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Barhale has delivered Anglian Water’s first tertiary treatment plant targeting the pesticide Cypermethrin at Raunds Water Recycling Centre near Wellingborough, as part of a £7.8M integrated upgrade. The process uses a purpose-designed cloth filter with ferric dosing, including a 30m³ storage tank and downstream dosing pumps, to strip Cypermethrin to very low concentrations. To meet the new 1.5mg/l ammonia consent, Barhale installed 12 modular nitrifying SAF units with dedicated blowers, a new MCC, an interstage pumping station, and new structural bases, pipework and maintenance access routes.

Graham has completed a 90m-long, 150t steel active travel bridge over the A10, linking Waterbeach New Town to Cambridge Science Park for pedestrians, cyclists and equestrians, commissioned by developer Urban&Civic. Appointed principal contractor in early 2025, Graham fabricated the structure off-site and installed it in modular sections to minimise closures on one of the region’s busiest roads. The bridge, opened by MP Charlotte Cane, ties into upgraded Mere Way, enabling a largely off-road 25-minute cycle to Cambridge city centre and forming part of a wider sustainable transport package.

Atlas Copco has updated its ECO Controller energy management system to improve the efficiency of job site battery energy storage systems when operating in hybrid setups. The controller now integrates with third-party generator controllers from DSE, CAT, Cummins, and ComAp, allowing coordinated load sharing and automated start/stop strategies. For temporary power on construction and infrastructure sites, this enables smaller generator sizing, reduced idling, and better utilisation of battery capacity without locking contractors into a single OEM.

National Pile Croppers has launched the PC 400, a hydraulic cropper designed specifically for 300–400 mm pre-cast piles with four or more reinforcing bars, extending its range beyond traditional cast-in-place applications. The unit has already been deployed by Careys on a Holcim project, giving early site validation of its performance on heavily reinforced pre-cast sections. For contractors, the tool targets faster, more controlled pile head trimming on standard pre-cast sizes, reducing manual breaking and potential damage to reinforcement.

Smulders will fit Palfinger PF 160-5m marine davit cranes to 64 turbines under construction for ScottishPower Renewables’ 960 MW East Anglia Two offshore wind farm off the Suffolk coast, to handle materials and support maintenance on turbine platforms. The fabricator has already ordered 96 identical units for the adjacent East Anglia Three project, with the two farms together expected to power about 2.25 million homes. For offshore contractors, standardising crane types across both sites should simplify lifting procedures, spares, and lifecycle service planning.

Morgan Sindall reported a 21% rise in adjusted pre-tax profit to £116.1m on first-half 2026 revenues up 8% to £2.562bn, driven primarily by its construction and fit-out divisions. Partnership housing revenue fell 14%, signalling softer demand or delayed schemes in that segment despite stronger commercial and public sector project pipelines. For contractors and consultants, the figures point to resilient UK building and interiors workloads, with more cautious conditions in mixed-tenure and affordable housing delivery.

Jacobs has been appointed by Great British Energy – Nuclear (GBE‑N) to deliver planning and consenting services for the UK’s proposed fleet of small modular reactors, a core step before site investigation, grid connection design and nuclear licensing can proceed. The commission will cover environmental impact assessment, Development Consent Order documentation and stakeholder consultation, integrating SMR layouts, cooling water demands and construction logistics into statutory planning submissions. For civil and geotechnical teams, the work will frame ground investigation scope, foundation concepts and seismic qualification requirements at candidate SMR sites.

Sheffield City Council has approved Capital&Centric’s redevelopment of the disused Cannon Brewery in Neepsend, unlocking 240 apartments in the first phase and a wider masterplan for about 500 homes on the former Stones Brewery site. The scheme includes roughly 15,000 sq ft of commercial floorspace, a new urban park and additional public realm with pedestrian routes threaded through the retained industrial fabric. For civil and geotechnical teams, the long-vacant brownfield brewery implies legacy foundations, buried services and potential contamination constraints during groundworks and infrastructure installation.

