HS2 is among infrastructure projects facing delays due to a lack of long-term planning by the government, experts from the National Infrastructure Commission have said.
Energy efficiency installations and recycling rates are too low, water consumption is too high and “comprehensive policy” on decarbonising heating is lacking, the commission found in a report, published on Monday.
“Making small steps forward in all directions will not bring about the scale of change in infrastructure needed,” it said, with uncertainty on projects like HS2 causing the UK to risk losing out on growth.
The government confirmed a two-year delay to the new high speed railway earlier in March, with sections from Manchester to Crewe and Birmingham to Crewe now only set to be completed in the mid-2030s, while anticipated costs have also soared from £33bn originally, to £71bn.
The comission subsequently called on the government to stop “chopping and changing” infrastructure policies to stem uncertainty, also suggesting it should commit to fewer, larger projects, devolve decision making to local areas and cut the time it takes to approve plans.
“If this does not change, the country will miss a significant growth opportunity,” it said.
The comission also pointed to the sluggish rollout of schemes aimed at improving energy efficiency in homes.
Last week, the government awarded £1.8bn to retrofit social housing and boost energy efficiency, suggesting the move would create some 20,000 jobs.
However, schemes subsidising the rollout of more-efficient heat pumps to homes have so-far fallen short, massively missing the government target of installing 600,000 units per year.
Currently, just 50,000 heat pumps are installed annually, compared to the 1.5mln gas boilers fitted in 2021, despite government grants of up to £5,000 per household being offered to help with the costs.
“Getting our infrastructure right for the second half of this century is a journey that, by definition, will go on being plotted over the coming decades,” commission chairman John Armitt said.
“A further year of prevarication risks losing momentum on critical areas like achieving the statutory net zero target. Rarely has the need for speed been more evident.”