NO SOONER had the 4,011 visitors fled the Civils Exhibition at London’s Earl Court, had the controversial Planning Act – estimated to save the country £300m a year – been given Royal Assent.

More than £50bn worth of projects were on show at Civils 2008, which recorded a 12% increase in visitor numbers from 2007.

Events manager Gerry Sherwood said the increase in visitor numbers against the background of economic downturn is a testament to the resilience of the civil engineering industry.

Peter Hawes, events and internal communications manager at Crossrail said Civils provided it with a unique opportunity to keep a range of stakeholders from across the industry fully informed of the project's latest developments.

He said: “Crossrail will be the largest civil engineering project in Europe, so it is vital for us to engage with the industry.”

Visiting clients, which also included, BAA, The Highways Agency, Sellafield, Magnox South and Metronet Rail will have not only been boosted by the upturn in numbers but by the news that major infrastructure projects will be fast-tracked by the new Planning Act.

The Planning Act, which received Royal Assent on November 27, will establish a fundamentally new planning consent process for major infrastructure projects in England and Wales.

CBI deputy director-general John Cridland said: it was good news for British business. He said: “For too long billions of pounds worth of much needed investment in Britain's infrastructure has been delayed by our cumbersome planning system.

“The Planning Act will speed up decisions that are in the national interest. This will encourage investment and help the economy. Importantly, it will allow the construction of new power sources, improving our energy security and helping us tackle climate change.”

Ministers said that the Act showed the government is making the tough decisions needed for this country's future. Communities secretary Hazel Blears said: “One third of Britain's electricity generation capacity must be replaced in the next few years and the current planning system is not able to cope. Under the current regime there is enough renewable energy caught up in the system to power over one and a half million homes.”

She said many low carbon power sources will now get faster approval, and the country could save £300m a year.

Ministers will set out National Policy Statements detailing national infrastructure priorities for the country in areas such as energy, aviation, road and rail transport, water and waste, and the decisions as to whether to allow individual projects to go ahead will then be taken independently by a new Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC).

In the New Year the government will set out a timetable for how it plans to setup the IPC and consult on the detailed regulations and National Policy Statements to implement the new system.