Cuts to UK infrastructure spending to fund the £15bn Defence Investment Plan will cause a net loss of 10,200 jobs, according to new modelling by the Transition Security Project. The analysis estimates that diverting capital from transport, utilities and construction projects into defence procurement will reduce employment in civil engineering, specialist contractors and materials supply chains more than gains created in defence manufacturing. For geotechnical and civils firms, the report signals a thinner pipeline of publicly funded works and increased competition for remaining major projects.

British Columbia’s 2019 Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA) is creating legal uncertainty for miners, with West High Yield Resources’ C$30-million Record Ridge magnesium project halted for six weeks by an injunction despite an agreement with the Osoyoos Indian Band and now facing downriver opposition from a US-based First Nation. A December BC Court of Appeal ruling found the Mineral Tenure Act’s automated claim-staking inconsistent with UNDRIP and confirmed courts can test DRIPA compliance, prompting a Supreme Court of Canada appeal due for responses by 24 September. While exploration and evaluation spending in BC hit a record C$751 million in 2025, AME and financiers warn unclear FPIC and consultation requirements are delaying the “next wave” of junior projects and complicating ground-disturbance permitting.

HS2 has lost its Court of Appeal challenge over planning changes linked to the Bromford Tunnel extension at Water Orton, after North Warwickshire Borough Council overturned an earlier High Court ruling by Justice Dove. The dispute centres on modifications to the HS2 alignment and associated works in North Warwickshire, which required revised planning controls and local consent mechanisms. The judgment reinforces local planning authorities’ leverage over design changes to major linear infrastructure, with potential implications for programme risk, land acquisition strategy and construction phasing on remaining HS2 works.