As the new Labour government plans a decade of infrastructure renewal, National Highways chief executive Nick Harris (pictured below) talked to Highways about the potential reforms that could support better delivery.
Mr Harris spoke as National Highways nears the end of its second road investment strategy (2020-2025), which he conceded had been ‘through a lot of changes’ and had suffered from the impact of ‘legal challenges to the planning process’.
Mr Harris said: ‘I am not critical of the [planning] process. It has timescales and it is structured. But I think there is a broader question here for all of us. I worry that we are trying to achieve too much with the planning process. It is not necessarily about building regulation or how we realise the economic value that has been transferred to the private sector by gaining planning.
‘These are all great questions but maybe we are asking too much of the planning system by trying to solve them [within that system]. I am seeing an understanding and receptiveness in the new government to address these issues.’
Mr Harris also revealed that National Highways had made recommendations to government for reforms to the judicial review process as well.
‘What we have seen in the last four or five years is legal challenges and judicial reviews of planning decisions. Nearly all of which we win, whether that is government or us. And of course, it is only right and proper that decisions can be challenged and judicially reviewed, but I think there are improvements that can be made and we have been making suggestions on that.
‘There is a question of proportionality, so at the moment to bring a judicial review against a large scheme probably costs in the order of £10,000 but it can have tens of millions of impact for a scheme, which ultimately continues, so I think it has to be looked at carefully. Maybe a higher barrier or a greater test of the merits of the case. We have been feeding in the experience from the legal challenges we have seen recently to [communities department] MHCLG and others.’
Questioned on environmental issues, which have been the source of many challenges and objections to major infrastructure projects, Mr Harris suggested there should be a focus on delivery standards.
‘As an organization, we have gained accreditation and certification for PAS 2080, that’s how you manage carbon or decarbonization. So I am really clear we can continue to operate and enhance the network in a way that is consistent with decarbonisation.
‘As long as we meet the standards and it is consistent with sustainable environment and biodiversity [the projects can go ahead]. I am completely comfortable that when we develop a scheme, we have to show that we are not only mitigating the impact of the scheme but also looking at the long-term trend of sustainability in those areas and I think that is an entirely reasonable challenge and one we can meet.’
