Welcome to the Friday Feed, our rundown of this week’s construction news
🚉 Rail
In rail news, construction work on the ÂŁ27m Portishead railway line restoration is due to start in April. The line will provide an hourly passenger service between Portishead and Bristol, with funding provided by the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority and North Somerset Council. Network Rail has completed a ÂŁ7.9m improvement project at Manchester Piccadilly to strengthen the southern approach to the station. Extensive upgrades to track and related infrastructure were carried out across six lines during a nine-day closure. Also, the Government has announced a ÂŁ15m plan to upgrade Barking Eurohub. The plans will focus on enhancing infrastructure at the east London site to increase capacity and improve facilities for cross-Channel rail freight.
⚡Energy
In the energy sector, Ampyr has acquired the consented 530MW East Yorkshire Solar Farm from Boom Power. The project near Howden received planning approval in May 2025 and is set to connect to National Grid’s substation at Drax Power Station near Selby from 2029. In Somerset, the projected cost of Hinkley Point C has risen to £35bn, with Unit 1 expected to start generating power in 2030. The increase reflects inflation, supply chain pressures and delivery complexities. SSEN Distribution has announced five contractors to deliver its £950m subsea cables framework. The programme will upgrade the electricity links connecting island communities across Scotland’s to improve resilience and increase capacity to meet demand.
đźš— Roads
The Clifton Hampden Bypass in Oxfordshire is set to be approved as part of the county’s Housing Infrastructure Fund scheme. The bypass scheme includes a new relief road northwest of the village, linking the A415 at Culham Science Centre with the B4015 Oxford Road north of Clifton Hampden, along with a series of junction improvements. In London, Marlborough Highways has been awarded a £50m highways maintenance and civil engineering contract by the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. The contract covers maintenance, construction work and related services for the borough’s road network in east London. The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Council says that Albert Bridge could be closed for up to a year for essential repairs. The bridge is currently closed to traffic but remains open to pedestrians and cyclists.
🏠Property and development
AFC Bournemouth has confirmed that major stadium work will begin this summer as part of plans to nearly double the capacity of Dean Court. The redevelopment will expand the ground from 11,286 seats to just over 20,000. Sir Robert McAlpine has completed construction of a steel frame for the first building of the £4bn Agratas’ Bridgwater gigafactory. This marks a key milestone for the project, which will be the UK’s largest battery facility of its type. Also, Balfour Beatty has appointed Myles Westcott as its new chief financial officer. He will take up the role later this year, joining from defence contractor BAE Systems.
đź’§Water
Scottish Water has committed £13.4bn in its 2027-2033 business plan to modernise the country’s water services. This includes £8bn towards maintaining and upgrading pipes, treatment works and other key infrastructure. Finally, work is progressing on the tunnelling phase of Southern Water’s 19km Southampton Link Main between Otterbourne and Rownhams. The project is being delivered by a joint venture between M Group Water and Galliford Try, with the tunnelling works due to run until May.
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