through 219 of the NPPF.  Underpinning this is the need to improve the quality of life, the natural, built and historic environment.

What are the Key Messages?

Housing and Development

n   Local planning authorities should plan to meet the full, objectively assessed housing needs for the area.

n   Local Planning authorities should continue to identify a five year supply of deliverable land for housing.  An additional buffer of 5% should also be identified, although this is increased to 20% where there is a history of under performance in terms of housing development.

n   Local authorities can include an element of windfall development in their five-year supply if there is compelling evidence that such sites have consistently come forward and will continue to.

n   New settlements or extensions to villages and towns that follow the principles of Garden Cities might help deliver the supply of new homes.

n   Planning policies should encourage the re use of previously developed, brownfield land.  Locally appropriate targets for the use of brownfield land can be set by the local authority.

n   Protection of the green belt remains, though the quality of green belt land should be enhanced.  Green belt boundaries should only be altered in exceptional circumstances or through review of the Local Plan.

n   Local and Neighbourhood Plans should develop robust and comprehensive design policies.  Local design review panels should be set up.  Applications of a poor design should be refused.

Economy

n   Significant weight should be placed on the need to support economic growth through the planning system.

n   The sequential test for planning applications for town centre uses in out of centre locations should be applied.

n   Planning policies should avoid the long term protection of sites allocated for employment uses where there is no prospect of a site being used for that purpose.

Environment

n   LPAs should aim to minimise pollution and other adverse effects on the local and natural environment.  Plans should allocate land with the least environmental or amenity value.

n   A new Local Plan designation for Local Green Space will enable communities to rule out development other than in very special circumstances.

n   The presumption in favour of sustainable development (paragraph 14 of the NPPF) does not apply where development requiring appropriate assessment under the Birds or Habitats Directives is being considered, planed or determined.

n   Smarter use of technologies should be investigated in order to reduce the need to travel

Flood Risk, Climate Change and Energy

n   Local planning authorities should adopt proactive strategies to mitigate and adapt to climate change, flood risk, coastal change and water supply.  The sequential and exception tests for development in areas at risk of flooding remains.  Further guidance on this is provided in the accompanying Technical Guidance document along with some mineral policies transferred from MPG

n   Renewable and low carbon energy generation is seen as central to future sustainable development.  LPAs are required to identify areas as suitable for renewable and low-carbon energy development, and make clear what criteria have determined their selection, including for what size of development the areas are considered suitable.

What are the implications for Local Plans? 

The NPPF reinforces the principles of the plan-led system.

Planning decisions should be taken in accordance with the Local Plan, unless material considerations suggest otherwise.  Where a Local Plan is absent, silent or out-of-date, planning permission should be granted unless it does not comply with the policies contained within the NPPF.

The NPPF encourages the production of a single Local Plan; and Supplementary Planning Documents where justified.  These should not place additional financial burdens on developers.  Only policies that provide a clear indication of how a development proposal will be reacted to by decision makers should be included in the Plan.

Local Planning Authorities have twelve months from publication of the NPPF to bring existing plans into conformity with the NPPF.  In the meantime, full weight will be given to adopted Plans, on the basis that there is only a limited degree of conflict with NPPF

LPAs should collaborate   with neighbouring authorities on cross boundary issues, particularly in terms of housing and infrastructure matters.

What should be in the Local Plan?

Local Plans should reflect the vision and objectives of the local community.

They should set out policies that guide how the presumption in favour of sustainable development should be applied at the district level and they should encourage local people to bring neighbourhood plans forward.

Local organisations, communities and businesses thus need to be proactively engaged in the production of the Local Plan.

Local Plans will continue to be subject to independent examination.  They will be assessed against the duty to cooperate on cross boundary issues, legal and procedural requirements.  A Plan will be found sound if can be demonstrated that it has been positively prepared, is justified, effective and consistent with the NPPF.

The Local Plan should identify broad locations for strategic development, allocate sites to promote development and the flexible use of land, identify any areas where development would be inappropriate and contain strategies for enhancing the environment.  They should contain a proposals map.

