0:00:12 > 0:00:15Britain faces an almighty challenge
0:00:15 > 0:00:18and to get a sense of just how big it is,
0:00:18 > 0:00:21you've got to start at the top.
0:00:31 > 0:00:33Oh, crumbs!
0:00:37 > 0:00:41'This is the Forth Road Bridge, just north of Edinburgh.'
0:00:41 > 0:00:43Here you want to hold on.
0:00:43 > 0:00:47'It looks magnificent, but key parts of it are wearing out.'
0:00:49 > 0:00:52And in the waters of the Forth below me,
0:00:52 > 0:00:56they're just laying the foundations for a brand new bridge.
0:00:59 > 0:01:01All over Britain it's the same story.
0:01:01 > 0:01:05Much of the civil engineering that holds our country together
0:01:05 > 0:01:07is no longer up to the job.
0:01:10 > 0:01:13You see, Britain needs more than just a lick of paint,
0:01:13 > 0:01:15it needs some serious work.
0:01:15 > 0:01:18It won't be easy, it won't be cheap,
0:01:18 > 0:01:21but if we're ambitious for our future,
0:01:21 > 0:01:23there's no better time to get on
0:01:23 > 0:01:26with the job of building it than right now.
0:01:29 > 0:01:31So I'm out to discover why infrastructure
0:01:31 > 0:01:33is suddenly a hot topic.
0:01:37 > 0:01:40I'll show you how we've rediscovered
0:01:40 > 0:01:42the knack of pulling off those really big projects
0:01:42 > 0:01:47and we'll see what lessons our history can teach us today.
0:01:54 > 0:01:57In this series I'll be lifting the lid
0:01:57 > 0:02:00on the stunning engineering that's transforming Britain.
0:02:00 > 0:02:03I'll be finding out what still needs to be done,
0:02:03 > 0:02:06and how on earth we're going to do it.
0:02:27 > 0:02:32Tucked away in a narrow corner of West London,
0:02:32 > 0:02:36in the shadow of the A40, is a remarkable project.
0:02:36 > 0:02:41It busts a myth, that Britain can't pull off epic engineering.
0:02:45 > 0:02:48This is one of the most ambitious, most complex,
0:02:48 > 0:02:50most expensive infrastructure projects
0:02:50 > 0:02:54you'll find pretty well anywhere.
0:02:54 > 0:02:56This is just one site of Crossrail,
0:02:56 > 0:03:00the new East-West railway, right across London.
0:03:00 > 0:03:02Now, to get the measure of it,
0:03:02 > 0:03:04I've got an appointment with Phyllis,
0:03:04 > 0:03:07and I'm told she's not to be messed with.
0:03:10 > 0:03:14Phyllis is one of Crossrail's eight vast tunnel boring machines,
0:03:14 > 0:03:18which are about to worm their way under London.
0:03:18 > 0:03:22She's from Germany, she carries quite a lot of weight,
0:03:22 > 0:03:23and she costs £10 million.
0:03:23 > 0:03:26But for that you get a lot of tunnelling.
0:03:28 > 0:03:30'It's only when you see her teeth
0:03:30 > 0:03:32'that you realise just what she's capable of.'
0:03:33 > 0:03:36We've arrived at a bit of a moment actually,
0:03:36 > 0:03:38cos you've got this tunnel boring machine,
0:03:38 > 0:03:41weighs 1,000 tonnes, 150 metres long,
0:03:41 > 0:03:44just a few centimetres of clearance above it,
0:03:44 > 0:03:46and they've got to slowly inch it down
0:03:46 > 0:03:49towards the point at which it's actually going to dig.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56If you thought washing up liquid was just for the kitchen, think again.
0:03:56 > 0:04:00Phyllis and her colleague, Ada, are heading beneath Paddington Station,
0:04:00 > 0:04:04under Hyde Park, below the tightly packed streets of London's West End
0:04:04 > 0:04:07and out to Farringdon to the East.
0:04:10 > 0:04:13It's the big tunnelling drive for what will be
0:04:13 > 0:04:17the new fast line across London when it opens in 2018.
0:04:17 > 0:04:19You can talk about Crossrail being
0:04:19 > 0:04:22the biggest construction programme in Europe.
0:04:22 > 0:04:28It's £14.8 billion, we're digging 50 kilometres of tunnels under London,
0:04:28 > 0:04:32and if you get on a train at Maidenhead and get off at Shenfield,
0:04:32 > 0:04:36then that's about 120km long, so this is...this is as big as they get.
0:04:38 > 0:04:42And as I enter the tunnel to see Phyllis in operation,
0:04:42 > 0:04:46I'm left in no doubt what an extraordinary machine she is.
0:04:50 > 0:04:54Boy, you can really feel the temperature has warmed up!
0:04:54 > 0:04:57Even though we're only about 50 metres in.
0:05:02 > 0:05:07'Steve Parker is the construction manager for this stretch of Crossrail's tunnels.'
0:05:08 > 0:05:09This is just so enormous,
0:05:09 > 0:05:14I'd no idea that one machine could be so big, it's incredible.
0:05:17 > 0:05:21And there, right in front of me, is the back of the cutter head itself.
0:05:23 > 0:05:27Think about what it's doing, it's carving out soil
0:05:27 > 0:05:30that probably hasn't seen the light of day since the earth was created.
0:05:32 > 0:05:34The cutter head scythes its way through the clay.
0:05:36 > 0:05:39Behind it, tunnel engineers build a ring
0:05:39 > 0:05:41made up of eight concrete segments,
0:05:41 > 0:05:45slotted into place to within a millimetre's precision.
0:05:48 > 0:05:50When that's done,
0:05:50 > 0:05:54the machine braces itself against the ring it's just built,
0:05:54 > 0:05:57and pushes forward to start the process again.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05It's amazingly fast, how fast we're moving,
0:06:05 > 0:06:08what 100 metres, 100 metres a week?
0:06:08 > 0:06:10I'd like to think we could tunnel that,
0:06:10 > 0:06:12because we're looking at a long average,
0:06:12 > 0:06:13the long average 100 metres a week,
0:06:13 > 0:06:18so to get the high outputs we need certain months, weeks,
0:06:18 > 0:06:20with a higher output than that.
0:06:20 > 0:06:22But what's amazing is, you're doing...
0:06:22 > 0:06:25we're sitting out here, when it's all up and running
0:06:25 > 0:06:28there'll be another one next door, being done at the same speed,
0:06:28 > 0:06:30and then there'll be other ones dotted around
0:06:30 > 0:06:33building other pieces of Crossrail simultaneously.
0:06:33 > 0:06:36Yes, there's another, on Crossrail there are eight machines in total.
0:06:40 > 0:06:44But this isn't just engineering for engineering's sake.
0:06:44 > 0:06:45Phyllis is on a much bigger mission.
0:06:47 > 0:06:52'There's news today about the new Victoria Walthamstow Underground.
0:06:52 > 0:06:54'Tunnelling has begun at a number of places.
0:06:54 > 0:06:56'The line will take five years to complete.'
0:06:56 > 0:06:58When people tunnelled under London in the past,
0:06:58 > 0:07:03they did it for a reason - to enable the city to keep growing.
0:07:03 > 0:07:07'London must have people moving about in it freely,
0:07:07 > 0:07:09'movement which is as vital to its life,
0:07:09 > 0:07:13'as the circulation of the blood is vital to the human body.'
0:07:19 > 0:07:22Today, the city is growing faster than ever.
0:07:22 > 0:07:24The population's expected to rise
0:07:24 > 0:07:27by nearly 2 million in the next 20 years.
0:07:29 > 0:07:33That is the real driving force behind Crossrail.
0:07:33 > 0:07:36So while London works and sleeps and parties,
0:07:36 > 0:07:38the new stations are taking shape.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41And Phyllis and Ada are on a mission
0:07:41 > 0:07:45to ensure the capital can continue to grow.
0:07:47 > 0:07:50I confess I love these big engineering projects.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53I've even stolen a ball of clay as a souvenir.
0:07:53 > 0:07:56I'll make a little ashtray out of it.
0:07:56 > 0:07:58We used to be world leaders at this,
0:07:58 > 0:08:01and we can clearly still do it when we put our minds to it.
0:08:01 > 0:08:03And here's my thought,
0:08:03 > 0:08:06should we be doing a lot more of this kind of work?
