Infrastructure features prominently within both the budget and the spending review. £100bn of investment will be dedicated to infrastructure in the spending review, including £25.5bn for projects to reduce emissions – such as electric vehicle charging and improving energy efficiency in buildings. The budget sets aside significant funding for infrastructure projects but has been criticised for focussing on large-scale infrastructure projects, rather than local projects such as road maintenance and rail electrification, and for a lack of new funding – of the £6.9bn allocated for regional transport upgrades, only £1.5bn has not previously been announced.
Some of the infrastructure budget headlines include £46bn for railways, £21bn for roads and £5.7bn for intra-city transport. To read the Autumn budget in full, click here.
The £17 million scheme has now opened to traffic, providing additional lanes at junction 15 of the M4 whilst also improving local road access from the motorway. The scheme was delivered through a partnership consisting of National Highways, Swindon Borough Council, Swindon and Wiltshire Local Enterprise Partnership and developers Persimmon and Redrow.
Engineers were able to save millions of pounds and cut 12 months off the construction time, opting to use 29 pre-cast concrete subway units which acted as both bridge supports and eventually a subway at M4 junction 15. This solution also meant that the demolition of a bridge on the A419 was not required, enabling the road to remain open whilst the work progressed below.
The project commenced last summer and is intended to improve journey times and reliability for motorists, tackling congestion historically caused at peak times at the M4 junction and on the A419. The scheme will also unlock the development of thousands of new homes in Swindon.
Network Rail has invited the public to comment on proposals for its Ely area capacity enhancement programme. The programme aims to allow more trains to run through Ely, by increasing rail capacity and enhancing the reliability of passenger services between key destinations.
The scheme would also allow the network to meet the demand for more freight trains between the Port of Felixstowe and the West Midlands and the North. This would subsequently reduce the number of lorries on the roads, providing a faster, greener and safer way of transporting goods across the country.
Last year, Network Rail indicated that the upgrade could cost as much as £500 million, 20 times the amount of the original north junction proposal which was put on ice in 2016 following the Hendry review. Comments can be made at networkrail.co.uk.
On 17th October 2021, it was announced that £32.7 million of government funding has been awarded to provide a new bypass to ease the transport of goods between the M1 and the Midlands. Construction is now due to commence in January 2022 and is expected to be completed by January 2024.
Supported by the Department for Transport (DfT) and led by Central Bedfordshire Council and South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership (SEMLEP), the scheme will comprise a 2.75-mile link road between Junction 11a of the M1 and the A6, forming a north-western bypass for Luton.
As well as reducing congestion in north Luton communities and improving journey times, air quality and road safety, the scheme will also support the development of up to 3,600 new homes and around 2,800 jobs. The total cost of the project is £60.248 million; the contribution of £32.75 million from the DfT is to be topped up from private developer contributions.
On 14th October 2021, Ørsted announced that it had submitted a Development Consent Order (DCO) application to the UK Planning Inspectorate for its offshore wind project. The application was filed on 29th September, following a pre-application consultation.
Early-stage proposals were first publicised in 2018 at local information events; in 2019, the developer commenced formal consultations regarding its proposal to develop Hornsea Four approximately 69 kilometres off the Yorkshire coast. According to earlier published sources, Hornsea Four will incorporate up to 180 turbines.
To-date, Ørsted has already built and put into operation the 1.2GW Hornsea One offshore wind farm whilst the 1.4GW Hornsea Two scheme is currently under construction. Earlier this year, Hornsea Three received a Development Consent Order (DCO).
Two months after the Bilsdale mast caught fire (on 10th August 2021), a temporary mast has been switched on, restoring services to approximately 600,000 affected households across Teesside, County Durham and North Yorkshire.
The original 1,030ft-high (314m) fire-damaged mast was felled in a controlled demolition, one week prior to the switch-on of the replacement 260ft-high (80m) structure. Operator Arqiva has confirmed that 95% of coverage has now been restored and that the remaining 5% of affected customers will be contacted shortly about how their channels will be reinstated.
Works to examine how the new transmitter will affect parts of the protected North York Moors is likely to continue for years. A report conducted on behalf of Arqiva concluded that it had "potential for damage and therefore loss of extent of qualifying natural habitat."
Paul Williams, head of Telecoms at Carter Jonas, represented the landowner in this agreement.
Developers across England face new legal requirements to protect and enhance biodiversity. Andy Williams explains the new language that built environment professionals need to understand.
Helen Melling, senior energy specialist, explains the market conditions leading to the energy crisis.
Carter Jonas has boosted its national Infrastructure and Energy team.
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