The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology has expanded its Cyber Runway Critical National Infrastructure programme with innovation accelerator Plexal to bring more cybersecurity SMEs into protecting UK energy, transport, water and digital networks. The scheme targets operational technology and industrial control systems used in assets such as substations, treatment works and tunnels, where legacy SCADA and remote monitoring are increasingly exposed to cyber-physical attacks. For civil and infrastructure engineers, this signals closer integration of cyber risk into asset design, condition monitoring and resilience planning.

London Gatwick has become the first airport globally to achieve PAS 2080:2023 certification for carbon management across its buildings and infrastructure assets. The BSI-verified standard requires quantified whole-life carbon baselines, option appraisal and reduction pathways for capital works, including terminals, piers, pavements and associated civil engineering. For designers and contractors working at Gatwick, future schemes will need to evidence embodied and operational carbon performance alongside cost, influencing material choices, construction methods and asset renewal strategies.

National Grid has appointed consultancy Dalcour Maclaren to deliver land and property services for the proposed Cross Border Connection, a new 400kV electricity transmission link between Scotland and north‑west England. The role will cover route safeguarding, landowner negotiations and access rights along the cross‑border corridor, a critical step before detailed design and consenting. For civil and geotechnical teams, the appointment signals early progression towards corridor definition, ground investigation access and future construction compounds for this high‑voltage reinforcement of the GB grid.