Eight: State infrastructure policy and planning

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Infrastructure planning is a core function of all states and nations. It is a central component of growth and efficiency in the economy and for resilience in coping with environmental shocks or disasters. States and nations are concerned with the quality of their infrastructure for their own purposes but also in international comparative evaluations undertaken by the OECD, the World Bank and the WEF (World Economic Forum) (OECD, 2011a; WEF, 2012; Sala-i-Martín et al, 2014). These include the state of infrastructure but also the institutional conditions that accompany its provision and improvement. These judgements may influence the evaluation of state economies and the propensity to invest by business and global capital.

National infrastructure planning to support the economy, sustainability and social activity within states is an essential feature of public planning and investment. States create the conditions and mechanisms for infrastructure planning and delivery. The state is responsible for regulation that will frame sustainable investment by different operators, identifying which locations, business sectors and communities will be privileged above others.

The majority of EU states prepare strategic spatial plans that indicate where future investment will be promoted, including infrastructure. All countries in the EU have such a plan, apart from the UK (Barca, 2009). The UK has a sectoral and aspatial national infrastructure planning regime established in 2008 and a National Infrastructure Plan that comprises sectoral pipeline projects (HMT and DCLG, 2010; HMT, 2011, 2014).

The legislation and priorities for infrastructure planning in the EU is a pooled responsibility that is implemented by member states, including the UK.

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Infrastructure Delivery Planning
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