Future Cities Forum's 'Infrastructure 2026' discussion event

Image: Reading Station - courtesy Grimshaw

Grimshaw is hosting Future Cities Forum this April in London for our 'Infrastructure 2026' forum which will look at how the UK government intends to act on last year's promises for investment into major transport projects including the Lower Thames Crossing - as well as improving water supply such as the Haweswater Aqueduct Resilience Programme (HARP), green energy and further developing spatial and place-based strategies for the UK's infrastructure.

There are potentially £750bn of infrastructure projects planned over the next decade including the delivery of 1.5 million homes as well as Cambridge Waste Water Treatment works.

In November 2025, after reviewing proposals put forward, the Government has announced it supports Heathrow's scheme for a third runway. It will now be taken forward to inform the Government’s review of the Airport’s National Policy Statement (ANPS), with publication of the draft ANPS expected in summer 2026

As part of the 'Great Grid Upgrade' there is a current joint proposal between National Grid and SP Energy Networks for a new High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) offshore connection between Scotland and Wales (Western Link 2).

National Grid states that the project will reinforce the transmission network with new underground cables to connect renewable offshore wind energy generated in Scottish waters to homes and businesses across Wales and beyond. Reinforcement it says is important so it can continue to deliver a reliable flow of electricity to homes, businesses and public services.

Work on the £38 billion nuclear power station, Sizewell C, is also moving forward.

Ten year infrastructure strategy

Future Cities Forum will continue the discussions started at its September infrastructure forum on the £750bn 10-year infrastructure strategy, where NISTA's Director of Strategy and Policy, Margaret Read, said:

'NISTA is still in its early stages of development and we have a focus on how we make sure that the system we are operating works better for everyone and how we set ourselves up the sector as a whole, and how we can support investors.

'There are five priorities around how we can make the system work better. Firstly, we are looking at our role in the development of the control system, in one aspect around approvals, creating a single set of approvals and working more closely with the government's commercial function and digital service with a single set of approvals rather than having to work sequentially.

'As part of the Ten Year Infrastructure Strategy, we have a focus on specific private sector financed projects such as Euston and the Lower Thames Crossing. While I cannot go into the details these are about how we make sure we create the right environment for private finance to support these projects..

'Going further into those projects which are entirely financed by the private sector - including the regulated utilities sectors - we are committed as part of the Strategy to bring all the different reviews together to set out a new vision for how economic regulation works under this government. We are talking about big investments in energy and water and moving away from what was a 'steady state programme' approach in those sectors previously.

'Spatial planning is another priority area because sector planning at the moment does not interact with it properly. Take hydrogen for example where you need water and energy in the right place, similarly for data centres you need the right energy available and for housing you need the infrastructure provision in place.

'We have the help of our recently launched infrastructure pipeline this year, and we are now taking feedback from the sector and will publish an update next January including the social value road map. The infrastructure road map is important because if you announce cost and schedule too early before the design, it will cause issues with the public and investors. Our new ten year strategy has introduced the concept of longer time leads, with longer time spent on feasibility.'

Image: Grimshaw's civic infrastructure installation 'Data Centres and the City: from Problem to Solution' exhibited at the 19th Architecture Biennale 2025 Venice in collaboration with Arup (courtesy Peter Bennetts)

Data centres and AI

Data Centre infrastructure continues to expand across the UK and the Government is also investing £1.6 billion in AI for innovation research and to support clean energy and the railway networks. It says:

'AI will be put to work to transform cutting-edge research into innovations that benefit us all – from better healthcare and new public services to cutting edge products. 

'The UK’s largest public research funder UKRI has set out its first-ever plan to put AI to work for the nation’s world-leading innovators, building on the UK’s historic strengths in fields like computing and agentic AI. 

'UKRI-backed work on AI is already making a difference across society and the economy – from the world-leading RADAR AI system that detects faults on the railway network in real time, to the IXI Brain Atlas ....The strategy also commits to expanding doctoral and fellowship routes co-designed with businesses. It will also support recognised career frameworks for research software engineers, data scientists and ethics specialists – supporting the high-paying jobs of the future.  

'AI is one of the central growth sectors in the UK’s industrial strategy. UKRI’s plan will turn the UK’s scientific excellence into economic advantage by supporting regional clusters, creating new jobs and backing technologies with high-growth potential.'

Investment in Welsh Railways

A recent infrastructure investment announcement by the UK government is to deliver a £14bn plan to 'transform' railways in Wales. The BBC reports:

'Sir Keir Starmer has backed Transport for Wales (TFW) proposals for 43 schemes, saying it would put the country "on the front foot". While cash is confirmed for seven train stations at Magor and Undy, Llanwern, Cardiff East, Newport West, Somerton, Cardiff Parkway and Deeside, specific funding is yet to be announced for other projects.

'A Welsh government source told the BBC it was "the biggest day in devolution", but opponents accused the Labour UK government of "reheating" old announcements. Timescales have not been confirmed, but First Minister Eluned Morgan said the forty three projects promised would take about 15 years to roll out.

'The UK government had already announced £445m for rail projects in Wales at last June's spending review, and has now explained that money will go towards building each of the seven stations, alongside upgrades in south and north Wales.'

Image: CGI of proposed Fens Reservoir - courtesy Fereday Pollard and LDA Design

Water networks and energy grids

Aging infrastructure around water networks and energy grids nearing the end of its design life require investment in maintenance and new decentralised sources such as off-shore wind and battery storage.

At our infrastructure discussion in February 2025 at DLA Piper, Daniel Johns, Managing Director of Water Resources East, was asked about the government's Regional Water Resources Plan to 2050 and the pressure from house building. He commented:

'WRE is an independent planning authority set up by government, one of five to cover the whole of England and the Welsh Borders to create a long term plan and framework on water use and provision to take account of climate change, environmental needs, as well as growth in housing and business needs. This plan, published a year ago, has included three strategic new reservoirs, four desalination plants and lots of transfers from water resource zones , along with lots more water efficiency for both domestic and business users. It's been a positive story.

'There is a challenge on the housing front, about where housing will come through and when, but also on the commercial side. No-one has any statutory responsibility as to whether there is sufficient water for new giga-factories, data centres and food and drink manufacturing plants. There is lots more on-shoring post-Brexit, with lots of water-intensive businesses setting up in the east of England, which is great, but it was not predicted.

Daniel added:

'On the house building planning side you do have to be responsible on water use, especially in Cambridge where you have to meet tighter standards. We are expecting an announcement on a consultation from the MHCLG shortly on making new houses and homes more water efficient.'

Charles Crawford Director at LDA Design who has been working on the two east of England reservoir projects commented:

'Looking at the Fens reservoir, and picking up what Alister Kratt from LDA Design has said at the Future Cities Forum Cambridge event last September 2024, I want to stress the importance of the place-based approach. The project will deliver wider benefits than that of the pure infrastructure. The great scale of the project is difficult to grasp. The reservoir will have an area of five square kilometres, supplying 87 million litres of water everyday which is enough for 250,000 homes.

'The Fens reservoir is a 50/50 partnership between Cambridge Water, serving the city of Cambridge and Anglian Water serving a wide region from the Humber to the Thames. The supply objectives are supporting human needs and also the development aspirations in the region, while taking pressure off the chalk aquifers which have been running dry. There is also a need to deal with climate change, by making the region more water efficient and resilient. The Fens project will come on stream in 2036 - it is the biggest earth moving project we have had in the UK, and that element alone will take five years.'

Join Future Cities Forum for this important forum discussion.