City Planner
Samer Bagaeen MRTPI FRICS: The good, the bad & the promising
We live in interesting times. We had the fanfare of the launch of the first rides on the British Airways i360. I hope to jump on board soon. We have the ongoing saga that is the rail dispute. GTR, the parent company of Southern trains, is moving forward with modernisation plans after the latest talks at Acas with the RMT ended without agreement. More one week strikes perhaps?
There have been further walkouts on Eurostar and Virgin East Coast services. Some in the national press have called for unions to be prosecuted for deliberately shutting down national infrastructure.
In the meantime, the Government and its national infrastructure gurus have been silent on these and other disputes. Thinking about other infrastructure, the Airport Commission concluded in July that expanded airport capacity is crucial for the UK’s long-term prosperity. We are still as far away from a decision now as we were when the Commission was set up and the issue is dropping off people’s radar. Exactly what the Government is betting on.
Energy policy is no different. Brexit is unlikely to change much, if anything, in our energy relationships with our neighbours. The PM recently put on hold plans to build a nuclear power station, Hinkley Point C. The Government could look into restoring support for wind and solar, and beef up research into marine renewables but there are no indications at all that this could or would happen. Cities, the engine of our economy, are having a blast. Some of them at least. The Newcastle City Futures 2065 set out a fresh methodology for engaging urban communities on long term trends. Brighton and Hove needs something similar. Anyone?
