Welcome to the Friday Feed, our rundown of this week’s construction news
🚉 Rail
In rail news, a petition has been brought to the house of commons to improve the flood resilience of the Tarka rail line in North Devon. The rail line has been impacted by a significant amount of flooding and extreme weather, with the petition being supported by Liberal Democrat MP Ian Roome. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander says lessons learned from HS2 are helping to strengthen planning and delivery for Northern Powerhouse Rail. Her comments come in response to concerns raised by opposition MPs about the £4.5bn project.
⚡Energy
Contractors WSP and Mott Macdonald have secured a £25m contract to help develop a small modular reactor in Wylfa, Anglesey. Their role is to provide environmental services and permitting support. The government has announced a new framework to increase the rate of construction for new advanced nuclear reactors, targeting the first projects by the mid-2030s while funding is finalised. Also, Northern Ireland Electricity Networks is seeking suppliers for an £83m civils framework split into four lots including new builds, refurbishments and nationwide minor engineering tasks.
🚗 Roads
In road news, Development Consent has been granted for the £112m A46 Walsgrave Junction upgrade. The project aims to ease congestion in the Midlands and is expected to be completed in 2028. Balfour Beatty have secured a £315m contract to deliver highways maintenance within the Midlands over the next seven years, and is their third consecutive term, which began in 2011. Elsewhere, the Scottish Government has confirmed it will progress the dualling of the A96 through a phased delivery approach. The phased plan allows work to begin on priority sections while funding and detailed delivery plans are finalised
🏠Property and development
There is optimism across much of the construction sector, with indicators pointing to a resilient pipeline expected to stabilise national output. This follows a challenging 2025 marked by rising project costs. Planning permission has been granted for a new £1bn Cancer research and treatment centre in Sutton, led by Aviva Capital Partners alongside developer Socius, with all buildings targeting carbon-neutral operation. The government will invite tenders next month for a £120bn framework running from 2027 to 2035. Combining ProCure24 with the Construction Works framework, the move is designed to simplify public sector procurement across building, civil engineering, maintenance and offsite works.
💧Water
The Welsh Government have revealed a green paper with proposed reforms to the water industry in the country. Part of the proposals include plans for a new, solely Welsh economic regulator and a new statutory framework intended to drive investment, improve river health and increase public accountability. Also, Anglian water has revealed a new framework valued at up to £1.5bn to reduce pollution and enhance water services across the East of England, with procurement sitting within its £11bn AMP8 programme.
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