Infrastructure Archives - Sharpe Pritchard

Beyond Potholes: What Does a Modern Highways Maintenance Contract Need to Achieve?

30 July 2026

2026 in construction: a look ahead

19 February 2026

Authors: Michael Comba and Rachel Murray-Smith 2025 was a mixed bag for the construction sector. There was falling inflation and modest annual growth. Yet the sector remained the biggest contributor to UK insolvencies. The year ended with low sector confidence and some months seeing falls in output. But now a month in, what about 2026 and…

A National Security Assessment: Biodiversity Loss and Ecosystem Collapse – Implications for Infrastructure and Energy

10 February 2026

Author: Bridget Newman, Associate at Sharpe Pritchard The UK government has recently published a National Security Assessment on Global Biodiversity Loss, Ecosystem Collapse and National Security (Report), analysing biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation within a national security framework. Government Report Findings The Report assesses, with high analytical confidence, that biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation threaten... Read more

The Warm Homes Plan: Key Takeaways

2 February 2026

Author: Nimoy Kher, Managing Associate On 21 January 2026 the Government published the Warm Homes Plan – a sweeping £15 billion programme to upgrade Britain’s homes, cut bills, grow clean energy markets, and accelerate the shift away from fossil-fuel heating. It is the largest home-upgrade investment in UK history. In this article, we take you…

Heat network regulation goes live on 27 January 2026 – Are you complying

26 January 2026

What the new conditions and guidance mean, and what to do now From 27 January 2026, heat network suppliers and operators in Great Britain move from a largely bespoke landscape to a formal regulated regime. The key change is that Ofgem’s Heat Network Authorisation Conditions become the baseline rulebook, supported by new Ofgem guidance on... Read more

Data Centres Enter the NSIP Regime

15 January 2026

As Wall Street and Silicon Valley debate whether there’s an ‘AI Bubble’, investment in the data centres powering the AI economy shows no sign of slowing. Global spending is forecast to hit $3 trillion in the next three years, with up to 100 data centres planned for construction in the UK already. Against this backdrop,…

Twelve New Towns for the Future

6 October 2025

New Towns Taskforce. What Comes Next for Local Authorities and Developers? Conrad Turnock and James Goldthorpe As cries of ‘Build Baby Build’ echoed around the Labour party conference hall in Liverpool last week, planning and real estate professionals across the country were reviewing the New Towns Taskforce’s report to Government, published on 28th September. The…

Cunliffe In-Depth: What the Cunliffe Report means and what comes next

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…