AtkinsRéalis’s offsite arm EDAROTH has delivered 12 social and affordable homes for Raven Housing Trust in Epsom using a precision-engineered system with up to 65% of materials produced in a Bradford factory, above the UK government’s 55% offsite threshold. The units, manufactured across four sites and assembled onsite, are designed for net zero operational performance, to exceed emerging Future Homes Standards and to be independently assured for 100‑year-plus service life. EDAROTH positions the industrialised, digitally designed model as scalable, repeatable housing infrastructure aimed at de-risking programmes and attracting long-term investment.

Work has started on a £50m programme by Aspire Defence Ltd to build new living, working, and training facilities on Salisbury Plain for three British Army units under the Ministry of Defence’s Defence Estate Optimisation portfolio. The scheme will deliver modern accommodation blocks and technical buildings designed to current MoD standards, replacing older stock and consolidating units onto fewer, more serviceable sites. Contractors will need to manage construction within an active training area, with tight security protocols and restricted access shaping logistics, groundworks, and phasing.

Civil and structural engineering consultancy Perega is consolidating its two London offices into a single base at Waterloo, relocating staff from Leytonstone to support a push into healthcare projects across the capital. The move centralises design teams working on hospitals, clinics and other NHS estate upgrades, positioning them closer to major clients and transport hubs. For contractors and project managers, a unified Waterloo office should streamline coordination on complex healthcare schemes with tight phasing, live-site constraints and demanding structural and MEP integration.

Great British Energy – Nuclear has appointed Jacobs, supported by planning consultancy Quod, to deliver planning and consenting services for small modular reactor (SMR) projects in the UK. Initial work will concentrate on new nuclear development at the Gwyndod site (formerly Wylfa Newydd) and Oldbury-on-Severn, covering strategic land-use planning, consent strategy and leadership of approvals. Scope includes statutory stakeholder engagement plus socio-economic, traffic and transport assessments, signalling early demand for geotechnical, infrastructure and access studies around these priority SMR locations.

McLaughlin & Harvey has secured a £100m contract to build a new Rolls-Royce air combat facility in Bristol, providing integrated research, manufacturing and assembly space for next-generation aerospace propulsion. The complex will support novel technology development and agile production methods for future air combat programmes, with construction scheduled to start in late 2026 under Rolls-Royce’s defence infrastructure division. For engineers, the scheme signals upcoming demand for high-spec industrial building services, vibration control and precision environmental conditions to support advanced test and assembly operations.

The Crown Estate has unveiled West End redevelopment plans for 10 Piccadilly and 21-29 Glasshouse Street, centred on integrating new office, retail and hospitality space within existing historic structures off Regent Street. The 10 Piccadilly scheme will provide 62,700 sq ft of office floorspace above a 26,400 sq ft hospitality venue across ground, basement and first floors, plus 1,700 sq ft of retail on Regent Street. At 21-29 Glasshouse Street, two office blocks will be reconfigured into 63,000 sq ft of workspace and 15,500 sq ft of retail fronting both Regent Street and Glasshouse Street.

Government plans to bolster water company resilience during summer heatwaves focus on maintaining peak-demand supply and protecting critical assets such as trunk mains, treatment works and service reservoirs. Measures centre on drought planning, temporary use bans, and accelerated leakage reduction, alongside operational contingencies like tanker deployments and inter-company transfers where existing grid connections allow. For civil and water engineers, the direction signals continued investment in network reinforcement, additional storage, and upgraded pumping and treatment capacity to cope with prolonged high temperatures and low river flows.

Project pipelines across UK infrastructure are expanding as activity recovers, but persistent workforce pressures are exposing gaps in leadership capacity on major programmes. Contractors and consultants face simultaneous delivery of complex schemes such as multi-billion-pound rail upgrades and large water resilience projects, while still contending with post-Brexit and post-Covid skills shortages. For geotechnical and civil teams, this raises immediate risks around design assurance, CDM compliance and construction sequencing if experienced project directors and discipline leads cannot be deployed at the right time.

