The long awaited second edition of the Government's National Infrastructure Plan was published last week, but lawyer Nick Maltby, partner and head of commercial projects at Bircham Dyson Bell LLP believes that, while it is a serious step in the right direction, there is nothing 'game changing' in the plan and it won't kick start the growth the UK so badly needs now.

"It's simply not visionary enough in the short and medium term and relies too heavily on the private sector to jump start the economy. We are a long way from Roosevelt's "New Deal". While all new governments like to tinker, even after 18 months we are still in the period of endless deliberation, which makes it harder for the private sector to plan," explains Nick Maltby.

"The 2011 plan is a big improvement over the 2010 version especially as far as defining the pipeline of future work is concerned - the plan sets out 40 priority projects and programmes which need to be delivered in the next decade. It also approves 35 projects now, giving us the £5bn demanded by the Liberal Democrats back in September.

"However, where the plan falls down is the funding of future projects. The 2011 plan fails to answer the PPP question instead launching a consultation on a new model against a background of cross-party hostility. It also muddies the TIF waters linking TIF to Community Infrastructure Levy rather than business rates and rejects an extension of the regulated asset base to roads. The main positive is that the Green Investment Bank will be brought forward to April 2012. However, this is modest progress given that the 2011 Plan was a year in the making.

"As far as delivery is concerned, there are some positive noises around planning but the government has shied away from making radical changes to the Infrastructure Planning Commission regime through the Localism Act, saying it will maintain a watching brief, and planning at the local level remains a work in progress while the National Planning Policy Framework crystallises. It still isn't clear what the impact of these reforms on delivery will be.

"Finally, we need to work out what the Infrastructure Cost Review means for delivery. If we are to wait until we know all the answers then we won't drive forward the projects we need to get the country moving.

"My feeling is that there are still too many plates in the air, and not enough decisions being made."

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