This note provides an overview of the key announcements in the budget related to Transport and Planning. Some of which are just re-announcements of previous policies and commitments.

 Infrastructure

The Government: will take forward many of Alan Cook’s recommendations for roads, including developing a national roads strategy and setting a renewed focus on the level of performance expected from the Highways Agency.2 The Government will also consider whether to go further and will carry out a feasibility study into new ownership and financing models for the national road network, learning lessons from the water industry, to report on progress by Autumn Statement 2012;

It has identified a shortlist of options to increase capacity and improve performance on the A14 between Huntingdon and Cambridge, some of which could be part-funded through tolling. These include widening some sections, rationalising access to the route, and improving the route of the southern bypass for Huntingdon. In addition, the Government is considering measures to shift more freight from road to rail and to enhance public transport. The preferred package will be finalised by July 2012.

The Government is also delivering on the other commitments made in the National Infrastructure Plan 2011 to target investment where it is most needed and facilitate delivery of major projects. In particular, the Government:

it  will support Network Rail to invest a further £130 million in the Northern Hub rail scheme, subject to value for money, to improve transport links between Manchester and Sheffield, Rochdale, Halifax, Bradford, Bolton, Preston and Blackpool, including increasing capacity on the Hope Valley line between Manchester and Sheffield. This builds on previously announced investments to electrify the Transpennine railway route from Manchester to Leeds and build the Ordsall Chord between Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Victoria stations;

explore the case for using the Planning Act 2008 to streamline the planning process for the proposed additional river crossings in East London, for example at Silvertown, which will reduce peak period delays and congestion in the area. The Government is also working with the railway industry, Transport for London (TfL) and the Mayor of London to consider further investments to improve rail journeys into and within London, including longer trains and increased capacity at stations. Further details will be announced in summer 2012. The Government will grant £15 million to TfL for investments in cycle safety, which will include improved provision for cyclists at junctions across the capital under consideration in TfL’s cycle safety junction review;

continue to work with the Welsh Government to consider electrification of the Welsh Valley lines, subject to value for money and an agreement on financing. A final decision will be announced in summer 2012;

the Government can also confirm it will provide £56 million of support for the Bexhill to Hastings link road to facilitate economic regeneration in a deprived area of the South East;

Energy

The Government: will publish a strategy for gas generation in autumn 2012, and continue implementing electricity market reform, recognising that gas-fired electricity generation will continue to play a major role in UK energy supplies over the next decade and beyond and has introduced further measures including: setting out plans for the Green Deal to support energy efficiency; introducing the Renewable Heat Incentive; providing £1 billion to support the commercialisation of Carbon Capture and Storage; taking forward the Renewables Obligation Banding Review; and developing five new Centres for Offshore Renewable Engineering.

Housing

The Get Britain Building Fund, will be increased by £150 million, which will help deliver over 3,000 more homes and the Government  is accelerating the release of public sector land and has now identified sufficient land to meet its ambition to dispose of land with the capacity to build over 100,000 homes and support as many as 25,000 jobs by April 2014. A progress report setting out further details will be published before summer 2012. It is also taking forward pilots of land auctions for public sector land, with the aim of having two sites ready for market by the end of 2012.

The Government will consult on the potential role a social housing Real Estate Investment Trust could play to support investment in the social housing sector. The Government is also implementing reform of the Housing Revenue Account subsidy system to give local authorities responsibility for managing their own council housing businesses.

Supporting investment across the UK

To support investment across the English regions, the Government: is working with the eight core cities on a package of measures to decentralise decision-making power away from central Government. The Government has agreed proposals with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority to pilot an innovative new Earn Back Model that is set to unlock £1.2 billion of infrastructure investment across the city region. Proposals from Bristol, Birmingham, Leeds, Newcastle, Nottingham and Sheffield will be finalised over the course of 2012.

The Government will make up to £150 million available from 2013–14, including through additional funding, for larger scale projects in core cities to be financed through Tax Increment Financing (TIF 2), which enables local authorities to borrow against future growth in business rates. Further details on a competition for allocating funding will be announced in the coming months;

It will increase the Growing Places fund by £270 million to empower local communities and businesses to lead development in their own areas, including £70 million for the Greater London Authority.

