Welcome to the Friday Feed, our rundown of this week’s construction news
🚉 Rail
Mike Ross, the leader of Hull City Council has requested urgent talks with the government in the aftermath of the Northern Powerhouse Rail plan. He stated that he was severely disappointed as currently there is no mention of Hull as part of the £45bn plans, despite hopes that the electrification of the rail line into Hull would be included. Elsewhere, the civil engineering works have been completed on the longest HS2 tunnel. This represents a significant milestone towards the completion of the Chiltern tunnel.
⚡Energy
SSEN have awarded £1.75bn worth of contracts for the supply and installation of two major subsea links in the north of Scotland. This represents the latest stage of SSEN’s larger investment of £22bn to upgrade transmission infrastructure across the north of Scotland. National Grid have submitted four planning applications for network upgrades in north-west Wales between Pentir, and Trawsfynydd. This is part of the larger Great Grid Upgrade project and represents a step towards Wales having 70% of its electricity demands from renewables, by 2030. Elsewhere, Rolls Royce has announced Amentum will be the programme delivery partner for their first group of Small Modular Reactors.
🚗 Roads
Hampshire County Council is on the search for suppliers to aid in its new four year consultancy framework worth up to £120m. The aim of the framework is to advance transport, highways and infrastructure projects. There is a particular focus on sustainable and innovative solutions. In other news, Balfour Beatty has secured a highways maintenance contract in the Midlands worth up to £900m. The contract is to deliver road repairs and specialist surfacing works across Warwickshire, Coventry and Solihull.
🏠Property and development
There was a sharp decline in UK construction activity in 2025. A new report produced by Glenigan showed that the number of projects beginning on site fell by 20%, in 2025, compared to the year before. There was also a decrease in planning approvals and main contract awards which suggests a weaker pipeline in the near future. In other news, the UK government has announced a £1.5bn capital investment programme to renovate and refurbish cultural buildings in poor condition. The government has also unveiled its highly anticipated £15bn Warm Homes Plan which will bring solar panels, insulation and heat pumps to five million homes by 2030. The aim is to permanently reduce fuel costs and increase the usage of clean energy technologies. Lastly, work is set to begin later this year in Bristol for the transformation of the Canons Wharf offices, in a project worth £74m after a major financing deal was approved.
💧Water
Thames Water has commenced the search for a contractor for its flagship reservoir in Oxfordshire. The £5.7bn project, known as the White Horse Reservoir, is aiming to ensure water stability for 15 million people in the south east. In other news, the government has announced its significant overhaul of England’s water sector with a new regulator, to tighten regulation and early intervention when infrastructure is failing. They are also aiming to reduce pollution and household bills.
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