Today’s update: a £120bn Autumn Budget capital package is being tied directly to planning reform, brownfield regeneration and net-zero delivery, even as market data signal a fragile, inflation-prone recovery. Major transport and energy schemes are moving forward within a tighter carbon and cost framework, with the next phase of reform shifting from headline funding to on-the-ground delivery capacity. Here’s what you need to know to stay ahead today.
At a Glance
🏛️ Autumn 2025 Budget commits £120bn to housing, transport and infrastructure, including £900m for the Lower Thames Crossing and £13bn for devolved regional investment. (Sources: Burges Salmon, PBC Today)
🏗️ Planning reforms and a forthcoming Planning & Infrastructure Bill aim to accelerate approvals and brownfield housing delivery, backed by £48m to hire 350 extra local authority planners. (Sources: Burges Salmon, Clyde & Co)
🚆 A series of major projects – from HS2 and Lower Thames Crossing to Eastern Green Link 1 and port expansions – continue to anchor the UK’s infrastructure pipeline going into 2026. (Source: GOV.UK)
🌱 The UK’s coal exit, expanded Boiler Upgrade Scheme and a new Energy Resilience Strategy raise the bar for low-carbon design and retrofit across the built environment. (Source: DESNZ)
Ongoing Stories
🏛️ Following earlier coverage of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, today’s Budget detail confirms a parallel push on planning capacity, with £48m to recruit 350 planners and measures to simplify appeals and remove Town and Village Green barriers.
🚆 Returning to the Lower Thames Crossing, the Autumn Budget’s £900m allocation now puts hard numbers behind previously trailed support, reinforcing its status as a priority roads scheme in the national programme.
🚆 Building on recent scrutiny of the UK’s infrastructure pipeline, today’s notes set out how HS2 (Phase 1), major highways junction upgrades, port expansions and Eastern Green Link 1 are collectively anchoring near-term delivery despite wider pipeline uncertainty.
🌱 Continuing the net-zero thread seen in prior editions, the coal power exit, Boiler Upgrade Scheme expansion and scrutiny of nuclear regulation now coalesce into a broader Energy Resilience Strategy shaping future project design and risk.
💰 Adding to earlier warnings on skills and insolvency, new ONS and BCIS figures highlight that while orders are up nearly 10%, tender and cost inflation of 15–16% over five years is set to test viability on both public and private schemes.
Top 5 Headlines
🏛️ Autumn Budget injects £120bn into capital investment and planning reform
The Autumn 2025 Budget commits £120bn to UK capital investment in housing, transport and infrastructure, including £900m for the Lower Thames Crossing and £13bn for devolved regional infrastructure and skills programmes. Planning reforms include £48m for local authorities to recruit 350 additional planners, alongside measures to simplify planning appeals and remove blocks such as Town and Village Green designations. The package targets delivery of 1.5–2.5 million new homes while emphasising brownfield development and embedded sustainability standards, reshaping both the volume and profile of work coming to market. (Sources: Burges Salmon, PBC Today)
🏗️ Planning & Infrastructure Bill to accelerate housing and infrastructure delivery
Government is progressing major Planning & Infrastructure Bill legislation, expected in early 2026, aimed at accelerating housing supply and unlocking infrastructure investment. The reforms sit alongside updated National Planning Policy Framework guidance favouring brownfield development and the anticipated roll-out of build-out reporting under the Levelling-Up and Regeneration Act 2023 to drive faster completions. For developers and contractors, the combination of new statutory tools and reporting duties will alter land strategies, programme planning and risk allocation on large schemes. (Sources: Clyde & Co, Charles Russell Speechlys)
🚆 Major transport and energy schemes advance across the UK
HS2 between London and Birmingham continues with track and signalling installation, while the cancelled northern leg leaves Northern Powerhouse Rail as the core government-backed rail enhancement in the North. The Lower Thames Crossing, A5 Western Transport Corridor (phase one), Simister Island interchange upgrades, Gatwick expansion, Thames Tideway Tunnel testing and the £2.5bn Eastern Green Link 1 subsea “electricity superhighway” are all progressing, with London Gateway and Immingham ports expanding freight capacity. This cluster of schemes underpins multi-year workload for civils, rail, highways, marine and grid specialists, but also concentrates delivery and skills risk on a relatively small set of complex projects. (Sources: GOV.UK, Construction Wave)
🌱 Policy focus sharpens on energy efficiency and resilience
The UK’s coal power exit in 2024, supported by a 2.5% emissions reduction, is being followed by an expanded Boiler Upgrade Scheme that now covers air-to-air heat pumps and heat batteries, and a new Energy Resilience Strategy from DESNZ. Parliamentary debate on a Domestic Energy Efficiency Bill and review of nuclear regulation for projects such as Sizewell C and small modular reactors signal a tightening policy framework for both generation and demand-side measures. This will push retrofit, heat decarbonisation and low-carbon design further up client agendas and may introduce new compliance and programme risks on both residential and infrastructure assets. (Sources: DESNZ, Climate Central, Lancashire Business View)
💰 Market data point to fragile growth and sustained cost inflation
ONS figures show construction output in Great Britain up 0.1% in Q3 2025 versus Q2, with new orders rising 9.8% driven mainly by private commercial and industrial work, while private housing output fell 1.9%. Arcadis and BCIS forecast tender price inflation of 2–4% for buildings and 4–6% for infrastructure in 2025, and around 15% growth in building costs and 16% in tender prices over five years, largely due to labour shortages and capacity constraints. Combined with PMI data showing weak demand and crisis-level housing starts in London, this suggests that even with Budget support, scheme viability and procurement strategies will remain under strain. (Sources: ONS, Arcadis, BCIS)
⚙️ PAS 2080 and low-carbon requirements embed into major project delivery
Sustainability and carbon management under PAS 2080 are increasingly mandated in contracts on flagship schemes including HS2, Thames Tideway Tunnel and the Lower Thames Crossing. Government and industry are aligning around low-carbon approaches across the infrastructure pipeline to meet net-zero commitments, making structured carbon management a core part of project governance rather than an add-on. Contractors, designers and clients will need robust data, methodologies and supply chain capabilities to stay competitive in major bids. (Source: Burges Salmon)
Also in the news
🏗️ Expectations that private rented homes will need a minimum EPC rating of C by 2030 are sharpening focus on retrofit pipelines and compliance planning for landlords and investors. (Source: Clyde & Co)
🏗️ Build-out reporting regulations under the Levelling-Up and Regeneration Act 2023 are expected to come into force, creating new transparency requirements around the pace of residential delivery. (Source: Charles Russell Speechlys)
🚆 London Gateway Port’s £3bn expansion and the Immingham Eastern Ro-Ro Terminal approval are set to boost maritime freight capacity and associated logistics development. (Source: Construction Wave)
🚆 The Thames Tideway Tunnel has entered its testing phase ahead of full operation by the end of 2025, marking a key milestone for London’s wastewater infrastructure upgrade. (Source: Construction Wave)
🌱 Private-sector solar deployments, such as Marsden’s initiative saving around 2,000 kg CO2e in four months, illustrate how smaller projects are contributing to decarbonisation alongside national programmes. (Source: Lancashire Business View)
The Daily Build is written for people shaping the UK’s construction and infrastructure pipeline, from policy through to delivery. If today’s briefing is useful, consider forwarding it to colleagues working on bids, investment cases or programme planning.