At a glance
🏛️ Government launches a major NPPF consultation to harden housing targets, loosen urban planning constraints and clarify policy for data centres and AI growth zones.
🏗️ New “default yes” rules and fast-tracking for energy‑efficient schemes signal a decisive tilt towards higher‑density housing and transport‑linked development.
🚆 Civil engineering project starts jump 118% in late 2025, driven by roads, energy and ports, even as contract awards and approvals fall sharply.
🌱 DESNZ opens consultation on new planning fee structures for energy infrastructure to speed decisions and recover costs.
💰 Latest data show a flat 2025 for UK construction overall, masking sharp divergence between strong R&M and weak new‑build housing and commercial work.
Today’s update: central government is moving aggressively on planning reform, pairing a new NPPF consultation and ministerial statements with measures to favour dense, rail‑linked and energy‑efficient development. At the same time, late‑year data point to a tentative rebound in civil engineering starts against a backdrop of weak housing output and a structurally smaller workforce. Here’s what you need to know to stay ahead today.
Ongoing Stories
🏛️ Following earlier coverage of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, ministers have now tied the next phase of planning reform directly to a refreshed NPPF and new housing delivery tools, clarifying how legislation and policy will work together to speed homes and infrastructure.
🚆 Returning to the theme of delivery risk on major programmes, the latest Glenigan figures show a sharp late‑2025 rise in civils project starts even as contract awards and approvals retreat, underscoring a more volatile pipeline for contractors and suppliers.
🌱 Building on recent signals around clean energy consenting, DESNZ’s consultation on energy infrastructure planning fees adds practical detail on how the regime could shift towards full cost recovery and potentially quicker decisions.
💰 In the context of repeated warnings on pipeline fragility and skills, new 2025 output and labour data confirm that growth is being carried by repair and maintenance while new‑build markets and workforce capacity continue to lag.
Top 5 Headlines
🏛️ Government opens NPPF consultation to harden housing delivery
A wide‑ranging consultation on changes to the National Planning Policy Framework has been launched, proposing a more permissive default for development on suitable urban land and higher mandatory housing targets supported by stronger plan‑making. The draft also seeks to give clearer policy backing to data centres and AI growth zones, signalling their strategic importance. For developers, planners and investors this is a potential reset of the policy baseline that will shape site promotion, land values and consenting strategies into the 2030s. (Source: UK Government)
🏗️ Housing Secretary sets “default yes” near stations and fast‑track for green schemes
New housing measures include a default presumption in favour of development near rail stations, targeted support for well‑designed higher‑density schemes, and simplified biodiversity requirements for smaller sites. Developments that meet national energy‑efficiency standards will be eligible for fast‑tracked planning, tightening the link between performance and programme risk. This package tilts the system towards urban intensification and transport‑oriented projects, rewarding teams that can combine design quality, sustainability and speed. (Source: UK Government)
🏛️ Planning and Infrastructure Bill framed as engine for homes and critical schemes
Parliamentary statements and debates on 16–17 December set out how the Planning and Infrastructure Bill is intended to accelerate delivery of new homes and critical infrastructure. Ministers linked the Bill to the broader reform agenda, positioning it as a vehicle to cut delays and unblock nationally significant projects. For clients and contractors, this signals further central intervention in planning risk, with implications for programme assumptions and stakeholder engagement. (Source: Parallel Parliament)
🚆 Civil engineering project starts up 118% as ports and energy surge
Analysis of late‑2025 activity shows civil engineering project starts rising 118% over the previous three months, led by roads, energy and ports, with port projects up 267% year‑on‑year. The East of England led on project starts, the East Midlands recorded a 345% rise in planning consents, and London’s headline scheme was the £300m HMP Grendon Underwood prison. This divergence between rising starts and falling awards and approvals suggests near‑term workload for civils players, but a less certain medium‑term pipeline. (Source: Specification Online / Glenigan)
🌱 DESNZ proposes fixed‑fee regime for energy infrastructure planning
DESNZ has launched a consultation on introducing fixed application fees and a cost‑recovery model for energy infrastructure planning in England and Wales. The changes are aimed at supporting timely consents and better‑resourced decision‑making for projects across the energy system. Developers and utilities will need to factor potential higher up‑front costs against the prospect of greater predictability and speed in the consenting process. (Source: UK Government)
Also in the news
⚙️ Turner & Townsend has appointed four new UK infrastructure directors to strengthen programme delivery capability across major schemes. (Source: Construction Wave)
🌱 The Autumn Budget and forthcoming NISTA 10‑year pipeline confirm £725bn of infrastructure investment across water, transport, energy, schools and hospitals, with energy and health highlighted as key growth sectors. (Source: TMHCC)
💰 Official data show UK construction output growing 0.7% in 2025, with repair & maintenance up 8.6% but new housing down 5.1% and commercial work down 3.1%. (Source: TMHCC)
💰 The sector has shed around 10% of its workforce since Covid—about 250,000 jobs—with S&P Global’s November PMI showing the fastest construction output decline in five years. (Source: TMHCC)
💰 Despite current headwinds, forecasters expect the UK to be the fastest‑growing construction market in Western Europe over the next 15 years, driven by mega‑projects. (Source: Approach Personnel)
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