The built infrastructure is an essential component of urban development. Yet it is rarely treated with the attention it deserves. Consequently it is often seen as a planning obstacle and as a public sector responsibility to be provided out of the public purse often delaying developments in the process. 

In reality it is an important part of the development process and has major spillover effects, which benefit developers and the general population far beyond the cost of the infrastructure and for many decades or even centuries.  Indeed, economic development and economic growth depend on the quality of the built infrastructure.

In order to assess the overall scale of infrastructure investment in the built environment including work on existing stock, two new alternative econometric approaches to modelling total infrastructure are compared. Using data from Construction Statistics Annual (CSA) this paper analyses the contribution of the built infrastructure in the UK. The data from CSA is combined with data from the National Income Accounts to show the performance of the infrastructure market over time.