At a glance
🏗️ Non-residential work is propping up a weakening housing market as the 2026 project pipeline reaches £39bn.
🚆 A £23.8bn slate of major civils – including the £10bn Lower Thames Crossing – is set to move on site this year.
🏛️ New planning and contract law changes will reshape risk on major schemes and JCT design and build jobs.
🌱 Renewables delivered a record 47% of UK power in 2025, with 45GW of new capacity approved.
🚆 ICE has identified six “pinch points” in infrastructure delivery, sharpening the focus on planning, funding and skills.
Today’s update: the UK enters 2026 with a sizeable civil engineering and commercial pipeline but a softening residential market, just as planning reform and legal shifts alter the risk profile on major projects. Record renewable approvals and mega-scheme commitments sit alongside persistent delivery pinch points and fragile client confidence. Here’s what you need to know to stay ahead today.
Ongoing Stories
🚆 Infrastructure delivery risks revisited. Following earlier coverage of growing delivery risks, the Institution of Civil Engineers has now set out six specific “pinch points” – including planning delays and funding gaps – sharpening the case for new delivery models and closer government–industry coordination. (Source: ICE)
🚆 Megaproject pipeline focus widens. Building on previous attention to individual megaprojects, new analysis groups schemes such as the Lower Thames Crossing, HS2, the Transpennine Route Upgrade, Sizewell C, Hinkley Point C and major offshore wind farms within a £725bn national infrastructure pipeline running to 2035, underscoring the long-term workload – and risk – confronting the supply chain. (Source: The Highfield Company)
🏛️ Planning reform agenda advances. After earlier discussion of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, new commentary highlights how the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 and evolving NSIP processes are now being used to streamline major infrastructure consenting, while local policies like Westminster’s “retrofit-first” stance signal tougher tests for demolition-led schemes. (Source: RPC Legal; DLUHC)
🌱 Clean energy build-out gathers pace. Returning to the clean energy theme, new data shows Great Britain approved a record 45GW of renewable capacity in 2025 and that renewables generated 47% of UK electricity, reinforcing the volume of grid, storage and balance-of-plant work feeding into contractors’ pipelines. (Source: Envirotec; Carbon Brief)
Top 5 Headlines
🏗️ Non-residential gains offset sharp housing decline in late 2025
New data shows UK non-residential project starts rose 14% quarter-on-quarter and 7% year-on-year in Q4 2025, led by office and industrial schemes, while residential starts fell 2% on the quarter and 20% year-on-year. Business conditions remained difficult, with falling workloads and weak client confidence following the Budget, though tender prices still edged up 0.7% between Q3 and Q4. For contractors and consultants, the shift highlights a near-term pivot towards commercial and industrial work while residential pipelines reset under tax and inflation pressures. (Source: PBC Today / Glenigan)
🚆 £23.8bn of major civils among £39bn of UK work scheduled for 2026
Analysis of upcoming schemes identifies 29 major civil engineering projects worth £23.8bn – including the £10.2bn Lower Thames Crossing – due to advance in 2026. Office and commercial recovery is reflected in 23 schemes totalling £6.3bn, while housing schemes account for £6.9bn across 37 projects, taking the identified 2026 pipeline to £39bn. The figures confirm substantial workload for civils and commercial specialists this year, even as housing volumes lag. (Source: Build in Digital)
🏛️ Legal shifts reshape design and build and consenting strategy
A recent Supreme Court ruling has tightened the circumstances in which JCT design and build contracts can be terminated, narrowing termination rights for employers and contractors. In parallel, the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 is now bedding in with reforms aimed at speeding major infrastructure consenting. Together, these changes will require closer attention to contract drafting and procurement strategy, particularly on complex, fast-tracked schemes. (Source: Osborne Clarke)
🏛️ Westminster pushes “retrofit-first” as demolition faces higher bar
Westminster City Council has introduced a “retrofit-first” planning approach that obliges developers to prioritise refurbishment over demolition and to provide detailed justifications where reuse is ruled out. A called-in decision on the Royal Mint Court embassy redevelopment – involving listed buildings – underlines the scrutiny now applied to heritage and embodied carbon in major city-centre schemes. The move signals growing planning risk for knock-down-and-rebuild strategies in prime urban locations. (Source: DLUHC)
🌱 Record year for UK renewables with 45GW approved and 47% of power generated
Great Britain approved a record 45GW of renewable energy capacity in 2025, almost double 2024 levels, driven by battery storage, wind and solar projects. Renewables supplied 47% of UK electricity last year – their highest-ever share – outpacing gas and nuclear as electricity demand rose by 1% amid continued electrification and favourable weather. The combination of approvals and generation records underpins a large forward programme of grid connections, storage schemes and associated civils and M&E packages. (Source: Envirotec; Carbon Brief)
Also in the news
🚆 The UK’s national infrastructure investment pipeline now totals £725bn out to 2035, with more than 50,000 jobs expected to be supported in 2026 as schemes such as HS2, the Transpennine Route Upgrade, the Lower Thames Crossing, Sizewell C, Hinkley Point C and offshore wind farms including Dogger Bank B and Sofia progress. (Source: The Highfield Company)
🚆 The Institution of Civil Engineers’ latest “Next Steps” programme report sets out six key barriers to infrastructure delivery, notably planning delays and funding gaps, aimed at guiding reforms to improve certainty on major programmes. (Source: ICE)
🌱 Recent offshore wind deals are helping advance the UK’s 2030 clean power targets but could lead to higher energy prices, raising affordability and subsidy questions for upcoming auctions and PPAs. (Source: Sky News)
🌱 Nuclear generation declined in 2025 due to plant outages, while carbon capture projects saw limited new announcements but remain identified as a strategic priority in early-2026 energy sector reviews. (Source: Carbon Brief)
🏗️ BCIS forecasts point to a mixed outlook for 2026, with tender prices continuing to edge up but overall business conditions constrained by inflation, funding pressures and uneven sectoral demand. (Source: FM Industry / BCIS)
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