It has supported the establishment of a new Pension Infrastructure Platform owned and run by UK pension funds, which will make the first wave of its initial £2 billion investment in UK infrastructure by early 2013. A separate group of pension fund investors has also presented proposals to the Treasury for increasing pension plan investment in infrastructure in the construction phase.

Planning

The Government will publish the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) by the end of March 2012, coming into force for plan-making and decisions from that point onwards, with appropriate implementation arrangements for local authorities with pro-growth policies in local plans. There will be support to help local authorities get plans up to date quickly.

The NPPF will refocus planning policy to better support growth, will include a powerful presumption in favour of sustainable development to underpin all local plans and decisions, and will localise choice about the use of previously developed land, ending nationally imposed targets.

The Government: will introduce further measures to deregulate and simplify the planning system. The Government will shortly consult on reducing information requirements and on proposals to amend the Use Class Order and the associated permitted development rights to make changing the use of buildings easier, for implementation by April 2013. In addition, new permitted development rights for micro-renewable energy installations will come into force in April 2012; will remove duplication in the consenting regime for major infrastructure development by bringing forward legislation to adjust the scope of Special Parliamentary Procedure, and will shortly publish draft revised guidance to make the regime clearer and easier to use.

We have slightly adapted our annual tradition of predicting the contents of the Budget to make it a contest between the “wisdom of crowds” and our economics team. So we invited SKM’s multitude of engineers, environmentalists,  planners and countless other specialists to come together to see if they can outperform our economists.  And they responded in their hundreds.

Interestingly in most areas our economists and “wise crowd” agreed with each other but there were some significant differences.  These were as follows:

• So while our economists expect the 50% rate of income tax to be phased out 56% of our wise crowd expect it to be retained - tax rate reduced to 45% so the economists are claiming half a point
• On fuel duty our economists expect no change while the wise crowd expect an increase with the largest number predicting at least a 2p increase per litre for petrol – tricky this one we are saying the economists were right as no additional change other than the previously announced increase was made
• On Corporation tax the economists predict a reduction to 22% while the wise crowd expect no change – clear win for economists with a reduction to 22% by 2014 announced
• Whilst in relation to the Government’s net financing agreement the wise crowd predict somewhere between £125-149bn while the economists were split. The grey hairs being optimistic and predicting it will be between £125-149bn while the more youthful and exuberant were surprising pessimistic and predicted over £175bn. – grey hairs were correct along with the wise crowd – the figure being £126bn

Both groups expect no change in the basic rate of income tax, that the personnel allowance will increase in line with inflation, that the basic rate of VAT will remain unchanged, that excise duty on beer will rise by 4p a pint, that the Chancellor will resist the temptation to introduce a new mansion tax and that his budget speech will last for between 46-60 minutes.

As for the rest fairly spot on although effectively a new mansion tax was introduced. The personal allowance rose by more than inflation but is not quite yet at the £10,000 coalition government target while duty on a pint of beer rises by 5p rather than 4p. In terms of timing I made it 58 minutes so we got that right as well as VAT and basic income tax predictions.

As in previous years we will compare what the Chancellor actually announces with our predictions and see if we can beat last years 71/2 out of ten success rate.

So the economists are claiming victory over the wise crowd. 

Transport Scotland recently published its consultation document on the future of rail services in the country. Scotland’s passenger railways are broadly a £1bn a year business with 26% of revenue coming from passengers and the remainder from tax payers – of whom a minority are also rail users. (This covers just Scotrail operations and excludes cross border services provided by other operators as well as rail freight.)