0:08:06 > 0:08:09Now, I know I'm biased, because I like it,
0:08:09 > 0:08:10but isn't there a case
0:08:10 > 0:08:14for investing two or three times as much in infrastructure?
0:08:14 > 0:08:17Simply to get Britain ready for the future.
0:08:22 > 0:08:24You see, infrastructure is all around us,
0:08:24 > 0:08:27it's the roads we drive on,
0:08:27 > 0:08:29the lines we commute on,
0:08:29 > 0:08:31and the energy that powers us.
0:08:31 > 0:08:33Its what makes Britain tick.
0:08:35 > 0:08:37And it's the flavour of the month right now,
0:08:37 > 0:08:41all our main political parties say we need more of it.
0:08:41 > 0:08:43But why?
0:08:46 > 0:08:49Well, our problem right now is that our infrastructure
0:08:49 > 0:08:52hasn't kept up with the changes that have been occurring around us.
0:08:52 > 0:08:57In fact, some of it is wearing out.
0:09:01 > 0:09:04My goodness, what a view!
0:09:07 > 0:09:12Little diddy train going over the Forth Rail Bridge.
0:09:13 > 0:09:16Here on the Firth of Forth just north of Edinburgh,
0:09:16 > 0:09:20it's not the iconic Victorian rail bridge that's the problem,
0:09:20 > 0:09:22but the 20th Century road bridge.
0:09:25 > 0:09:27And its story is a neat little tale
0:09:27 > 0:09:31about how our infrastructure was once world class,
0:09:31 > 0:09:35but hasn't kept pace with the changing world.
0:09:36 > 0:09:40Back in the post-war years there was no road bridge here.
0:09:40 > 0:09:43NEWSREEL: 'Instead there was a ferry,
0:09:43 > 0:09:47'a slow and cumbersome substitute in an age of speed.'
0:09:52 > 0:09:55But that was a problem for the Scottish economy.
0:09:55 > 0:09:58The crossing was a vital link between Edinburgh
0:09:58 > 0:09:59and the north of Scotland,
0:09:59 > 0:10:04and plenty of time was wasted waiting for the boat to come in.
0:10:06 > 0:10:09Though some found a way to while away the hours.
0:10:09 > 0:10:11'The queues of cars, longer each year,
0:10:11 > 0:10:16'were a visible argument of the need for a new bridge - a road bridge.'
0:10:23 > 0:10:28So, in the late '50s, construction started on a new road bridge,
0:10:28 > 0:10:33in a rather different era for health and safety.
0:10:37 > 0:10:40At the time, it was the biggest outside America,
0:10:40 > 0:10:44a symbol of Britain's skill at civil engineering.
0:10:50 > 0:10:52But here's the problem -
0:10:52 > 0:10:57the bridge was built with capacity for 12 million vehicles a year,
0:10:57 > 0:11:01it seemed like a wild over-estimate back in the 1950s.
0:11:01 > 0:11:04But it hit that number 25 years ago.
0:11:06 > 0:11:11Today, the bridge carries more than 24 million vehicles a year,
0:11:11 > 0:11:13and it's showing the strain.
0:11:13 > 0:11:16The constant maintenance work is once again causing delays.
0:11:20 > 0:11:22So what are the kinds of problems
0:11:22 > 0:11:24you're finding on this bridge now?
0:11:24 > 0:11:28Corrosion in the main cable is an issue for us,
0:11:28 > 0:11:32but the deck itself has suffered with the heavy goods vehicles
0:11:32 > 0:11:35that have been passing over it every year,
0:11:35 > 0:11:38and we need to replace joints and components of the deck,
0:11:38 > 0:11:41which unfortunately means carriageway closures.
0:11:41 > 0:11:44And it's seen as such a critical piece of infrastructure,
0:11:44 > 0:11:47it's probably worth about £2 billion
0:11:47 > 0:11:49to the Scottish economy each year,
0:11:49 > 0:11:51so if this is out of action,
0:11:51 > 0:11:54then the Scottish economy is severely hit.
0:11:57 > 0:11:59The Scottish government's decided
0:11:59 > 0:12:01it can't keep patching and mending the old bridge,
0:12:01 > 0:12:04and so it's starting anew.
0:12:08 > 0:12:12Soon, there'll be three bridges here,
0:12:12 > 0:12:1619th Century, 20th Century, and 21st.
0:12:18 > 0:12:21The great news is that British bridge building
0:12:21 > 0:12:22has moved on since the 1950s,
0:12:22 > 0:12:26and the new crossing will be a cable-stayed design,
0:12:26 > 0:12:29where the load is spread across multiple cables,
0:12:29 > 0:12:33rather than the two on the old suspension bridge.
0:12:33 > 0:12:37The advantages of a cable-stayed bridge is it is stiffer.
0:12:37 > 0:12:39It's also easier to maintain.
0:12:39 > 0:12:43Because each of the individual cables that make the structure
0:12:43 > 0:12:47can be taken out and replaced while the bridge operates.
0:12:47 > 0:12:50I mean, when you imagine that it's three kilometres
0:12:50 > 0:12:53from bank to bank, and the structure is this ribbon,
0:12:53 > 0:12:55five metres depth from one end to the other,
0:12:55 > 0:12:58of continuous geometry, absolutely beautiful.
0:12:59 > 0:13:03In the last few months, the vast caissons have arrived,
0:13:03 > 0:13:06the big cylinders which they'll sink into the Forth,
0:13:06 > 0:13:09to enable construction of the towers for the new bridge.
0:13:09 > 0:13:11They're the first pieces
0:13:11 > 0:13:15of Scotland's biggest infrastructure project for a generation.
0:13:16 > 0:13:19But there's another thing going for it too.
0:13:19 > 0:13:22Although it'll cost £1.5 billion,
0:13:22 > 0:13:26it's a useful fillip to the local economy at a difficult time.
0:13:28 > 0:13:33# From the rocky canyon where the Columbia River rose... #
0:13:33 > 0:13:37Ever since America built vast projects like this,
0:13:37 > 0:13:38the Grand Coulee Dam,
0:13:38 > 0:13:41during the great depression of the 1930s,
0:13:41 > 0:13:42infrastructure has been seen
0:13:42 > 0:13:46as one of the most effective ways of creating jobs.
0:13:46 > 0:13:50# ..Just about the biggest thing that man has ever done. #
0:13:50 > 0:13:53Many believe that the historical lesson applies today,
0:13:53 > 0:13:56and Britain should be digging her way out of a slump.
0:13:56 > 0:13:59There's a big argument over that,
0:13:59 > 0:14:03whether we should build things to boost the economy.
0:14:04 > 0:14:09In any event, these projects aren't a quick fix,
0:14:09 > 0:14:13it's taken five years to get the new Forth Bridge to where it is today,
0:14:13 > 0:14:16directly employing 1,200 people.
0:14:18 > 0:14:22I wouldn't argue that we should go around building bridges and tunnels
0:14:22 > 0:14:26simply to create jobs for construction workers.
0:14:26 > 0:14:29But, if you know you've got to build one anyway,
0:14:29 > 0:14:32doing so at a time when there are unemployed construction workers,
0:14:32 > 0:14:35and when the economy is in the doldrums,
0:14:35 > 0:14:38well, that makes an awful lot of sense.
0:14:43 > 0:14:48The simple fact is, there's an awful lot more than bridge building to do,
0:14:48 > 0:14:51given the changes unfolding around us.
0:14:51 > 0:14:54Our population is growing fast,
0:14:54 > 0:14:57we're set to hit 70 million by 2030.
0:15:00 > 0:15:03In the late 1970s one in four of us worked in manufacturing.
0:15:03 > 0:15:06Today, it's fewer than one in ten.
0:15:10 > 0:15:13Climate change is threatening the infrastructure we already have.
0:15:13 > 0:15:16And large chunks of our power network
0:15:16 > 0:15:18are reaching the end of the line.
0:15:21 > 0:15:25Yes, our fusty old country is in fact fast changing,
0:15:25 > 0:15:28and our infrastructure has to keep up.
0:15:28 > 0:15:32All our main political parties agree we need more infrastructure,
0:15:32 > 0:15:34and that we should pay for it
0:15:34 > 0:15:36through a mix of both public and private money.
0:15:36 > 0:15:40But how much is that going to cost?
