Twelve New Towns for the Future
6 October 2025
Insight Hub
15 September 2025
Introduction: A Watershed Moment for the UK Water Sector Steve Gummer and Allan Owen, Partners in Sharpe Pritchard’s Infrastructure Department are the authors of the case summary for the Cunliffe Report’s latest findings. It is easy to get lost in headlines about regulators being abolished and water company profiteering. However, the Independent Water Commission’s final…
Read more9 September 2025
The Nuclear Regulatory Taskforce 2025 (Taskforce) has been tasked with reviewing and making recommendations in respect of the UK’s nuclear regulatory framework. Last month, the Taskforce published an interim report, which sets out the Taskforce’s current views and where the Taskforce is seeking further action (Report). Most notably, the Report highlights that the nuclear regulatory…
Read more23 July 2025
Zonal pricing is a market mechanism in which electricity prices vary depending on geographic location. Prices reflect the local cost of delivering electricity, accounting for factors such as transmission congestion and distance from demand centres. This contrasts with the current system in Great Britain, which applies a single national wholesale price for electricity. Whilst the…
Read more21 July 2025
It is easy to get lost in headlines about regulators being abolished and water company profiteering. However, the Independent Water Commission’s final report, chaired by Sir Jon Cunliffe and published on 21 July 2025, sets out the most ambitious overhaul of the UK water sector since privatisation. With 88 formal recommendations, the Cunliffe Report outlines…
Read more18 July 2025
After nearly a decade of restrictive policies, recent changes in law and government policy have opened the door for onshore wind developments. This article explores the key opportunities now available to local authorities, that have arisen from new government strategies (in particular the Onshore Wind Taskforce Strategy) and planning reforms, and looks at how local…
Read more4 February 2025
The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in the energy sector is rapidly transforming the industry, offering opportunities to enhance operational efficiency, optimise resource management, and drive sustainability. However, as this transformative technology becomes more and more essential to critical infrastructure, ensuring its safe and ethical use is a growing challenge. To address these challenges, the…
Read more4 February 2025
The planning reform spotlight has been beaming down on the Nationally Significant Infrastructure (“NSIP”) regime in recent weeks, with a new Government policy paper Streamlining Infrastructure Planning published on 26 January. The Government’s ambition to decide 150 Development Consent Order (“DCO”) applications during this parliament would represent a significant achievement which the working paper acknowledges…
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