The consultation document raises the question of what should be the balance between rail users and taxpayers in terms of paying for rail services. The implication being that the present split is not seen as equitable. The recent funding of London’s Crossrail (whilst an infrastructure project) provides an interesting precedent about how rail services might be funded with its a third, a third, a third funding package. That is a third of the money comes from users, a third from businesses and a third from general taxes. The logic behind this funding arrangement is broadly as follows. Passengers obviously benefit from the service so should contribute to it. Businesses (ie employers) in locations served by the rail network benefit from being able to draw upon a larger labour pool to recruit from which reduces wages and improves competitiveness while not having to provide so much car parking. Whilst the general public benefits from a reduced number of cars on the road network, so benefits from less congestion and pollution as well as reducing the need to invest in new road infrastructure.

So what would be the implications of such a funding regime in Scotland? If passengers were to pay a third of the cost of services this would require (all other things being equal) fares to rise by 27%. If we assume that such a funding package were to be phased in over say a five year period this would require annual real fare rises of 2.5% if passenger numbers also grew at 2.5%. This would mean that the present average single fare of £3.30 per single trip would increase to £3.70 in present prices by year 5.

The second source of funding, from businesses, could be  based on the French “versement transport” which is a hypothecated local tax levied on the total gross salaries of employees. In France the rate varies by area and is applicable only to companies of more than nine employees. It is highest in Paris where the rate is 2.6%. To keep it simple in this example we have assumed the levy will be paid by everyone employed in those local authority Districts where at least 4% of the workforce commute to work by rail and that the levy will need to raise £330m a year. Based on the 640,000 people employed in these Districts and average wages within them this would equate to a levy on wages of 1.9%. In the context of France this a high levy especially as it only covers national rail services and few employers benefit from their staff commuting by rail.

The balance of funding would come from general taxpayers and in this third/third/third model would see a reduction in the amount sought per household from £315 per household now down to £140 per household.

The above analysis highlights some of the issues of rail funding in Scotland. It is difficult to see how the “a third, a third, a third funding package” could work given the high level of contribution required from employers in relation to the low number of rail commuters. However, even with considerable above inflation fare increases and assumed growth in rail patronage it is difficult to see passenger revenues covering much more than a third of operating costs.

This suggests, that if the present funding split is not acceptable, the need to identify either new sources of finance or to significantly reduce costs including closures to improve the financial sustainability of Scotland’s passenger rail services.

Planning 

In response to the Penfold Review, the Government will:

•• ensure the key consenting and advisory agencies have a remit to promote sustainable development as soon as the National Planning Policy Framework is finalised. This will ensure that these bodies consider the impact of their decisions on sustainable economic growth and swiftly approve consents when it is appropriate to do so; and

•• introduce a 13-week maximum timescale for the majority of non-planning consents, to speed up the consenting process and give certainty to developers. This will take immediate effect for government agencies.

In addition, the Government will:

•• ensure that there is a more effective mechanism for applicants to obtain an award of costs, if there is an appeal against refusal of a planning permission where a statutory consultee has acted unreasonably, through measures to be implemented in summer 2012. The Government will also improve the performance of the key statutory consultees in responding swiftly to applications. This will include key statutory bodies bringing forward an improvement plan by spring 2012;

•• build more flexibility into the new major infrastructure planning process, particularly in the pre-application phase, by summer 2012, as part of a light touch review of the process responding to feedback from users of the regime; and

•• ensure that compliance with the Habitats and Wild Birds Directives does not lead to unnecessary costs and delays to development, while continuing to support the Directives’ objectives. The Government is reviewing the Directives as currently implemented in England by Budget 2012 and is committed to tackling blockages for developments where compliance is particularly complex or has large impacts. In addition, the Government has announced progress on specific projects where compliance has already proved problematic, including Falmouth Harbour.

The Government will also:

•• review planning appeals procedures, seeking to make the process faster and more transparent, improve consistency and increase certainty of decision timescales. Proposals will be brought forward for implementation in summer 2012;

•• consult on a proposal to allow the reconsideration of those planning obligations agreed prior to April 2010 where development is stalled; and

•• consult on proposals to allow existing agricultural buildings to be used for other business purposes such as offices, leisure and retail space, to make it easier for rural businesses to find the premises they need to expand.