0:15:42 > 0:15:46I've come to Oxford, to see the economist professor Dieter Helm,
0:15:46 > 0:15:49one of Britain's best infrastructure brains,
0:15:49 > 0:15:52for a frank assessment of how much we need to do.
0:15:55 > 0:15:57We've changed,
0:15:57 > 0:16:00and you can't simply expect Britain,
0:16:00 > 0:16:02to roll forward 20, 30 years,
0:16:02 > 0:16:04add another 10 million people,
0:16:04 > 0:16:07and say, "Well, you can make do with the roads we've got today,
0:16:07 > 0:16:10"the airports we've got today, and all the rest of that infrastructure."
0:16:10 > 0:16:13Right, if you wanted to put a figure on how much
0:16:13 > 0:16:14we should spend on infrastructure,
0:16:14 > 0:16:16what's the scale of it?
0:16:16 > 0:16:22I totted up the total cost of the commitments
0:16:22 > 0:16:25in government programmes for investment,
0:16:25 > 0:16:27or government-driven programmes for investment,
0:16:27 > 0:16:32in water, energy, telecoms, and transport.
0:16:32 > 0:16:35So no houses, no schools, none of those things.
0:16:35 > 0:16:37And I just added up the numbers,
0:16:37 > 0:16:41and they came to a staggering 500 billion,
0:16:41 > 0:16:44i.e., half a trillion, by 2020.
0:16:46 > 0:16:49Now, you have to let that number sink in,
0:16:49 > 0:16:52and it doesn't matter if it's wrong by 100 billion in either direction,
0:16:52 > 0:16:54it's still an enormous number,
0:16:54 > 0:16:58and it gives you a measure of the gap between the aspiration
0:16:58 > 0:17:01and the sad reality of the position we find ourselves in.
0:17:01 > 0:17:03What happens if we don't do anything,
0:17:03 > 0:17:06what happens if we just carry on as we are,
0:17:06 > 0:17:08don't take any big decisions?
0:17:08 > 0:17:12If we just stick our heads in the sand and do nothing,
0:17:12 > 0:17:15then it isn't going to be a pretty sight going forward.
0:17:15 > 0:17:20And the British economy is not going to be in a fit state
0:17:20 > 0:17:23to take on all those other countries
0:17:23 > 0:17:25which are confronting these problems.
0:17:25 > 0:17:29And it's a process of gradual, insipid decline.
0:17:29 > 0:17:32That's the consequence of not facing up to the issue.
0:17:34 > 0:17:37You can see why a chancellor
0:17:37 > 0:17:39wouldn't necessarily want to borrow heavily
0:17:39 > 0:17:42from the frazzled debt markets right now,
0:17:42 > 0:17:46but infrastructure is not all government spending,
0:17:46 > 0:17:48it can be public or private.
0:17:48 > 0:17:51What is true, is that in the end it's us who have to foot the bill,
0:17:51 > 0:17:53either as consumers or taxpayers.
0:17:58 > 0:18:00500 billion pounds sounds scary,
0:18:00 > 0:18:03but think about it, over 10 years
0:18:03 > 0:18:06it's just a bit more than 3% of our economy,
0:18:06 > 0:18:07and spend it well,
0:18:07 > 0:18:11and it'll make your economy bigger than it would have been anyway.
0:18:11 > 0:18:14No, my point is, don't we need to spend more
0:18:14 > 0:18:17to give our economy space to respond to change,
0:18:17 > 0:18:21to give it room to dodge whatever punches are thrown at it?
0:18:21 > 0:18:23To keep it flexible?
0:18:23 > 0:18:27Above all I should say, to allow it to respond to the changes
0:18:27 > 0:18:29that have always occurred and will occur
0:18:29 > 0:18:32to the nature of the economy itself.
0:18:38 > 0:18:42Here's the really tricky bit about infrastructure,
0:18:42 > 0:18:45none of us know what direction our economy will take
0:18:45 > 0:18:49in the next few decades, but we still have to prepare for it now.
0:18:50 > 0:18:53So we're bound to get a lot wrong.
0:18:53 > 0:18:55Just as they did in the past.
0:18:58 > 0:19:01This is Kielder Water in Northumberland,
0:19:01 > 0:19:04the biggest man-made reservoir in Northern Europe.
0:19:06 > 0:19:09It's a beautiful part of the landscape of North East England,
0:19:09 > 0:19:13but it is just 30 years old this year.
0:19:18 > 0:19:22Back in the 1960s, there was no reservoir here,
0:19:22 > 0:19:24just a picturesque valley.
0:19:25 > 0:19:27NEWSREEL: 'The North Tyne valley.
0:19:27 > 0:19:30'Not pretty, exactly, but abrasively beautiful,
0:19:30 > 0:19:33'in that un-self-conscious northern way.'
0:19:34 > 0:19:37But demand for water was rising,
0:19:37 > 0:19:40and there soon wouldn't be enough
0:19:40 > 0:19:43to feed the furnaces of the North East's factories.
0:19:45 > 0:19:48So they found the best site for rain catchment...
0:19:49 > 0:19:52..moved out the people...
0:19:52 > 0:19:56and in the mid '70s, the diggers moved in.
0:20:01 > 0:20:04'The lake, seven miles long and four miles wide,
0:20:04 > 0:20:06'would be bigger than Ulswater.'
0:20:09 > 0:20:13By 1982, it was ready for its grand opening.
0:20:19 > 0:20:21So, 20 years of planning,
0:20:21 > 0:20:25seven years of construction, and the reservoir was ready
0:20:25 > 0:20:29to meet the water needs of the heavy industry of the North East.
0:20:29 > 0:20:33Just one hitch. By the time of the recession of the 1980s,
0:20:33 > 0:20:39there was much less of that industry than anyone had expected.
0:20:39 > 0:20:43All of a sudden, this beautiful place was a white elephant.
0:20:44 > 0:20:49The world outside had changed even more quickly than the valley.
0:20:53 > 0:20:57Kielder is a monument to the way the British economy
0:20:57 > 0:20:59has evolved in recent times.
0:20:59 > 0:21:02But that doesn't mean we shouldn't have built it.
0:21:02 > 0:21:04You'll always get forecasts wrong,
0:21:04 > 0:21:06that's in the nature of infrastructure.
0:21:09 > 0:21:13Think of it as an insurance policy which didn't get used.
0:21:18 > 0:21:22Heidi Mottram is the Chief Executive of Kielder's owner,
0:21:22 > 0:21:24Northumbrian Water.
0:21:24 > 0:21:26My feeling about that, this is a long-term game,
0:21:26 > 0:21:29water resource planning, you know.
0:21:29 > 0:21:32It's only 30 years, that's a blink of an eyelid really
0:21:32 > 0:21:36in terms of, I think, how populations grow and develop.
0:21:36 > 0:21:40So, yes, undoubtedly that heavy industry did wane.
0:21:40 > 0:21:43But you know, there may come a time when things change around,
0:21:43 > 0:21:45population changes around, you know,
0:21:45 > 0:21:48as we think about the way we want to use our country differently.
0:21:48 > 0:21:51So I think you have to think of these things in terms of
0:21:51 > 0:21:54sort of hundreds of years not necessarily 30 years.
0:21:54 > 0:21:57There is one other idea, instead of moving the water down south,
0:21:57 > 0:22:00you could move the people up north.
0:22:00 > 0:22:02Well, that's one where I do think
0:22:02 > 0:22:04we should seriously give that some thought.
0:22:04 > 0:22:07This is not only a very beautiful part of the country,
0:22:07 > 0:22:09in which we live with a fantastic quality of life,
0:22:09 > 0:22:13but it can welcome, you know, the industries that need this resource,
0:22:13 > 0:22:16it can welcome additional population growth,
0:22:16 > 0:22:18and that's got to be, I think,
0:22:18 > 0:22:22a sensible, sustainable thing to do, hasn't it?
0:22:22 > 0:22:26To, you know, use the assets that you've got in the best possible way.
0:22:30 > 0:22:32The lesson of Kielder
0:22:32 > 0:22:37is that the world sometimes changes faster than infrastructure can.
0:22:37 > 0:22:39But that doesn't mean we should do nothing.
0:22:39 > 0:22:41Instead we should appreciate
0:22:41 > 0:22:44that infrastructure needs to give us options.
0:22:44 > 0:22:46Room for manoeuvre in the future.
