At a Glance
UK construction output fell at its fastest pace since the pandemic in November, with input costs still rising and public housing work down more than 16% year-on-year. (Source: Tokio Marine HCC; Alliance News)
Labour’s £725bn 10-Year Infrastructure Strategy and the near-final Planning and Infrastructure Bill are tightening the link between central funding, planning reform and housing delivery targets. (Source: Construction Leadership Council)
Government confirmed major transport priorities including the Lower Thames Crossing and Simister Island upgrades, alongside an infrastructure funding update from HM Treasury. (Source: GOV.UK)
Ofgem agreed early investment and revised timelines for “electricity superhighway” grid upgrades, while Sumitomo Electric secured the Sea Link HVDC cable contract with UK manufacturing from 2027. (Source: Ofgem; Sumitomo Electric)
New streamlined planning regimes in England and Wales are being finalised to accelerate major infrastructure consents and development corporations. (Source: Welsh Government; Pinsent Masons)
Today’s update: the UK construction market is tightening further, with falling workloads, patchy demand in housing and commercial, and persistent cost pressures just as central government locks in a £725bn long-term infrastructure agenda. Planning reform is shifting from rhetoric to statutory guidance and new processes across Whitehall and the devolved nations, with grid, water and transport programmes pivoting to delivery. Here’s what you need to know to stay ahead today.
Ongoing Stories
🏛️ Following earlier coverage of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill and wider planning reforms, new DLUHC guidance and consultation outcomes now set out how councils will be held to a 1.5m homes target with financial penalties for under-delivery, alongside streamlined routes for development corporations. (Source: Construction Leadership Council; Pinsent Masons)
🚆 Building on previous reports about pressures on UK infrastructure delivery, the DfT and Infrastructure and Projects Authority have now confirmed priority status and updated risk assessments for schemes like the Lower Thames Crossing and regional upgrades, framing them within the £725bn 10-year strategy. (Source: GOV.UK)
🌱 Returning to the evolving energy infrastructure picture, Ofgem’s latest decision on early investment for key transmission “superhighways” and National Grid ESO’s consenting updates add firmer dates and incentives for projects now stretching into 2033–34. (Source: Ofgem)
🏗️ Continuing the theme of sector stress highlighted this week, fresh data from Tokio Marine HCC and official materials statistics show November’s sharpest post-pandemic output contraction coinciding with divergent material price trends and low single-digit tender inflation. (Source: Tokio Marine HCC; DBT/ONS)
Top 5 Headlines
🏗️ UK construction workload falls at fastest rate since the pandemic
New analysis shows UK construction activity in November 2025 contracted at its steepest pace since Covid, with sector output growth for the year lagging 2024 and public housing new work down over 16% year-on-year to September. Input costs are estimated to be up around 3.9% year-on-year, while overall 2025 output price inflation is about 2.7%, highlighting margin compression across contractors. Private housing new work remains in negative territory at -5.1% and commercial new work down 3.1%, underscoring broad-based demand weakness. This matters because it tightens cashflow and pricing power just as firms are expected to mobilise for a major public infrastructure and housing push. (Source: Tokio Marine HCC; Alliance News)
🏛️ Labour’s £725bn 10-Year Infrastructure Strategy moves towards implementation
The government’s 10-Year Infrastructure Strategy, committing around £725bn over the next decade, is now being aligned with Treasury allocations following the Autumn Budget. Priority areas include major upgrades to water supply—with a planned quadrupling of investment and delivery of nine new reservoirs—together with roads, rail, energy networks and large-scale residential development. A near-complete Planning and Infrastructure Bill will underpin delivery through reduced red tape, 300 additional planning officers and enforcement of a 1.5m homes target with penalties for non-compliant councils. For clients and supply chains, this creates a clearer long-term pipeline but also hardens expectations on delivery, especially around housing and enabling infrastructure. (Source: Construction Leadership Council)
🚆 Government confirms major transport priorities including Lower Thames Crossing
A Department for Transport announcement confirms decisions on a set of major transport schemes, with the Lower Thames Crossing and the M60/M62/M66 Simister Island improvements in Greater Manchester highlighted as priority projects. These sit within a broader portfolio of regional and strategic upgrades being tracked by the Infrastructure and Projects Authority in its latest Major Projects Review. Returning today as part of the government’s wider infrastructure narrative, these confirmations shift schemes further into the delivery phase and signal continued demand for highways, civils and associated logistics capacity. (Source: GOV.UK)
🌱 Ofgem backs early investment in “electricity superhighways” with extended timelines
Ofgem has agreed early investment and updated completion dates for key electricity transmission projects under the so-called Great Grid Upgrade, with projected net consumer benefits of £3–6bn. Target delivery dates for several links now run to 2033–34, with incentive mechanisms to bring forward completion where possible. Coupled with National Grid ESO’s updated processes for electricity transmission consenting, the move gives developers clearer visibility over grid reinforcement schedules that underpin offshore wind, solar and other low-carbon projects. This is critical for sequencing generation, grid and supply-chain capacity over the next decade. (Source: Ofgem)
🌱 Sumitomo Electric wins Sea Link HVDC cable contract with UK manufacturing base
Sumitomo Electric has secured the contract to supply and install 525 kV HVDC submarine cables for National Grid’s Sea Link interconnection between Kent and Suffolk. Cable manufacturing is planned at Port of Nigg in the UK, with construction expected to start in 2027 and more than 200 jobs created. The project is a key component of the UK’s offshore wind integration and Net Zero 2050 plans, and signals further localisation of high-voltage cable manufacturing capacity. This provides a long-term anchor project for UK-based heavy electrical manufacturing and marine installation specialists. (Source: Sumitomo Electric)
🏛️ Planning reforms in England and Wales sharpen focus on major infrastructure consents
Wales has introduced a new process from 15 December 2025 to speed planning for infrastructure projects and improve the nation’s investment offer. In England, final legal frameworks for streamlined decisions on major schemes and the establishment of development corporations with transport and infrastructure powers are now in place as part of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill package. Together, these reforms aim to compress approval timelines for nationally significant and strategic regional projects. For promoters, they offer potential time savings but also demand earlier, better-prepared submissions and engagement with new consenting structures. (Source: Welsh Government; Pinsent Masons)
Also in the news
🏗️ Official building materials statistics for November 2025 show moderating overall materials inflation but sharp divergence by product, with imported sawn/planed wood up around 12.5% year-on-year while some aggregates prices fall, complicating procurement strategies. (Source: DBT/ONS)
🏛️ DLUHC has published statutory guidance and consultation outcomes on planning and housing reforms, clarifying how new policies will interact with local plan obligations and Homes England delivery programmes. (Source: Construction Leadership Council)
🌱 Multiple low-carbon schemes including the Mona offshore windfarm, Sunnica solar park and the Bramford–Twinstead energy link have been green-lit, reinforcing the near-term pipeline for grid, civils and environmental services. (Source: Ofgem)
💰 John Wood Group has agreed to sell its UK Transmission & Distribution business to United Infrastructure for £57.5m, with completion targeted for 31 December 2025, reshaping part of the UK power networks consultancy and services landscape. (Source: London Stock Exchange)
⚙️ ZenaTech has completed the acquisition of Casado Design Ltd, a UK telecom tower design firm, expanding its drone-assisted telecom services capabilities into the UK infrastructure market. (Source: Tokio Marine HCC)
The Daily Build is written for people shaping the UK’s construction and infrastructure pipeline, from investment committees to project offices. If today’s briefing is useful, consider forwarding it to colleagues working on planning, grid or highways strategy this quarter.