Housing market

The Government will:

•• introduce a new build indemnity scheme to increase the supply of affordable mortgage finance for new build homes. Under the scheme, home buyers will be able to purchase new build houses and flats with a five per cent deposit. House builders and the Government will help provide security for the loan. The Government will take on a contingent liability which will build up in line with purchases under the scheme, to a maximum of £1 billion. This will help up to 100,000 families and young people to buy their own home;

•• reinvigorate the Right to Buy to support social tenants who aspire to own their own home, by raising the discounts to make it attractive to tenants across England. For each home purchased, the Government will provide an additional affordable home, in addition to plans to deliver up to 170,000 affordable homes through the new Affordable Homes Programme;

•• launch a new £400 million Get Britain Building investment fund, which will support firms in need of development finance. This will help to drive progress on stalled sites which have planning permission and are otherwise ready to start. The Government will issue a prospectus to interested developers by the end of the year; and

•• support new development, which could include modern garden cities, urban and village extensions. The Government will invite proposals from developers and local authorities for new developments which have clear local support.

The Government is committed, through the Green Deal, to improving the energy efficiency of buildings to benefit energy bill payers and the environment. As additional one-off support for this, delivering the commitment at Budget 2011, the Government is allocating £200 million to encourage early uptake of the Green Deal in its initial phase over 2012-13 and 2013-14. Further details will be set out next year and will be subject to state aid considerations.

The Government is publishing analysis showing that the stamp duty land tax relief for first time buyers has been ineffective in increasing the number of first time buyers entering the market. This relief will therefore end on 24 March 2012 as planned.

Infrastructure

The Government will invest over £1 billion (of which around £900 million will be in the Spending Review 2010 period) to tackle areas of congestion and improve the national road network, including:

• £270 million for two new managed motorway schemes to allow use of the hardshoulder at congested times on the M3 and M6;
• £150 million for improvements to the M1/M6 intersection, £110 million for the A14 Kettering Bypass, £160 million for widening the A453 and £110 million for the A45/46 Tollbar End improvement scheme; and
• £220 million for smaller projects which will deliver significant improvements on the road network, such as removing bottlenecks and improving safety and road layout.

More than £1.4 billion will be invested in railway infrastructure and commuter links, including:

supporting Network Rail to deliver £290 million to electrify the Transpennine railway route from Manchester to Leeds, and £270 million for a rail link between Oxford and Bedford;

supporting Network Rail to deliver £390 million of enhancement and renewal works to improve stations and rail infrastructure, improve resilience against extreme weather and tackle problems more quickly; and the Government funding improvements to the quality of travel for rail users, including

 £45 million to extend smart ticketing across London and the South-East,

 £80 million to support the Southern Rail franchise’s procurement of 130 new carriages, and £290 million to limit the increase to regulated rail and Transport for London fares in January 2012 to the Retail Prices Index (RPI) plus one per cent.

The Government will commit £170 million of extra funding to allow more local transport projects to go ahead, including the Kingskerswell Bypass in Devon, the Lincoln Eastern Bypass and Manchester Cross City Bus, and will write down £150 million of debt on the Humber Bridge, which will halve the tolls for cars.

In addition, £50 million will be made available to replace the Caledonian Sleeper fleet, to improve on-train facilities. The funding is subject to the Scottish Government agreeing to co-fund the replacement and provide the remainder of the funding. The Government will also engage with the Welsh Government on improvements to the M4 in south east Wales.

A14 challenge – The Government will examine ways to increase the long-term capacity and performance of the A14 with the launch in early December 2011 of a large-scale engagement programme: ‘the A14 Challenge’. By spring 2012, it will have developed and assessed proposals including capacity enhancements on the Fen Ditton to Ellington section of the road. The Government will also look at the scope to relieve congestion by improving other modes including local roads, freight facilities and public transport. It will consider whether improvements can be funded through innovative financing mechanisms including tolling. This work will support the proposed development of new homes in Northstowe, Waterbeach and Alconbury. The Government will also consider tolls to fund other road infrastructure if appropriate.