0:22:49 > 0:22:52A really interesting question to ask is,
0:22:52 > 0:22:56what kind of economy do you think we're going to have
0:22:56 > 0:22:59in 20 or 30 or 40 years' time?
0:22:59 > 0:23:02Are we really going to be able to survive on the service-based economy?
0:23:02 > 0:23:06Is the future just a bigger and bigger Canary Wharf?
0:23:06 > 0:23:09Is it just more and more large accountancy firms
0:23:09 > 0:23:10in the middle of London?
0:23:10 > 0:23:12Because if that's the future,
0:23:12 > 0:23:15then you should stick the infrastructure in the south.
0:23:15 > 0:23:19And you should provide stonking good airport facilities, broadband,
0:23:19 > 0:23:22urban transport systems, etc., for all those city slickers
0:23:22 > 0:23:24that we're going to have in the future.
0:23:24 > 0:23:29If, on the other hand, you think that model has had its time,
0:23:29 > 0:23:32just like our old manufacturing had its time in the '60s and '70s,
0:23:32 > 0:23:35and we're going to move a bit back towards manufacturing,
0:23:35 > 0:23:39then you have to ask, what sort of infrastructure would that need?
0:23:39 > 0:23:41And here's the chicken-and-egg question.
0:23:41 > 0:23:43If you don't provide the sort of infrastructure
0:23:43 > 0:23:48that a manufacturing economy might need, you won't get one.
0:23:48 > 0:23:49And then it will be self-fulfilling,
0:23:49 > 0:23:52you'll end up with a service-based London economy.
0:23:54 > 0:23:56So infrastructure isn't easy.
0:23:56 > 0:23:59Which sort of Britain do we build it for?
0:24:01 > 0:24:04And, crucially, where?
0:24:04 > 0:24:07Do we try and re-balance our lopsided economy
0:24:07 > 0:24:11by building afresh in the manufacturing heartlands
0:24:11 > 0:24:13of the Midlands and North,
0:24:13 > 0:24:16or do we lay on more and more in the South East,
0:24:16 > 0:24:20where the population and the service sector
0:24:20 > 0:24:22have been growing fastest?
0:24:22 > 0:24:25Or are we content to do neither,
0:24:25 > 0:24:27and have no options at all?
0:24:28 > 0:24:32No example sums up the difficult choices
0:24:32 > 0:24:38and our endless capacity to dither over them better than Heathrow.
0:24:38 > 0:24:41As we've moved away from manufacturing and towards services,
0:24:41 > 0:24:45it's played an ever bigger part in our economy.
0:24:48 > 0:24:50But we face an awkward question.
0:24:50 > 0:24:54Do we invest in more airport capacity in London, or not?
0:24:57 > 0:25:00Before I tackle that, I'm going to get some hands-on experience
0:25:00 > 0:25:03of just how finely-honed an operation
0:25:03 > 0:25:06a crowded airport like this has to be.
0:25:06 > 0:25:11Right, I've got my two high-vis table tennis rackets,
0:25:11 > 0:25:15ear protection, a 747 coming my way,
0:25:15 > 0:25:18and butterflies in my stomach.
0:25:28 > 0:25:34I've been entrusted with marshalling this 747 to the stand.
0:25:34 > 0:25:37That's 400 tonnes and around 350 passengers
0:25:37 > 0:25:42out of the 190,000 who arrive and depart here every day.
0:25:45 > 0:25:46No pressure, then(!)
0:25:53 > 0:25:55You might not know it to look at me,
0:25:55 > 0:25:58but I've actually had a couple of hours of training,
0:25:58 > 0:26:01and my tutor Simon is watching carefully on.
0:26:28 > 0:26:30It's a stressful old business, but I did manage
0:26:30 > 0:26:35to get it bang on the centre line, if maybe half a metre off its mark.
0:26:37 > 0:26:40Well, the pilot gave me a really bad thumbs down then,
0:26:40 > 0:26:43he really did - he looked a bit annoyed.
0:26:43 > 0:26:47I think it's probably because we stopped quite suddenly.
0:26:49 > 0:26:51Simon...
0:26:51 > 0:26:54- Evan.- How did I do? - How did you do?
0:26:54 > 0:26:57Well, for a novice marshaller, that was excellent.
0:26:57 > 0:27:03400 tonnes in your fingertips, and you got it bang on the mark there,
0:27:03 > 0:27:06excellent, very well done. It's very, very important
0:27:06 > 0:27:10to make sure that this aircraft parks on the correct stopping position.
0:27:10 > 0:27:12Because if it doesn't, they can't get...
0:27:12 > 0:27:15They can't get the passengers off, exactly.
0:27:15 > 0:27:17And Heathrow's operating at 99.2% capacity.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20As soon as an aircraft pushes back off of a stand,
0:27:20 > 0:27:22another one arrives on to a stand.
0:27:22 > 0:27:25There are people waiting to turn that aircraft around,
0:27:25 > 0:27:27as quickly and as safely as possible.
0:27:27 > 0:27:29And occasionally,
0:27:29 > 0:27:32planes are queuing up waiting for their parking space, really.
0:27:32 > 0:27:35Correct, but provided we have a blue sunny day today,
0:27:35 > 0:27:38then everything should be working like clockwork.
0:27:38 > 0:27:39But thankfully a good day, today.
0:27:39 > 0:27:41And very well done, that was really very, very good.
0:27:41 > 0:27:43Marshalling day is over.
0:27:44 > 0:27:48Most planes are now guided automatically to their stands,
0:27:48 > 0:27:51though some are still marshalled by the experts.
0:27:55 > 0:28:00The airport has seen phenomenal change in its 65-year history.
0:28:00 > 0:28:03And its reacted to it in a very British way.
0:28:03 > 0:28:06Because whereas other countries have master-planned their big airports,
0:28:06 > 0:28:11Heathrow is a classic case of "build as you go".
0:28:11 > 0:28:13- BROADCASTER:- 'Civil flying gets going again,
0:28:13 > 0:28:17'and Britain begins the fight for her old place on the skylines of the world.'
0:28:17 > 0:28:20It was built as an RAF base,
0:28:20 > 0:28:24and handed over to civilian use in 1946.
0:28:24 > 0:28:27That year, it handled 63,000 passengers,
0:28:27 > 0:28:30from tents alongside the runway.
0:28:30 > 0:28:33- BROADCASTER:- 'Here, a major air junction's being operated,
0:28:33 > 0:28:37'while the buildings and runways are still growing up around it.'
0:28:37 > 0:28:42By 1951, it was shifting 800,000 passengers a year, and rising.
0:28:42 > 0:28:46It's managed to keep raising the number of passengers year on year
0:28:46 > 0:28:47because planes have got bigger
0:28:47 > 0:28:49and by gradually building bigger terminals.
0:28:49 > 0:28:53'The architecture and interior decoration of this building
0:28:53 > 0:28:56'provide an atmosphere in keeping with its importance
0:28:56 > 0:28:59'as one of the greatest centres of international air traffic in the world.'
0:29:02 > 0:29:04Today, it's still building,
0:29:04 > 0:29:08and it handles 69 million passengers a year,
0:29:08 > 0:29:11off no more runways than it had in 1946.
0:29:15 > 0:29:17That means the people who make this place tick
0:29:17 > 0:29:20have been forced to become ever more ingenious,
0:29:20 > 0:29:23to get the most out of what they've got.
0:29:23 > 0:29:25The airport seems to build piece by piece.
0:29:25 > 0:29:29They've never quite finished it, always something else going on,
0:29:29 > 0:29:32how does that affect what you guys do?
0:29:32 > 0:29:35Well, that adds to the challenge and complexity every day
0:29:35 > 0:29:37because it's like a big fluid jigsaw.
0:29:37 > 0:29:38All the planes keep coming
0:29:38 > 0:29:40and we have to find a space for them,
0:29:40 > 0:29:42but the picture keeps changing.
0:29:42 > 0:29:45Um, bits of taxi way are taken away from us
0:29:45 > 0:29:48so we have to work round that, stands are closed, etc., etc.
0:29:48 > 0:29:52Give me some of the tricks of the trade that you guys use
0:29:52 > 0:29:55when you're trying to get the maximum use of the runways?
0:29:55 > 0:29:58It's not a first-come-first-served basis.
0:29:58 > 0:30:01We get the air craft and we shuffle them around at the runway,
0:30:01 > 0:30:02to maximise the runway use.