Balfour Beatty has secured a £120M contract from Leeds City Council as sole contractor to deliver the Leeds Inner Ring Road Strategy, consolidating design, construction and phasing under a single delivery partner. The programme is expected to involve staged upgrades and renewals to existing dual carriageway sections, junction reconfiguration and associated structures, with complex works likely over live traffic and constrained urban corridors. For civil and geotechnical teams, the single-contractor model signals early contractor involvement on pavement rehabilitation, retaining systems and utilities diversions across multiple work packages.

A proposal for a National Bridge Retrofit Library has won the Beyond Design Early Careers Bridges Challenge at New Civil Engineer’s Bridges Conference, with engineer Oliver Lamyman taking the top prize. The concept envisages a centralised, standardised repository of retrofit details, drawings and performance data for existing bridge stock, enabling faster option selection and repeatable detailing for common forms such as half-joint, post-tensioned and steel composite bridges. For asset owners and designers, such a library could cut assessment and design time, support consistent application of Eurocodes and BD standards, and improve whole-life management of ageing structures.

Road access at Kirk Hill in Nottinghamshire has reopened after more than 18 months as construction of a new 14,000-brick bridge approaches completion. The masonry structure replaces an ageing crossing on a key local route, with traffic now running beneath while remaining works focus on finishing parapets, waterproofing and approach tie-ins. For designers and contractors, the scheme illustrates how traditional brick arch construction is still being deployed on modern road corridors where aesthetics, durability and relatively low maintenance are prioritised over high-span or high-load requirements.

HS2 has completed realignment of the A43 near Brackley, Northamptonshire, carrying traffic over the future high-speed rail route on a newly constructed bridge. The works, delivered during planned weekend closures, were sequenced to avoid disruption to the nearby Silverstone F1 Grand Prix traffic flows on this key dual carriageway link between the M40 and M1. For civil and highways engineers, the scheme illustrates typical HS2 interface constraints: tight possession windows, high traffic volumes, and maintaining strategic network resilience during major earthworks and bridge construction.

Civil engineering contractors are warning that falling workloads in Q1 2026 should be an “alarm bell” for UK infrastructure delivery, after Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA) members reported reduced activity across transport, utilities and local authority frameworks. Firms cite delayed notices to proceed on major road and rail schemes, slower procurement on water and energy projects, and uncertainty around long-term funding settlements. Contractors caution that prolonged gaps in workload risk demobilising specialist teams and plant, driving up future delivery costs and extending programme durations once projects finally start.

Thames Water’s largest creditor subset, London & Valley Water (L&VW), which represents holders of over £17bn of Class A and super senior debt, has issued a statement addressing speculation over the utility’s capital restructuring. The group signals that a “local public control supervisory structure” is one potential governance model under consideration as part of any workout. For civil and water engineers, this points to prolonged uncertainty over funding for long-horizon asset renewals across Thames Water’s 31,000km-plus network and major schemes such as trunk main upgrades and sewage treatment capacity increases.

JCB has formally launched its partnership with Adaptalift Group at the Australian dealer’s Truganina facility in Melbourne, following an April signing that made Adaptalift an authorised JCB distributor. The collaboration brings JCB’s earthmoving and materials handling range into Adaptalift’s national rental and fleet management network, which already services large civil and infrastructure contractors across Australia. For project teams, the tie-up should streamline access to JCB excavators, telehandlers and loaders through integrated hire, maintenance and parts support under Adaptalift’s existing asset management systems.

Places for London, Heathrow, Lower Thames Crossing and Gallagher Group have partnered with Fatima Whitbread’s charity to create a route for care leavers into construction, using employer-backed training and site placements. The initiative is linked to The Skills Centre, whose courses have already led two care-experienced young people into apprenticeships with Marlborough Highways. For contractors and infrastructure clients, this signals a growing pipeline of entry-level labour tied directly to major projects, with structured support for candidates who typically face higher barriers to CSCS accreditation and site readiness.