The Government also commits to build a new crossing across the Lower Thames, with the Government launching analysis of three options to inform a consultation in 2013. The Government will also explore the options for tackling pressures at Junction 30 of the M25 and on the A13 corridor as part of that analysis; and support the development of the London Gateway port, which is forecast to create 12,000 jobs, by helping the developer identify sufficient traffic management measures that, once formalised, will enable the next phase to proceed within a variation to the existing planning consent.

Fuel duty, rail fares and air passenger duty

Given the current high cost of fuel, to support motorists and businesses, the Government announces that the 3.02 pence per litre (ppl) fuel duty increase that was due to take effect on 1 January 2012 will be deferred to 1 August 2012, and the inflation increase that was planned for 1 August 2012, currently expected to be worth 1.92ppl, will be cancelled. This will ensure that there will only be one RPI increase next year. The 5ppl discount for the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, the islands in the Clyde and the Isles of Scilly will, in addition, come into force on 1 March 2012. The Government will publish details of the design of the fair fuel stabiliser at Budget 2012.

The Government recognises the pressures that businesses and passengers are under as a result of public transport fares. The Government has decided to limit the increase to Transport for London and regulated rail fares to RPI plus one per cent for one year from January 2012.

Air Passenger Duty (APD) rates will increase from 1 April 2012, as set out at Budget 2011. The Government will also proceed with the extension of APD to flights taken aboard business jets, effective from 1 April 2013. Details will be set out in the Government’s response to the APD consultation on 6 December 2011. As announced on 27 September 2011, APD will be cut for passengers travelling on direct long-haul routes departing from airports in Northern Ireland, effective from 1 November 2011. To provide a lasting solution, the Government has launched a parallel process to devolve aspects of APD to the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Regional detail

In detail by region including some previously announced:

NORTH EAST

Electrification of the Transpennine Express

Tees Multimodal Bio-Freight Terminal

YORKSHIRE AND THE HUMBER

Accelerating M1 junction 39 to 42 scheme

A164 Humber Bridge to Beverley

A18-A180 Link (NE Lincolnshire)

A6182 White Rose Way Improvement Scheme (Doncaster)

Access York Park & Ride – Two new park and ride sites

Leeds Rail Growth – Two new railway stations: Kirkstall Forge and Appley Bridge

Supertram additional vehicles (Sheffield)

Electrification of the Transpennine Express

Improved access to the Sheffield Gateway

Humber Bridge toll reduction

NORTH WEST

Electrification of the Transpennine Express

M56 at Manchester Airport link road to A6 south of Stockport

Completion of Western gateway Enabling Scheme at Port Salford

Expansion of Mersey Multimodal Gateway

Crewe Green Link Southern Section

Manchester Cross City Bus

Rochdale Interchange

Mersey Gateway Bridge

Reinstating Todmorden Curve

EAST MIDLANDS

Lincoln Eastern Bypass

A43 Corby Link Road

Hucknall Town Centre Improvement Scheme

London Road Bridge (Derby)

Widening the A453 between Nottingham, the M1 and Nottingham East Midlands Airport

M1/M6 Junction 19 major road improvements

Development consent granted for a scheme to improve the A1 at Elkesley

Widening the A14 Kettering Bypass between junctions 7 and 9

WEST MIDLANDS

M6 managed motorway scheme between Birmingham and Manchester

A45 Westbound Bridge (Solihull) – Replacement bridge over the West Coast Main Line close to Birmingham Airport on the A45 strategic corridor into Birmingham

Evesham Bridge Maintenance (Evesham) – Rebuilding of the main bridge into Evesham from the South

A45/46 Tollbar End improvement scheme

A45 Corridor (Damson Parkway to M42 junction 6) diversion

EAST OF ENGLAND

New Lower Thames Crossing

A14 in Cambridgeshire

M1 Junction 10a improvement

SOUTH EAST

M3 in Surrey – managed motorway scheme Replacement of Northern Road Bridge (Portsmouth)

New M275 Tipner Interchange (Portsmouth)

130 additional carriages for the Southern rail franchise in south London

New rail link between Oxford and Bedford

SOUTH WEST

Bus Rapid Transit scheme from Ashton Vale to Temple Meads (Bristol)

