Plans to convert Coventry Airport into a £2.5bn battery gigafactory have moved a step forward after Warwick District Council’s planning committee approved applications covering early enabling works. The scheme, promoted as the UK’s largest battery manufacturing facility, will require full redevelopment of the existing airfield, major groundworks and new utilities to service large-scale process buildings and logistics areas. Civil and geotechnical teams can now progress detailed design for earthworks, foundations and site infrastructure ahead of main construction approvals.

Contractors will return to the M62 Ouse Bridge over the River Ouse this weekend (13–14 December) to replace a damaged expansion joint installed only a couple of years ago, following an unexpected bolt failure earlier this year. National Highways plans to complete the joint replacement under a short-duration closure to minimise disruption on this key trans-Pennine route between junctions 36 and 37. The repeat intervention on a relatively new joint raises questions over detailing, fatigue performance and inspection regimes for heavily trafficked motorway bridges.

Severe bearing deterioration on a major strategic road bridge has been found after going unnoticed for more than 15 years, raising concerns that local authorities lack sufficient in‑house bridge engineering expertise. Inspectors identified advanced damage to key support bearings, with the defect considered potentially critical to the structure’s load‑carrying capacity and long‑term serviceability. The case is prompting calls for more specialist bridge inspectors, better asset management systems, and clearer responsibilities for monitoring ageing structures on heavily trafficked routes.