0:30:05 > 0:30:08Here's what Dave and his fellow controllers have to do.
0:30:12 > 0:30:15If they put big planes in front of small planes,
0:30:15 > 0:30:18they have to leave bigger gaps to account for the vortex
0:30:18 > 0:30:21the big planes leave in their wake.
0:30:21 > 0:30:24So instead, they try to bunch planes of similar sizes together
0:30:24 > 0:30:26to reduce the gaps.
0:30:28 > 0:30:30So when I am in a plane,
0:30:30 > 0:30:34circling around somewhere over the South East of England,
0:30:34 > 0:30:38that's cos you're shuffling my plane into the right kind of queue
0:30:38 > 0:30:40to get the most out of the runway?
0:30:40 > 0:30:43That's correct, and I don't apologise for that,
0:30:43 > 0:30:46it's all about maximum runway usage.
0:30:52 > 0:30:54Heathrow often gets a bad press,
0:30:54 > 0:30:58but really, you can only marvel at the resourcefulness of the people
0:30:58 > 0:31:01who make it work within all the constraints.
0:31:01 > 0:31:05And in a way, it's a good example of British approach to infrastructure.
0:31:05 > 0:31:09You under-provide it and you use ingenuity to get by.
0:31:09 > 0:31:12We're world champions at muddling through.
0:31:12 > 0:31:14As I say, you can marvel at it
0:31:14 > 0:31:19and then remember, muddling through can only get you so far.
0:31:21 > 0:31:25We're at a crunch point, because Heathrow's full.
0:31:25 > 0:31:28Other airports have space, but Heathrow is special -
0:31:28 > 0:31:31it's one of the world's hub airports.
0:31:32 > 0:31:36That means passengers don't just fly here to get to London,
0:31:36 > 0:31:38they fly here to catch planes onto somewhere else.
0:31:40 > 0:31:43Britain's aviation bosses argue that's good for us all,
0:31:43 > 0:31:48as it allows them to lay on routes which otherwise wouldn't be viable,
0:31:48 > 0:31:52routes to parts of the world which might be crucial to the future of British economy.
0:31:56 > 0:31:59We're not very well connected to growth economies,
0:31:59 > 0:32:01so I've stopped using emerging economies
0:32:01 > 0:32:04because, you know, China is the second biggest economy in the world.
0:32:04 > 0:32:07Brazil has overtaken the UK, so you can't really call these emerging -
0:32:07 > 0:32:10they've emerged but they're growing at a significant pace.
0:32:10 > 0:32:15And if we're serious about playing a leading role in the global economy,
0:32:15 > 0:32:18you're going to have to connect to these destinations,
0:32:18 > 0:32:22and that's really going to be a challenge for Heathrow and for the UK.
0:32:22 > 0:32:27'Good evening. In the coming age of Jumbo Jets
0:32:27 > 0:32:28'and supersonic speed,'
0:32:28 > 0:32:31how and where will we make room for new airports
0:32:31 > 0:32:34in England's green and pleasant land?
0:32:34 > 0:32:37You see, this question is nothing new.
0:32:37 > 0:32:41The problem of how to maintain airport capacity
0:32:41 > 0:32:44in the South East has bedevilled successive governments for decades.
0:32:45 > 0:32:47- BROADCASTER: - 'London faces erosion
0:32:47 > 0:32:50'of its position as the hub of international air transport.'
0:32:50 > 0:32:53And now the issue is back.
0:32:53 > 0:32:56Do we build an extra runway at Heathrow,
0:32:56 > 0:33:00as Willie Walsh wants, or a brand-new airport in the Thames?
0:33:00 > 0:33:04All options are being looked at by a government review, none is easy.
0:33:06 > 0:33:09Now, if you build a third runway at Heathrow,
0:33:09 > 0:33:11is that going to do it or will you be saying,
0:33:11 > 0:33:14in 30 years' time, "We need a fourth, a fifth runway"?
0:33:14 > 0:33:17At which point, we may say, "Why didn't we build an airport somewhere else
0:33:17 > 0:33:19"where we could do all that in the first place?"
0:33:19 > 0:33:22I think that is the question that needs to be answered.
0:33:22 > 0:33:26My own view is that a third runway isn't the long-term solution.
0:33:26 > 0:33:31I think a third runway gives you 25 years. It keeps you in the game.
0:33:31 > 0:33:33So, you know, you're quite right,
0:33:33 > 0:33:35I think it'd be wrong for me to try and convince people
0:33:35 > 0:33:38that if you build a third runway at Heathrow that's it
0:33:38 > 0:33:40and we're now future-proofed.
0:33:40 > 0:33:43With the projected growth in air travel
0:33:43 > 0:33:44I don't think it would do enough.
0:33:44 > 0:33:47But at least it gives you time to consider options.
0:33:49 > 0:33:54But notice, almost all of those options are in the South of England,
0:33:54 > 0:33:58which means that airport capacity is a classic example
0:33:58 > 0:34:00of a very British infrastructure dilemma.
0:34:02 > 0:34:05Here's the problem - Britain needs more infrastructure.
0:34:05 > 0:34:08But the very places that it needs it most
0:34:08 > 0:34:12are the places that are most crowded, have most people.
0:34:12 > 0:34:14And yet it's the place where the crowds are
0:34:14 > 0:34:16that there isn't room to build anything,
0:34:16 > 0:34:18where you meet most objections.
0:34:18 > 0:34:20Yet when it comes to a decision over airports,
0:34:20 > 0:34:23where and whether you build another hub,
0:34:23 > 0:34:27well, this touches on issues around where we expect people to live,
0:34:27 > 0:34:29what kind of economy we want to have.
0:34:30 > 0:34:34These are issues way above the pay grade of people involved in aviation -
0:34:34 > 0:34:38these are questions of grand national strategy.
0:34:38 > 0:34:42Difficult questions, mind you, but they really can't be ducked.
0:34:42 > 0:34:48North, South, East, West, hub airports or alternative investments.
0:34:48 > 0:34:53There's a huge menu of infrastructure opportunities in Britain.
0:34:53 > 0:34:54You can argue about them all
0:34:54 > 0:34:57but just because decisions are difficult,
0:34:57 > 0:35:00doesn't mean we shouldn't face up to them.
0:35:00 > 0:35:02And there's an additional economic reason
0:35:02 > 0:35:05for looking at how much we invest in our future.
0:35:05 > 0:35:08To understand it, an example from our past.
0:35:14 > 0:35:18It's pretty obvious that WE have the power to change our infrastructure.
0:35:18 > 0:35:20What's more interesting,
0:35:20 > 0:35:23is that infrastructure has the power to change us.
0:35:23 > 0:35:28To be transformative, to alter our behaviour, our way of thinking.
0:35:28 > 0:35:31Often in very unexpected ways.
0:35:44 > 0:35:46This rather beautiful locomotive is Planet,
0:35:46 > 0:35:50a replica of the very first one to run down these tracks,
0:35:50 > 0:35:55in 1830, as part of the Liverpool and Manchester railway,
0:35:55 > 0:35:57'Britain's first intercity line.'
0:35:57 > 0:35:59Gosh, nice and warm up here.
0:35:59 > 0:36:03'Today, it's part of Manchester's Museum of Science and Industry.'
0:36:03 > 0:36:06But back then, it was 30 miles of track,
0:36:06 > 0:36:08which changed Britain for ever.
0:36:15 > 0:36:17This was built in '92,
0:36:17 > 0:36:22but it's pretty well the same as the one that was built in 1830.
0:36:22 > 0:36:26Visually, it is, but it's made with modern materials,
0:36:26 > 0:36:30and we've got modern safety features like brakes.
0:36:30 > 0:36:31EVAN LAUGHS
0:36:31 > 0:36:34Did they really not have brakes originally?!
0:36:34 > 0:36:37They were more interested in making it go.
0:36:37 > 0:36:39THEY LAUGH
0:36:47 > 0:36:52The original motivation for the Liverpool and Manchester railway had been to carry freight.
0:36:52 > 0:36:57Local businessmen had wanted to link the two cities, but guess what?
0:36:57 > 0:36:59Once the line had been built,
0:36:59 > 0:37:03it actually turned out that PEOPLE wanted to travel, as well.
0:37:03 > 0:37:07And pretty soon, passengers were the dominant traffic.