Kingskerswell By-pass (Devon/Torbay)

South Bristol Link Phases 1&2

LONDON

Northern Line extension to Battersea

Acceleration of M25 junction 23 to 27 scheme

Thames Tideway Tunnel

Key measures to increase the power of local government through the Act include:
 Introducing a new general power of competence, giving councils freedom to work together to improve services and drive down costs. Councils are now free to do anything – provided they do not break other laws
 Opening the door for the transfer of power to major cities to develop their areas, improve local services, and boost their local economies
 Ending the system for overseeing the behaviour of councillors by abolishing the Standards Board
 Clarifying the rules on predetermination in order to free up councillors to express their opinions on issues of local importance without the fear of legal challenge
 Enabling councils to return to the committee system of governance, if they wish, regardless of
 Giving councils greater control over business rates. Councils will have the power to offer business rate discounts, which could help attract firms, investment and jobs. It stops plans to impose a business rate supplement on firms if a simple majority of those affected do not give their consent, and simplifies the process for claiming small business rate relief
 Introducing new planning enforcement rules, giving councils the ability to take action against people who deliberately conceal unauthorised development
 Increasing powers for councils to remove illegal advertisements and graffiti and prevent fly-posting, and giving planning authorities stronger powers to tackle abuses of the planning system
 Reforming homelessness legislation to enable councils to provide good quality private rented homes where appropriate, freeing up social homes for people in need on the waiting list
 Allowing councils to keep the rent they collect and use it locally to maintain social homes through the abolition of the housing revenue account
 Passing greater powers over housing and regeneration to local democratically elected representatives in London.
Key measures to increase the power of local communities include:
 Introducing a new Right to Bid, which will give residents the opportunity to take over local assets like shops and pubs
 Introducing a new Right to Challenge, making it easier for local groups with good ideas to put them forward and drive improvements in local services
 Removing the ability of councils to charge families for overfilling their bin and to introduce extra tariffs for taking away household waste
 Increasing transparency on local pay, by requiring councils to publish the salaries of senior officials working in local authorities,
 Giving communities the right to veto excess council tax rises.
 Introducing a new right to draw up a neighbourhood plan, giving local people a voice to say where they think new houses, businesses and shops should go – and what they should look like
 Enabling communities to bring forward proposals for development they want – such as homes, shops, playgrounds or meeting halls, through the Community Right to Build
 Abolition of Home Information Packs.
 Enabling people to swap their social home, for example because they wish to move jobs. A national home swap scheme will give access to details of all other tenants who may be a match
 Giving social tenants stronger tools to hold their landlords to account. Landlords will be expected to support tenant panels – or similar bodies – so tenants can carefully examine the services being offered.
 The Tenant Services Authority will be abolished
 Requiring developers to consult local communities before submitting certain applications.
 abolishing the Infrastructure Planning Commission,

Colin Buchanan & Partners Ltd, a leading transport planning, planning, urban design and economics consultancy, will merge with projects firm Sinclair Knight Merz (SKM).

The two businesses share a common culture and values and a complementary set of clients and market focus. Combining both teams creates a world leading transport planning consultancy with global reach and increased capacity and capability to service clients both in the UK and overseas. In the European and Chinese markets, the merged organisation will be known as SKM Colin Buchanan.

Paul Dougas, SKM’s Chief Executive and Managing Director said, “Our strategy continues to be driven by the evolving needs of our clients and their operations. Right now, our transport infrastructure clients are facing particular challenges and require trusted partners to bring deep insights and innovative solutions that meet their commercial needs across the entire life cycle of a project.”

Michael Shirley, SKM’s General Manager for Buildings and Infrastructure, added, “The combination of Colin Buchanan and SKM’s transport planning practices will double our strategic capability in this space and create an impressive group of transport planning professionals offering great services and insights to public and private sector clients across a range of geographies.”

Andreas Markides, Colin Buchanan Chairman will take a key role in the new operation, joining the board of SKMEurope. “SKM and Colin Buchanan already have experience through collaboration on a number of opportunities and we now look forward to providing that stronger, joint capability to all our clients.”

