Standard contracts body JCT has appointed Michelmores partner Anna Wood as chair of its drafting sub-committee, succeeding Clyde & Co partner Victoria Peckett, who steps down in July 2026 after 18 years in the role. Wood leads Michelmores’ construction team and advises developers, employers, contractors and consultants on contentious and non-contentious UK projects, including complex built environment disputes. Her leadership will shape future updates to the JCT suite of standard form construction contracts, directly affecting risk allocation, payment, and dispute mechanisms on UK infrastructure and building schemes.

British Columbia gold miner MCC Canadian Gold Ventures has filed a multi‑million‑dollar lawsuit against the province after 2024 Orders in Council under section 7 of the Environment and Land Use Act sterilised its Banks Island mineral claims and banned further exploration. The orders were issued as part of the province’s response to Gitxaala Nation’s legal challenge to online mineral claim grants and the BC Supreme Court ruling that the Mineral Tenure Act regime breached the duty to consult. MCGV, which says it invested millions to restart and clean up a bankrupt gold mine on Banks Island, has received no compensation and is citing parallels with the Carrier Lumber v. British Columbia damages case.

Community ownership of renewable energy is at risk of stalling in the UK, with a government committee warning that current grid access rules and financing conditions mean national targets for locally owned solar, onshore wind and small hydro schemes will not be met. MPs pointed to long distribution network connection queues and limited access to low-cost capital as key barriers for parish- and co‑operative-led projects typically sized in the tens of kilowatts to a few megawatts. For civil and electrical engineers, this signals continued uncertainty for small-scale grid connection design, land agreements and long-term O&M planning on community sites.