0:37:07 > 0:37:11What had happened was, the line had transformed
0:37:11 > 0:37:16the geography of the region in a way that no-one had anticipated.
0:37:19 > 0:37:23This railway, it took the brakes off
0:37:23 > 0:37:25the development of the economy of the region.
0:37:25 > 0:37:28Yes, here in Manchester, well, of course,
0:37:28 > 0:37:31not only were the needs of the existing cotton mills satisfied,
0:37:31 > 0:37:34but a lot of other people said, "Right, now we've got
0:37:34 > 0:37:37"the opportunity of setting up further cotton mills."
0:37:37 > 0:37:41The textile industry expanded very, very quickly.
0:37:41 > 0:37:44And as soon as the railway opened and made it so much easier
0:37:44 > 0:37:47to get the cotton imports, the food imports,
0:37:47 > 0:37:50and all the other 101 other things that were required here in Manchester,
0:37:50 > 0:37:53then, of course, the numbers of ships
0:37:53 > 0:37:55coming through Liverpool instantly doubles.
0:37:55 > 0:37:56It was a huge, huge increase,
0:37:56 > 0:38:00and that made an enormous difference to the port of Liverpool.
0:38:02 > 0:38:06You buy a railway and you get a flourishing port for free.
0:38:10 > 0:38:15The Liverpool-Manchester railway showed how infrastructures had
0:38:15 > 0:38:18a transformative effect on Britain's economy in the past.
0:38:18 > 0:38:22When you bring people together, you create
0:38:22 > 0:38:26new economic opportunities that you couldn't have anticipated.
0:38:26 > 0:38:29There are huge benefits to shrinking distances between people.
0:38:29 > 0:38:32It made our economy more productive back then
0:38:32 > 0:38:35and there's evidence it can do that now.
0:38:35 > 0:38:37And there are plenty of ways to do it.
0:38:37 > 0:38:41Go further and faster in linking the cities of the North of England, for example,
0:38:41 > 0:38:45or go further and faster in creating space for London to grow.
0:38:49 > 0:38:52We can use infrastructure to bring people closer together,
0:38:52 > 0:38:56but the question is, where should we focus our investment?
0:38:56 > 0:38:59If we spend all our money around London,
0:38:59 > 0:39:00as it sometimes feels we ARE doing,
0:39:00 > 0:39:04then you drive people to London and it becomes self-fulfilling.
0:39:04 > 0:39:05That's not a very good idea.
0:39:05 > 0:39:07If you don't spend money in London
0:39:07 > 0:39:10and you invest it all around Manchester, for example,
0:39:10 > 0:39:13well, then you're in danger of choking the economy in London
0:39:13 > 0:39:15which is a fast-growing part of the country.
0:39:15 > 0:39:17So THAT'S not a good idea.
0:39:17 > 0:39:19Isn't there a case for doing both?
0:39:19 > 0:39:21For investing everywhere?
0:39:21 > 0:39:24Maybe we just have to give our country some options.
0:39:27 > 0:39:31This government and the last have recognised these arguments
0:39:31 > 0:39:35and THIS is their big hope for bringing us closer together.
0:39:38 > 0:39:41It's Curzon Street in Birmingham,
0:39:41 > 0:39:43built by Robert Stevenson in the 1830s
0:39:43 > 0:39:48as the magnificent terminus for the London-Birmingham railway line.
0:39:54 > 0:39:58Today, it's rather faded, but there is a plan.
0:39:58 > 0:40:03It's the proposed site for the new Birmingham station for High Speed 2...
0:40:05 > 0:40:08..the new fast rail line from London to Birmingham
0:40:08 > 0:40:10and, in time, beyond that to the north.
0:40:13 > 0:40:17The government hopes it can shift the nation's centre of economic gravity.
0:40:20 > 0:40:24Doug Oakervee is a wily infrastructure veteran
0:40:24 > 0:40:27and the Brit who oversaw the building of Hong Kong's new airport
0:40:27 > 0:40:30in the middle of the South China Sea in the 1990s.
0:40:33 > 0:40:36'Today he's got an even bigger job on his hands,
0:40:36 > 0:40:39'making High Speed 2 become a reality.'
0:40:40 > 0:40:43Doug, this looks like a bit of a wasteland at the moment?
0:40:43 > 0:40:46Some might call it a nature reserve or a park,
0:40:46 > 0:40:49but what is this going to be if you get your way?
0:40:49 > 0:40:53This is going to be the real hub of High Speed 2,
0:40:53 > 0:40:54this is Birmingham station,
0:40:54 > 0:40:58with the platforms going off in that direction,
0:40:58 > 0:41:01and the old Curzon Street station that was built in 1838,
0:41:01 > 0:41:06will be brought back into the new station and refurbished completely.
0:41:06 > 0:41:11So bringing in the original history of Birmingham's railway from 1838
0:41:11 > 0:41:12up to the modern day.
0:41:15 > 0:41:20Infrastructure has the power to change the geography of the nation.
0:41:20 > 0:41:22We're talking about shrinking the distance
0:41:22 > 0:41:25between Birmingham and London. What does that do?
0:41:25 > 0:41:29Does that accentuate the concentration of activity in London
0:41:29 > 0:41:31which already has a lot of activity in it?
0:41:31 > 0:41:34Or does it disperse activity out of London?
0:41:34 > 0:41:36I think it'll probably do both things -
0:41:36 > 0:41:40make life very much easier for those who want to commute to London,
0:41:40 > 0:41:42but I think the key thing is with H2,
0:41:42 > 0:41:45when it develops itself and establishes here,
0:41:45 > 0:41:48and the development that takes place around it,
0:41:48 > 0:41:51will encourage many more companies to Birmingham,
0:41:51 > 0:41:55which in a sense is a better location for a lot of industries
0:41:55 > 0:41:59and there will be greater connectivities between the north and the south.
0:41:59 > 0:42:03I mean, some might like to say it'll bridge the north/south divide.
0:42:05 > 0:42:08High Speed 2 MIGHT bridge the north/south divide,
0:42:08 > 0:42:14or it might suck yet more economic activity down south.
0:42:14 > 0:42:17As we saw with the Liverpool-Manchester railway,
0:42:17 > 0:42:22infrastructure often has unexpected effects which nobody bargained for.
0:42:22 > 0:42:25So until we've built it, no-one really knows.
0:42:26 > 0:42:28Like so much infrastructure,
0:42:28 > 0:42:32it's really hard to know what the effect of HS2 would be.
0:42:32 > 0:42:35You can do your detailed passenger projections
0:42:35 > 0:42:39but, frankly, you're likely to be way off the mark with them.
0:42:39 > 0:42:41No, with transformative infrastructure,
0:42:41 > 0:42:43it bears on much, much bigger issues.
0:42:43 > 0:42:46HS2 isn't really about journey times,
0:42:46 > 0:42:49it's about the whole shape of our nation.
0:42:49 > 0:42:53Are we a country called Britain with a capital called London,
0:42:53 > 0:42:54or are we a country called London
0:42:54 > 0:42:57with a huge great suburb called Britain?
0:42:58 > 0:43:01That is the really difficult question facing us.
0:43:03 > 0:43:05The case for investing more in infrastructure
0:43:05 > 0:43:08is to make this difficult question easier -
0:43:08 > 0:43:13to build space for the economy to grow in all parts of the country.
0:43:13 > 0:43:18But, wait, there's a case against too, not just the financial cost,
0:43:18 > 0:43:22but the effect development has on our quality of life and environment.
0:43:22 > 0:43:24It's a case that has to be answered.
0:43:27 > 0:43:30This is the practice of Norman Foster -
0:43:30 > 0:43:33a British architect with a global reputation.
0:43:33 > 0:43:36He's designed infrastructure around the world,
0:43:36 > 0:43:40including airports in Hong Kong and Beijing.
0:43:40 > 0:43:41And he has his own vision
0:43:41 > 0:43:45for how Britain could and should invest more.
0:43:45 > 0:43:48I've come to see how he answers the critics,
0:43:48 > 0:43:51those who think more infrastructure means concreting over Britain.
0:43:51 > 0:43:54We probably have the greatest
0:43:54 > 0:43:58heritage in the world,
0:43:58 > 0:44:01in terms of inspirational individuals.
0:44:01 > 0:44:03You look at Brunel -
0:44:03 > 0:44:06he created tunnels, bridges, ports, ships.
