At a glance
UK construction is forecast to grow 8% in 2025 and 10% in 2026, driven by major public and private investment and more disciplined project pipelines. (Sources: CCEMagazine, Construction Briefing)
Government’s new Energy Independence Bill promises faster planning and lower financing risk for renewables, hydrogen and grid projects, alongside a national hydrogen network. (Source: GOV.UK)
Housing market stabilises with prices up 1.2% year-on-year, but delivery still lags permissions and off-plan apartment sales remain under pressure. (Source: ONS)
UK solar capacity has grown 11.7% in a year, with over 2m installations and record monthly deployment, as major solar and offshore wind projects secure consent. (Sources: Global Renewable News, Energy in Demand)
The £725bn national infrastructure pipeline remains in place, with fresh emphasis on speeding NSIP decisions via the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025. (Source: ICE Knowledge Hub)
Today’s update: forward-looking data and policy moves point to a construction upturn through 2025–26, but the gains depend on whether planning reforms, grid upgrades and market confidence translate into shovels in the ground. Energy, housing and large-scale regeneration are all being pulled into a tighter, faster regime – at least on paper. Here’s what you need to know to stay ahead today.
Ongoing Stories
Returning to the theme of a strained UK project pipeline highlighted in recent issues, new forecasts now frame 2026 as a potential boom year, with 8–10% annual growth contingent on whether policy reforms actually ease delivery bottlenecks. (Sources: CCEMagazine, Construction Briefing)
Following earlier coverage of planning and infrastructure reform, the new Energy Independence Bill builds on the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025, adding specific measures for hydrogen networks and clean energy grid infrastructure. (Source: GOV.UK)
Continuing our recent focus on clean energy planning, today’s updates show that policy shifts are now being matched by concrete consents for major solar and offshore wind schemes, expanding the renewables project bank. (Sources: Global Renewable News, South West Net Zero Hub)
Top 5 Headlines
⚙️ UK construction poised for 8–10% growth through 2026
Analysts see 2026 as a pivotal year for UK construction, with forecasts indicating an 8% expansion in 2025 and 10% in 2026 as tighter project pipelines and increased public and private investment take hold. Drivers include policy reform, technology adoption, sustainability requirements and stronger investor confidence, alongside a wave of rail, energy and regeneration megaprojects worth over £200bn. This trajectory suggests contractors and consultants will face both capacity and capability pressures if forecasts materialise. (Sources: CCEMagazine, Construction Briefing)
🏛️ Energy Independence Bill aims to fast-track clean energy and hydrogen
The government’s Energy Independence Bill, trailed in the King’s Speech, is designed to improve and speed up planning and approvals for renewables, hydrogen projects and grid infrastructure. Measures include reducing planning delays, cutting financing costs for clean energy schemes, establishing a national hydrogen network and streamlining infrastructure delivery. For developers and investors, the Bill signals a more interventionist approach to unblocking consenting and connection risk on low-carbon projects. (Source: GOV.UK)
🏛️ Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 begins to bite on NSIPs
The ongoing rollout of the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 is targeting accelerated decisions on nationally significant infrastructure projects, including cutting the NSIP pre-application consultation period by one year. A new Lead Environmental Regulator is being installed to reduce consenting delays on major clean energy schemes such as Sizewell C and Lighthouse Green Fuels while maintaining environmental protections. This shift could materially shorten programme risk on large transport and energy jobs, but will demand earlier, better-prepared submissions from promoters. (Sources: GOV.UK, ICE Knowledge Hub)
🏗️ Housing market stabilises but supply–demand gap persists
ONS data show UK house prices rising 1.2% year-on-year in April 2026 to an average of around £268,000, indicating early stabilisation after the recent slowdown. Government is pushing further planning reform for housing, including a 30‑month timetable for digital local plans, stricter gateway checks for planning authorities and expected updates to the NPPF later in 2026. For developers, persistent delays between permission and build-out, coupled with weaker off-plan apartment sales and viability pressures, mean volume recovery is far from guaranteed. (Sources: ONS, WPS Planning)
🌱 UK solar passes 2m installations amid record year for deployment
UK solar capacity has increased by 11.7% over the past year, adding 2.3 GW to the grid, with March 2026 seeing 27,000 new installations – the highest monthly total in a decade – and total installations now exceeding 2 million. Alongside this distributed growth, the 800 MW Springwell Solar Farm in Lincolnshire has been approved as the UK’s largest planned solar facility, while three offshore wind farms – Dogger Bank South East, Dogger Bank South West and North Falls – have secured consent for a combined 4 GW. This scale of pipeline, coupled with efforts to speed grid connections, will reshape demand for grid, civils and balance-of-plant contractors over the next few years. (Sources: Energy in Demand, Global Renewable News)
🚆 £725bn infrastructure strategy underpins long-term pipeline
The updated UK Infrastructure Strategy, announced in mid‑2025 and still in force, sets out a project pipeline valued at more than £725bn across housing, transport, energy and social infrastructure. This sits alongside policy moves to improve grid connectivity and transmission capacity for renewables, and to align infrastructure planning with wider economic and net-zero goals. The scale and breadth of the programme provide visibility for major contractors and investors, but delivery will hinge on whether current planning and regulatory reforms deliver sustained throughput. (Source: ICE Knowledge Hub)
Also in the news
🌱 The South West Net Zero Hub has backed six new regional projects including solar farms, rooftop PV on council buildings, battery storage and community energy centres, illustrating how national policy is filtering into local clean infrastructure schemes. (Source: South West Net Zero Hub)
🌱 Government and industry continue to prioritise faster grid connections and expanded transmission infrastructure to support the surge in large-scale renewable projects. (Source: Energy in Demand)
🏗️ Planning advisers highlight that despite forthcoming reforms, long lags between permission and housing completions remain a critical drag on supply, particularly in high-demand urban areas. (Source: WPS Planning)
🏗️ Developers are reporting a slowdown in off-plan apartment sales amid higher borrowing costs and viability challenges, with potential implications for phasing and funding of multi-phase schemes. (Source: WPS Planning)
🏛️ Further updates to the National Planning Policy Framework are expected later in 2026, adding another moving part for local plans and major applications already in train. (Source: WPS Planning)
The Daily Build is written for people shaping the UK’s project pipeline, from boardrooms to site offices. If this briefing is useful for your next bid, investment case or gateway review, consider forwarding it to your wider team.