The UK must stop saying "no" to infrastructure projects or risk harming the economy, with Mayor of London Sadiq Khan's pedestrianisation of Oxford Street highlighting the benefits of building.
The difficulty of constructing large-scale projects in the UK is a national embarrassment, according to a new opinion piece. From housing to HS2, projects often face endless consulting, paperwork, and complex planning applications, making timely and cost-effective delivery seem impossible.
Oxford Street pedestrianisation boosts spending
Khan's decision to remove cars from Oxford Street has resulted in an economic boom for the shopping destination. Figures from Adyen show spending at Oxford Street stores rose by 28% compared to last year, from £2.9m to £3.7m.
Despite online criticism that the changes would turn the area into a desolate wasteland, the data indicates a significant increase in consumer spending, factoring in Christmas boom periods from both years.
Nvidia CEO criticises UK 'growth culture'
The piece also cites Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who earlier this year told UK entrepreneurs that the country's culture is too obsessed with failing. Huang, whose company is valued at around $4.7 trillion, said: "If there was a million ways to win, you find the one reason not to do it. There's something that's missing here."
He added: "If you tell an entrepreneur there's one in a million chance they can succeed, that entrepreneur says, 'So you're telling me there's a chance?' But in the UK, somehow, there's 999,000 reasons to fail."
The article argues this culture extends beyond entrepreneurs to local authorities, councillors, and politicians, with the planning system shackled by red tape and "Nimbys" making matters worse. It concludes that the UK must start saying "yes" to more ambitious infrastructure projects to boost growth and living standards.