0:44:06 > 0:44:09I mean, the breadth of that ambition,
0:44:09 > 0:44:12we should be creating in that spirit,
0:44:12 > 0:44:16for present generations, as they grow older,
0:44:16 > 0:44:19future generations unborn.
0:44:19 > 0:44:22Do you recognise that there are a lot of things
0:44:22 > 0:44:25we want to leave younger... future generations?
0:44:25 > 0:44:29We want to leave them a country that is intact, that is beautiful,
0:44:29 > 0:44:31and where nature has been preserved.
0:44:31 > 0:44:34And for every Brunel fan out there
0:44:34 > 0:44:39saying Brunel is the sort of great Great Briton who represents...
0:44:39 > 0:44:40And there are lots of others.
0:44:40 > 0:44:44..there's another one saying it's the countryside that represents
0:44:44 > 0:44:46the greatest asset we have - it's that.
0:44:46 > 0:44:48And I wonder whether you recognise
0:44:48 > 0:44:50that there's this...perhaps a bit of a conflict?
0:44:50 > 0:44:54There's always a conflict. It's always a balance.
0:44:54 > 0:44:58Of course, at the same time, we can preserve the countryside.
0:44:58 > 0:45:01We can integrate infrastructure in the countryside
0:45:01 > 0:45:03in another great tradition -
0:45:03 > 0:45:06the landscaping tradition of a century earlier,
0:45:06 > 0:45:09before the Industrial Revolution.
0:45:09 > 0:45:11What happened to that landscaping tradition?
0:45:11 > 0:45:14Why is that seen as something separate from infrastructure?
0:45:17 > 0:45:19Now there's a thought.
0:45:19 > 0:45:23In recent years, the story of British infrastructure
0:45:23 > 0:45:26has been a string of costly battles
0:45:26 > 0:45:30between developers and protesters, with both sides digging in.
0:45:32 > 0:45:33But does it have to be a battle?
0:45:33 > 0:45:36Is it possible to build for the future,
0:45:36 > 0:45:39while preserving our natural heritage?
0:45:46 > 0:45:49This is the Devil's Punch Bowl in Surrey -
0:45:49 > 0:45:51a beauty spot with a past.
0:45:53 > 0:45:58'Dame Fiona Reynolds heads the National Trust, which owns the land.'
0:46:00 > 0:46:03So, Fiona, I used to drive down this section of the A3 -
0:46:03 > 0:46:06it is just an unbelievable and spectacular change,
0:46:06 > 0:46:08it's just incredible.
0:46:08 > 0:46:09Yeah, it is, I mean, I did too...
0:46:09 > 0:46:12or, you know, stop sometimes in the queues,
0:46:12 > 0:46:16but I think what's amazing is how quickly nature's reclaiming it.
0:46:17 > 0:46:20And this is what it used to look like.
0:46:24 > 0:46:28For decades, the A3 snaked along this valley,
0:46:28 > 0:46:32a scar on a stunning natural amphitheatre.
0:46:35 > 0:46:37But the road needed expanding,
0:46:37 > 0:46:39and rather than taking the cheap option - a flyover -
0:46:39 > 0:46:44they chose to exploit the great British talent for tunnelling.
0:46:51 > 0:46:53- I mean, it was phenomenally expensive, actually.- Yeah, it was.
0:46:53 > 0:46:55It was about £370 million,
0:46:55 > 0:46:57which is an enormous amount of money,
0:46:57 > 0:47:01but the benefit is absolutely huge and the alternatives were horrific.
0:47:01 > 0:47:03I mean, there would have been a huge...
0:47:03 > 0:47:05kind of flyover across the Devil's Punch Bowl -
0:47:05 > 0:47:08one of the most important landscapes in southern England.
0:47:10 > 0:47:13OK, we know you like infrastructure, expensive as it can be,
0:47:13 > 0:47:15that improves the countryside.
0:47:15 > 0:47:17What about your view of the stuff
0:47:17 > 0:47:19that doesn't improve the countryside
0:47:19 > 0:47:23but gives us jobs, development, homes, roads, transport -
0:47:23 > 0:47:26all those things, other things, that we want in our lives.
0:47:26 > 0:47:30We always, as a society, have aspirations for the future.
0:47:30 > 0:47:32We have aspirations to get places faster,
0:47:32 > 0:47:35we have aspirations for the economy, we have aspirations for jobs.
0:47:35 > 0:47:38But we also have aspirations for quality of life,
0:47:38 > 0:47:40and I think what's happened over the years -
0:47:40 > 0:47:42and I've seen this in practice over many years of being involved
0:47:42 > 0:47:44in the environmental movement -
0:47:44 > 0:47:48infrastructure projects are led by economic benefit,
0:47:48 > 0:47:52and then it's almost the environmentalists have to kind of campaign against.
0:47:52 > 0:47:56And what we have been trying to do over the years is to say,
0:47:56 > 0:47:59"Infrastructure projects can deliver more benefits
0:47:59 > 0:48:03"than the single economic driver that started them off."
0:48:03 > 0:48:07And if you can find ways of meeting all those objectives -
0:48:07 > 0:48:10environmental, social, as well as economic,
0:48:10 > 0:48:13then actually you get a project that is better from all perspectives
0:48:13 > 0:48:15and is the right thing to do for the long term.
0:48:22 > 0:48:24When it comes to infrastructure in this country,
0:48:24 > 0:48:27we've often been paralysed by a dilemma
0:48:27 > 0:48:31between countryside, environment, quality of life and development.
0:48:31 > 0:48:34But if you are willing to spend a bit of cash,
0:48:34 > 0:48:38you can actually make your infrastructure countryside-friendly.
0:48:38 > 0:48:42Not all of it, you're never going to make an airport very sympathetic,
0:48:42 > 0:48:45but a lot of infrastructure can be made so.
0:48:45 > 0:48:48So here's a thought - do we have to make a choice
0:48:48 > 0:48:51between environment and development?
0:48:51 > 0:48:53Maybe we can have both.
0:48:53 > 0:48:56Rather than being paralysed by the dilemma,
0:48:56 > 0:48:59maybe we should see it as a spur to action.
0:48:59 > 0:49:02We should just get on with doing more, not less.
0:49:04 > 0:49:06Now, if you're one of the many people
0:49:06 > 0:49:10who feel uneasy at the prospect of building more and think
0:49:10 > 0:49:15I'm in danger of overstating the case, I have a final thought...
0:49:15 > 0:49:17one very close to home.
0:49:30 > 0:49:31TANNOY: 'This is Ashtead...'
0:49:31 > 0:49:33TANNOY ANNOUNCEMENT CONTINUES
0:49:41 > 0:49:45# The old home town looks the same
0:49:45 > 0:49:50# As I step down from the train
0:49:50 > 0:49:57# And there's that old oak tree that I used to play on... #
0:49:57 > 0:50:01This is Ashtead in Surrey, where I grew up -
0:50:01 > 0:50:04quintessential, leafy south-east England.
0:50:04 > 0:50:05# ..to meet me
0:50:05 > 0:50:11# Arms reaching, smiling sweetly
0:50:11 > 0:50:19# It's good to touch the green, green grass of home. #
0:50:19 > 0:50:23Today I'm coming back for the annual village day -
0:50:23 > 0:50:25a festival of candy floss, dog shows
0:50:25 > 0:50:29and good old-fashioned entertainment.
0:50:29 > 0:50:31Slide a pint! Try your luck.
0:50:31 > 0:50:34- Can I have a go? What do I have to do?- Land it on the red dot.
0:50:34 > 0:50:38I've got to land it on the red dot? But that's impossible.
0:50:38 > 0:50:39No, it's not.
0:50:39 > 0:50:43OK. I've just got a little bit weighed up,
0:50:43 > 0:50:45got to push it more to the right.
0:50:45 > 0:50:50- A little bit more.- I've got to push it quite a bit harder.
0:50:50 > 0:50:53Not that hard!
0:50:53 > 0:50:54THEY LAUGH
0:50:55 > 0:50:58Thank you very much, not close enough.
0:50:58 > 0:51:01Great stuff! I'm afraid my hand's a bit wet actually.
0:51:01 > 0:51:03Oh! Sorry!
0:51:03 > 0:51:08'It's just like old times and that is rather the point, in a way.'
0:51:10 > 0:51:12CHEERING
0:51:12 > 0:51:14Never win.
