Almost two-thirds (64%) of people in Wales see investment in renewable energy as very important, with investment in airports considered the least important.
A new survey conducted by YouGov on behalf of GLIL Infrastructure, a £1.8bn investment fund backed by UK local government pension schemes, asked respondents to identify how important each type of infrastructure was to them, including road, rail, airports, energy, renewable energy, utilities and telecommunications.
Although the majority of respondents in Wales felt that infrastructure investment in all of these industries was important, there were some clear differences.
Investment in renewable energy was described as ‘very important’ by the largest proportion of respondents (64%), followed by utilities (44%). Respondents were least likely to consider investment in airports to be very important, with 40% describing investment in this area as either ‘not very important’ (31%) or ‘not at all important’ (9%).
| Infrastructure type | % of ‘very important’ responses |
| Renewable energy | 64% |
| Utilities | 44% |
| Telecommunications | 41% |
| Energy | 41% |
| Roads | 39% |
| Rail | 39% |
| Airports | 13% |
In other parts of the UK energy (42%) and airports (19%) were most considered very important in the North East. London saw the highest percentage of respondents regard renewable energy as very important at 68%, while in Scotland almost half of respondents (49%) described investment in utilities as very important.
Elsewhere, rail (46%) had most backing in the South East, telecommunications (44%) most in Scotland and roads (41%) most in the East of England.
| Infrastructure type | Region infrastructure type most considered ‘very important’ |
| Renewable energy | London (68%) |
| Utilities | Scotland (49%) |
| Rail | South East (46%) |
| Telecommunications | Scotland (44%) |
| Energy | North East (42%) |
| Roads | East of England (41%) |
| Airports | North East (19%) |
In Wales respondents said the UK Government when asked where they think the majority of UK infrastructure investment should come from.
Outside of government, private investors (6%) are who people in Wales think should provide the biggest contribution to investment, followed by sovereign wealth funds (2%). Over a quarter (29%) said they were unsure where the majority of UK infrastructure investment should come from.
Ted Frith, chief operting officer at GLIL Infrastructure, said: “The UK has extensive infrastructure ambitions and now, even amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, there is still a strong case for infrastructure investment as the economy looks to get back on track and prepare for the future.
"The current lockdown means that international travel is all but impossible, however the commitment to sustainability and the environment remains firm."