More about Sinclair Knight Merz (SKM):

Sinclair Knight Merz is a leading projects firm, with global capability in strategic consulting, engineering and project delivery. It operates in three regions: Asia Pacific, the Americas and EMEA (Europe, Middle East & Africa), deploying some 6,500 people from more than 40 offices while serving the Buildings and Infrastructure, Mining and Metals, Power and Energy and Water and Environment sectors.  Formed in 1964 in Sydney as a private company, SKM has retained its independence through employee ownership, with fee income now greater than A$1 billion (£700 million). The firm continues to grow with its clients, and since 1996 has completed more than 60 mergers, acquisitions and outsourcings.

The review by Sir Roy McNulty, former Chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority and Board member of the Olympic Delivery Authority, was billed as the biggest shake-up in the rail industry since privatisation in the 1990s.  Following publication of his Summary Report, what are the implications for passengers and taxpayers?

European benchmarking indicates that both passengers and taxpayers are paying 30% more than those in other countries.  McNulty believes that the industry should be aiming for a 30% reduction in unit costs for GB railways (per passenger km) by the end of the next control period (2018/19).  He has not looked at possible cuts to the network as a means of achieving this reduction, thus avoiding any comparisons to Beeching but potentially missing an opportunity to look at whether certain rail lines and services are the best way of addressing the public’s transport needs in rural areas.  He concludes that rail fares are too high, and so has not considered further increasing fares to provide additional support to the industry.

His key recommendations can be summarised as:

• Development of clearer definitions of the roles of Government and industry
• DfT to analyse how its subsidy is being used – in particular what is it paying for and does it meet DfT objectives?
• Establishment of a Rail Delivery Group from Network Rail, TOCs, freight and other stakeholders to lead a ‘programme of change’ based on the recommendations
• Less prescriptive franchising (already underway) plus consideration of price-based specifications, up-front payments instead of performance bonds and a review of the franchise map with a possible ‘Northern Region’
• Decentralisation and devolution within NR (already underway) to support comparative regulation of route-level units
• A pilot scheme for vertical integration (possibly Greater Anglia) and two joint ventures/alliances where TOCs and NR work together
• Cost and revenue sharing across all TOCs and NR
• Potential for all subsidy for NR to be channelled through access charges making it more transparent where the costs are borne
• ORR to take on an expanded role of the ‘single industry regulator’ including regulation of franchises
• DfT to undertake a full review of fares policy and structures, with a view to a system that is less complex and aids the management of peak demand within the boundary of revenue neutrality
• Acceleration of smart cards and other retail technologies
• Overhaul of the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement to reduce ticket office opening hours alongside more ticket machines, simple internet sales channels, print-at-home and mobile ticketing
• Improvements in asset management, programme and project management, and supply chain management – including involvement of the private sector earlier in projects with wider use of partnering approaches
• Review of many aspects of staffing and working practices, overheads and administration including Driver Only Operation as standard unless there is a commercial or technical reason for additional staff
• Increased standardisation and more effective procurement of rolling stock
• Pilot approaches to reducing the costs of less intensively used networks

Did we get the big shake-up we were expecting?  No, what we have got are a lot of small changes rather than a few significant ones.  It is a glacial change rather than a tsunami.  But if a 30% (£1bn per annum) reduction in unit costs can be delivered in less than eight years, then the industry will have moved towards the performance of its European neighbours and the taxpayer will be feeling a bit happier as well.  Now it is over to the DfT, who will be preparing a White Paper in the autumn of this year which will include some (or all) of the recommendations.

Privatisation failed to deliver what it has done in other industries, that is, provided transparency over the cost of providing the service.  The rail industry today is a financial merry-go-round and DfT grants to NR make it impossible to see the drivers of high costs.  Hopefully McNulty’s suggestions, for all NR subsidy to go via access charges and DfT to review where its subsidy is being spent, will provide the transparency required to challenge industry costs in more detail and lead to better decision making on where rail subsidies are spent.