Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC) has proposed charging fees for planning objections as part of a wide-ranging reform package aimed at accelerating UK infrastructure investment.
The specialist UK insurer has published a report detailing 28 recommendations, including limiting the ability of single-issue pressure groups to stall infrastructure projects.
The Planes, Trains and Regulatory Gains report suggests that social value should be placed at the heart of every project as part of the immediate reform recommendations. It also recommends offering developers the ability to offer financial and other incentives to encourage stronger community support for developments in their area.
The immediate reform recommendation includes creating a pipeline fund, backed by private capital, to give local authorities access to specialist planning support for complex projects.
PIC also calls for greater use of government guarantees, arguing that institutions such as the National Wealth Fund should be judged partly on the housing and infrastructure they help deliver, not solely on financial returns.
In addition, it proposes developing a new, flexible public-private partnership model to replace the private finance initiative and provide a more consistent framework for bringing private capital into public projects.
Beyond these near-term measures, the report sets out further proposals spanning strategic reform, planning and regulatory change, capital formation and financial regulation, legal and incentive structures, and improvements to government capability and delivery.
Rob Groves, chief investment officer at PIC and sponsor of the report, said: “PIC has invested more than £14bn [€16bn] in UK housing and infrastructure, and this wealth of experience is the driving force behind these 28 recommendations.
“Institutional investors, like PIC, want to invest more in UK infrastructure and have plenty of available funding to do so. The challenge is that we are not presented with enough viable, investable projects domestically. We believe this can be addressed through the policy reforms outlined in this report.
“Our industry should invest hundreds of billions of pounds in UK housing and infrastructure over the next decade. This is a historic opportunity to address decades of underinvestment and start to turn things around this year and for decades to come.”
Mike Reader, Labour MP and chair of the infrastructure APPG [all-party parliamentary group], said: “Economic growth depends on our ability to deliver modern infrastructure at pace. That means government and industry working together.
“It’s welcome to see PIC bringing forward ideas to help get Britain building again and I would strongly encourage the wider private sector to do the same. We all have a part to play.”
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