The East Midlands All Party Parliamentary Group – APPG – has called for greater certainty on the delivery of major infrastructure projects in the region following an inquiry into the social and economic opportunities of investment.
The report comes in the wake of the cancellation of HS2 to the East Midlands and the Government’s publication of ‘Network North’, which outlined how funding from the cancelled high-speed line could be redirected into transport infrastructure projects across England and Wales.
The APPG launched the inquiry in May this year, hearing evidence from local leaders and business representatives highlighting the crucial relationship between infrastructure investment and local activity to create more prosperous and inclusive economies.
REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS
- There should be greater long-term certainty about the delivery of major infrastructure to provide a firm basis for complementary local public and private investment.
- There should be agreement around a common framework for describing the wider societal impacts of infrastructure investment to inform investment decisions.
- There should be a better balance between investment in existing infrastructure and in new infrastructure to ensure the Region’s long-term economic resilience.
- There should be greater collaboration between infrastructure providers and between the public and private sectors to ensure the wider benefits of infrastructure investment are fully realised.
- A credible and transparent ‘regional infrastructure pipeline’ should be established reflecting regional priorities, and linked to a skills and training strategy to ensure that sufficient human resources are available for delivery
The full report from the APPG can be found here: Inquiry into the wider social and economic benefits (and opportunities) of major infrastructure investment in the East Midlands