New report outlines infrastructure action plan post-Brexit

Balfour Beatty has made a valuable contribution to the current debates and discussions on infrastructure with the release of its Infrastructure 2050: Future Infrastructure Need report, which looks at how infrastructure needs will change in key areas such as rail, roads and energy and outlines a 21-point action plan to address the challenges facing the UK.

The report is particularly relevant in a post-Brexit Britain as it warns that the current uncertainty around the yet-to-start Brexit negotiations will have a negative effect on UK infrastructure. The report says that the skills shortage is likely to get worse and claims that the UK will lose billions of pounds of public investment that previously came via the European Investment Bank. Given the political and economic uncertainty, the report also says that the UK will be a less attractive destination for private investment.

Infrastructure 2050 also looks at the relationship between infrastructure investment and regeneration and economic growth and examines the impact of factors such as demographic change, evolving public expectations and the need to decarbonise and adapt to a changing climate. It also covers upgrading ageing infrastructure and building new infrastructure to give the UK a competitive edge over other countries. 

The report also includes a number of recommendations on how the UK can make the transition to autonomous vehicles, flood resistant infrastructure, a decarbonised energy market and develop the highly skilled workforce required to build and maintain infrastructure. Infrastructure 2050 also reviews the outcome of the EU Referendum and proposes actions that can be taken to avoid or reduce any negative impact on the UK’s ability to deliver the needed improvements to  infrastructure.   

There is no doubt that in the current economic and political climate the construction industry has a big challenge to ensure that the UK’s infrastructure continues to meet the growing and increasingly complex needs of a modern society. The Infrastructure 2050 report sets out how industry, government and funders need to work together if they are going to meet this challenge.

Click here to download the Infrastructure 2050 report.