A lack of investment in the country’s industrial infrastructure will stop the UK becoming a technology superpower by 2030, according to new research from independent think tank Demos.
The ‘Powering the Superpower’ report, which was commissioned by SEGRO, found that more than 350,000 businesses, employing 3.8m people and with a turnover of £666bn, lack access to the right buildings and facilities for their business to succeed. This has contributed to nearly a third (30%) of these businesses saying that they are not confident the UK will be an attractive place to do business in a decade’s time.
According to the report, meeting demand for logistics property infrastructure alone could add £68bn in GVA to the UK economy.
To help the UK develop the industrial infrastructure it needs, the report outlines six policies to tackle the most pressing challenges, including merging the National Infrastructure Commission with the UK National Infrastructure Bank to create a ‘super agency’ and creating a presumption in favour of development of industrial infrastructure within the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).
Andrew O’Brien, director of policy and impact at Demos, said: “There is a big gap between the rhetoric and reality of the UK’s aspiration to be a technology and science superpower by 2030. Government needs to recognise that the key barrier to becoming a technological superpower is not our ability to innovate but our physical ability to develop and deploy new technologies.
“With over 350,000 businesses saying that they lack access to the right buildings and facilities, significant delays in planning and power connection as well as bottlenecks in logistics, the UK is not on track to be a technological superpower.
“If politicians want to develop a serious strategy to put the UK at the forefront of technological development, they need to reform the state and work with businesses to develop the industrial infrastructure that the UK desperately needs.”
James Craddock, UK managing director of SEGRO, added: “While the UK government’s growth aspirations are laudable, more needs to be done to recognise and plan warehousing as a critical part of the UK’s national infrastructure, as important as roads, railways, ports and airports for ensuring goods and services get to where they need to be. This will then unlock the private sector investment to provide the industrial facilities the country needs to help achieve technology-driven economic growth.
“Collaboration between the public and private sector is key, alongside connectivity between government departments to ensure the development of warehouse and industrial space is aligned with transport and power infrastructure.
“Our most successful developments, defined by our ability to lease space and the positive economic and social impact our buildings have on the surrounding local community, have been when we have worked in partnership with the local authority, be it in the Thames Valley, Midlands or London.”