0:51:18 > 0:51:20So this I where I was brought up.
0:51:20 > 0:51:22This was the local recreation ground, the rec,
0:51:22 > 0:51:25spent many happy hours here.
0:51:25 > 0:51:28But for many of my childhood years, Ashtead lived in fear.
0:51:28 > 0:51:30It had a nightmare vision
0:51:30 > 0:51:33and that nightmare was called the M25 -
0:51:33 > 0:51:36hadn't been built then, of course,
0:51:36 > 0:51:39but it was set to come very close to here.
0:51:39 > 0:51:41Now, pretty well everybody I knew
0:51:41 > 0:51:44thought whatever motorways the south-east needed,
0:51:44 > 0:51:47they didn't want one close to Ashtead.
0:51:55 > 0:51:58When the M25 orbital motorway around London is completed,
0:51:58 > 0:52:00it will be a 118 miles long
0:52:00 > 0:52:04and a journey that now takes six hours will be cut to two.
0:52:07 > 0:52:11When the route of the M25 had been announced, it brought uproar
0:52:11 > 0:52:12right around the south-east.
0:52:12 > 0:52:13PROTESTORS SHOUT
0:52:13 > 0:52:17NEWS COMMENTARY: 'The ceremonial opening of a motorway enquiry...'
0:52:17 > 0:52:22..and the good people of Ashtead and Leatherhead rallied to the cause.
0:52:23 > 0:52:28The Transport Minister will have to decide whether or not the M25 Leatherhead interchange goes ahead.
0:52:28 > 0:52:31PROTESTORS SHOUT
0:52:32 > 0:52:38We were fired up by what was going to happen to our environment here.
0:52:38 > 0:52:42When they changed the route of the motorway from several miles out
0:52:42 > 0:52:45to bring it in-between Ashtead and Leatherhead, it really got our dander up
0:52:45 > 0:52:48because they were going to impact on so much that we hold dear.
0:52:48 > 0:52:52'John Earle was one of Ashtead's original protesters -
0:52:52 > 0:52:57'a pillar of the community who became an unlikely rabble-rouser.'
0:52:57 > 0:53:00We got emotional about what was happening to us.
0:53:00 > 0:53:03Like British bulldogs, we were going to shake this one until it stopped.
0:53:03 > 0:53:06What was the most outrageous thing you did?
0:53:06 > 0:53:10I suppose disrupting the inquiry at Bookham with foghorns -
0:53:10 > 0:53:13those compressed-air things that make a lot of noise
0:53:13 > 0:53:15and nasty smells and generally...
0:53:15 > 0:53:17- Smells as well?- Smells as well, yes.
0:53:17 > 0:53:19- Stink bombs?- Yes.
0:53:19 > 0:53:23Being a chemical engineer, you know about these things, so yes.
0:53:23 > 0:53:27Erm, looking back on that - am I ashamed? Not really.
0:53:27 > 0:53:31You know, when you get excited about what you're trying to do,
0:53:31 > 0:53:34you'll do anything to stop and make people listen.
0:53:36 > 0:53:38But John lost his rather admirable battle,
0:53:38 > 0:53:42Ashtead got a brand-new Junction 9
0:53:42 > 0:53:46and the south-east got its orbital motorway.
0:53:46 > 0:53:50- THATCHER:- Now some people are saying that the road is a disaster.
0:53:50 > 0:53:55I must say I can't stand those who carp and criticise
0:53:55 > 0:54:00when they ought to be congratulating Britain on a magnificent achievement
0:54:00 > 0:54:03and beating the drum for Britain all over the world.
0:54:07 > 0:54:11Here's the thing that strikes me whenever I'm back -
0:54:11 > 0:54:12things are just the same.
0:54:12 > 0:54:15The M25 is far from perfect,
0:54:15 > 0:54:20but the world didn't stop turning and Ashtead wasn't ruined.
0:54:20 > 0:54:24That's my personal feeling but what about theirs?
0:54:24 > 0:54:27I want to ask you a question, so listen carefully,
0:54:27 > 0:54:31if I could click my fingers
0:54:31 > 0:54:34and at a stroke remove the M25,
0:54:34 > 0:54:38so obviously you wouldn't have the noise
0:54:38 > 0:54:42and obviously you wouldn't have the motorway to get around,
0:54:42 > 0:54:44can I just see how many of you
0:54:44 > 0:54:48would like me to click my fingers and remove the M25?
0:54:48 > 0:54:50- No!- No!
0:54:51 > 0:54:54How many of you would like to keep the M25?
0:54:54 > 0:54:55Yes!
0:54:55 > 0:55:00Very interesting. Well, those votes will be taken into account.
0:55:07 > 0:55:10Would you click your fingers and hope it went away?
0:55:10 > 0:55:14I think, to give you an honest opinion, it's got to say where it is.
0:55:14 > 0:55:18I wouldn't click it away because the amount of traffic has increased so much.
0:55:18 > 0:55:19I mean, the roads around here,
0:55:19 > 0:55:23when the motorway has got a problem at these local junctions,
0:55:23 > 0:55:26it's gridlock around Ashtead and Leatherhead.
0:55:26 > 0:55:27In a twinkle of an eye,
0:55:27 > 0:55:29you know when something's happened on the motorway
0:55:29 > 0:55:32cos all the streets fill up, people are piling off the motorway.
0:55:32 > 0:55:34ROCK BAND PLAYS
0:55:34 > 0:55:38Even the local band are called Junction 9,
0:55:38 > 0:55:40in honour of the motorway.
0:55:40 > 0:55:43And I think there's something encouraging here
0:55:43 > 0:55:46because what a trip to Ashtead reminds me
0:55:46 > 0:55:49is that while humans often instinctively resist change,
0:55:49 > 0:55:52when that change eventually comes, we rise to the challenge.
0:55:55 > 0:55:56So with infrastructure you find
0:55:56 > 0:55:59a community adapts itself to the infrastructure around it.
0:55:59 > 0:56:02They don't want anything new but give them something new
0:56:02 > 0:56:06and they'll adapt to that and then be perfectly content.
0:56:06 > 0:56:09And it seems that's what's happened here.
0:56:18 > 0:56:22Back at Crossrail, Phyllis is still burrowing her way under Paddington
0:56:22 > 0:56:27and that London clay is being shipped out by rail
0:56:27 > 0:56:30to make a new nature reserve on the Essex coastline.
0:56:32 > 0:56:37This place is proof that Britain can pull off the re-engineering we need
0:56:37 > 0:56:40and we've seen that we do need it -
0:56:40 > 0:56:43to replace the fraying fabric of the country,
0:56:43 > 0:56:46to give the economy options for growth,
0:56:46 > 0:56:49to make people more productive,
0:56:49 > 0:56:51to enhance the environment.
0:56:51 > 0:56:56But at £15 billion, Crossrail doesn't come cheap
0:56:56 > 0:57:00and nor does the shopping list for Britain's infrastructure needs.
0:57:00 > 0:57:04Yet if we want a future-proof Britain in a fast-changing world,
0:57:04 > 0:57:08we might just have to bite the bullet.
0:57:08 > 0:57:12You may believe we should invest a lot more in infrastructure,
0:57:12 > 0:57:17but have one last nagging doubt that we will somehow screw it all up,
0:57:17 > 0:57:20end up wasting money.
0:57:20 > 0:57:23So many of these big construction projects go wrong, don't they?
0:57:23 > 0:57:25Well, I've some good news -
0:57:25 > 0:57:28we appear to be getting the hang of them
0:57:28 > 0:57:30and next time I'll show you why
0:57:30 > 0:57:32we have no reason to be scared of big projects
0:57:32 > 0:57:37and every reason to allow ourselves to be a lot more ambitious.
0:57:37 > 0:57:42From the infrastructure that made the Olympics work...
0:57:43 > 0:57:46..to the engineering marvels of High Speed 1...
0:57:47 > 0:57:50..how we're learning from some spectacular mistakes
0:57:50 > 0:57:54to become a can-do nation once again.
0:57:59 > 0:58:01What benefit has the last 150 years
0:58:01 > 0:58:05of infrastructure development in Britain brought to the country?
0:58:05 > 0:58:08You can find out with the Open University's Timeline.
0:58:08 > 0:58:10Just go to our website
0:58:10 > 0:58:14and follow the links to the Open University.
0:58:29 > 0:58:30Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd