Just Space has told the GLA that a good infrastructure plan for London and its wider region would be a great innovation — but this is not it.

In a document of 6 November 2014, to which many Just Space organisations contributed, and which draws together our thinking and evidence over recent years, Just Space said:

a. long-term planning for infrastructure is a good thing;

b. this is not a good example of planning, however, because…

c. it appears to be based in investor demands rather than Londoners’ needs;

d. the Board proposed to oversee implementation has no community representation and important questions concerning London’s governance are not addressed;

e. removing Infrastructure issues into a relatively private sphere means there is much less public scrutiny than we have for the London Plan with its EiP system;

f. there are methodological failings in the forecasting which prevent this plan from being an exploration of alternative futures;

g. equalities dimensions are comprehensively missing;

h. reducing the need to travel has insufficient emphasis, indeed the anticipated concentration of jobs in the centre alongside the sacrifice of employment space in the suburbs would take London in the opposite direction.

i. We do not consider that the proposals in the Infrastructure Plan (IP) amount to a strategy for sustainable development for a variety of reasons elaborated below.

Download the full Just Space response (PDF) JS response to IP 20141106

The GLA Consultation document + a glossy Presentation + Arup’s costing report + other supporting papers are all at
http://www.london.gov.uk/priorities/business-economy/vision-and-strategy/infrastructure-plan-2050?source=vanityurl

GLA update February 2015 at http://www.london.gov.uk/priorities/business-economy/vision-and-strategy/infrastructure-plan-2050/updates

If you come across other responses, please let us know. Leave a comment.  And see our events page for 29 January 2015.