Housing Minister Margaret Beckett announced Sir Michael Pitt as the preferred candidate for the top job at the new Infrastructure Planning Commission yesterday.
Pitt will be the first Chair of the IPC, which is being set up under the 2008 Planning Act to take decisions on planning applications for infrastructure proposals that are of national significance – including large wind energy projects and nuclear power stations.
Beckett said “The Infrastructure Planning Commission will have a vital role to play in creating a faster and fairer process for taking the big decisions that affect our national infrastructure, and the economy as a whole.
“I believe Sir Michael has first-class credentials for this important job and has the wide range of experience needed to lead the Commission at this challenging time for the organisation.”
Pitt, currently chief of NHS South West, a Strategic Health authority responsible for the performance of Primary Care, Hospital, Ambulance and Mental Health said “This is an exciting opportunity. I am looking forward to assembling the team and working closely with all concerned in order to establish the Commission’s new role in a 21st Century planning process.”
Pitt’s appointment is however still to be considered by the Communities and Local Government Select Committee. The Committee will decide on his suitability for the position, in line with proposals announced last year to increase democratic scrutiny of key public appointments.
The Planning Act 2008 established the new, independent ‘Infrastructure Planning Commission’, which will be responsible for making decisions on nationally significant infrastructure planning applications. As a non-departmental public body, the IPC will operate at arms length from government within the policy framework prescribed in the Planning Act secondary legislation and the National Policy Statements and it will begin to issue guidance from October 2009.
