Civils

Transport secretary Mark Harper has given the green light for a £210m VolkerFitzpatrick motorway project in the South of England. The contractor will upgrade Junction 9 of the M3 near Winchester, Hampshire, after the development consent order was granted. VolkerFitzpatrick was appointed to the scheme back in 2022 but an…

MPs have warned that the government lacks the skills to estimate project costs, leaving it “too reliant” on supply chain partners to price its biggest infrastructure schemes. Government departments are agreeing funding packages before proposals are sufficiently developed, a cross-party inquiry into the government’s major infrastructure projects concluded. It cited…

Judges have thrown out an objection that the Sizewell C nuclear power plant should not be built because of its impact on the surrounding area’s water supply, clearing the final barrier to the project’s overall planning permission. The Supreme Court decided yesterday (13 May) that it would not hear campaign…

Ringway Infrastructure Services has secured a second term as roads maintenance and response contractor in Milton Keynes. The company, part of Vinci subsidiary Eurovia UK, will continue delivering highways services in the Buckinghamshire city for at least another eight years. Ringway became Milton Keynes City Council’s service delivery partner in…

Network Rail has named a raft of big-name contractors on a panel to deliver £3.5bn of infrastructure works in the East of England. The operating body appointed 15 firms including Morgan Sindall, Amey and Bam to its Eastern Routes Partnership (ERP). The framework will deliver key infrastructure improvement works throughout…

Changes to plans for Hinkley Point C could face new planning hurdles, it has emerged. A Somerset Council report indicated that amendments to the nuclear project’s development consent order (DCO) were expected to be put through a rigorous process next year. Project backer EDF launched its own consultation in January…

A project to build the Sizewell C nuclear power plant has taken a significant step forward – although it has yet to be granted formal permission to begin construction. The £20bn Suffolk project has been granted a nuclear site licence, meaning a nuclear power plant can be built on the…

The government is set to unlock construction of the rail tunnel to HS2’s Euston station by providing taxpayer cash upfront and trying to recoup money from businesses and passengers later, according to reports. The 4.5 mile tunnel is set to get the go-ahead in coming weeks, with more than £1bn…

Cumbrian firm Stobbarts has won a £40m infrastructure deal at Sellafield nuclear power station. The Workington firm will support Sir Robert McAlpine on groundworks and concrete jobs at the sprawling Cumbrian plant. The contractor was appointed by Sellafield’s Programme and Project Partners (PPP), a coalition of Kellogg Brown and Root,…

Devolving major infrastructure planning decisions to local authorities would speed up delivery, experts told MPs this week. A Parliamentary Transport Committee hearing on Wednesday (1 May) heard that the current system, where major infrastructure projects need consent from central government, is slowing down development where it is needed most. “We…