The National Infrastrutture Commission (nic.org.uk) have published their Second National Infrastructure Assessment, a 30 year plan for the UK’s infrastructure needs to 2055 and beyond. Called NIA2 it contains a lot of good sense. Thank goodness this rare species is not yet extinct. Wish we had the same sense for England’s housing needs for the … Continue reading Dose of sense

On further reflection yesterday’s King’s Speech looks like the dreams of a well intentioned teenager who simply does not understand local politics. Why? Well, come and look here. ’….my Government’s priority is to make the difficult but necessary long-term decisions to change this country for the better.’ As an aspiration, this objective has my total … Continue reading Verdict: nice but naive

The King’s Speech yesterday prompted an unnamed minster (Times, 8 November, Aubrey Allegretti) to say ‘it is time for the chancellor to be bold and decisive. He’s got to announce more measures that will stimulate growth’. The speech was silent on housing supply and silent on power distribution, two drivers, currently barriers, of domestic growth … Continue reading No houses=no growth?

The EA has told Cambridge council to reject the 1000 new homes at Darwin Green proposal by Barrett developers. The agency says the proposal poses a significant risk to the sustainability of Cambridge water supplies. Very odd reversal of normal thinking. Long term national water supplies ought to be the responsibility of a specialist agency, … Continue reading Environment Agency is misguided?

In my experience the answer is yes, as I discovered in Reading in 2014, when I published locally my idea, simply an essay for a competition prize, for a new city on white land between Reading and Basingstoke. The controlling Labour council for Reading Borough went bananas. Petitions, public meetings and protest letters to the … Continue reading Are local Labour activists the same as Tory ones?