TOP THREE TAKEAWAYS

1. Despite historic underspending, £725 billion is committed to be spent on infrastructure projects across the UK over the next 10 years.
   
   
2. The Planning and Infrastructure Bill aims to (and will) cut red tape, but it missed the opportunity to expedite the final decision-making step in the Development Consent Order (DCO) process.
   
   
3. Landowner and developer cooperation is not just possible but demonstrably better for all parties involved in an infrastructure project.

The UK is finally getting to grips with its historic underinvestment in infrastructure

Infrastructure is only noticed when it’s missing. People notice when the internet fails and when the bins are not collected, but not when clean water flows and there is heat in their homes. In the UK, a complex web sits behind these facilities, and it requires constant maintenance, improvement and expansion to remain functional – and unnoticed.

It’s an expensive task, but evidence suggests infrastructure pays back its investment several times over. A 2020 report by the Global Infrastructure Hub, incorporating over 200 academic studies, indicated each £1 of public investment in infrastructure increases gross domestic product (GDP) by about £0.80 within one year. By the end of year five, total growth is closer to £1.50. This multiplier can be even larger (around £1.60) during economic downturns.

Private capital has also historically stepped in to modernise utilities, build crucial projects, and compensate for limited public budgets, from Victorian railroads to 21st-century wind farms. The future will be no different, and the 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy emphasises the importance of private capital, though details are yet to be unveiled.

A noticeable decline

To achieve these multipliers, money must be spent – and spent well. Figure 1 looks at gross fixed capital formation (GFCF), the total investment in fixed assets such as equipment and buildings used to produce goods and services. Infrastructure, such as roads, bridges and power grids, is often a significant component of GFCF.

Among all 38 OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) nations assessed, the UK consistently ranked in the lowest quartile for GFCF. Between 2003 and 2008, it recorded the lowest share of GDP allocated to GFCF, implying a low investment rate in infrastructure. According to a 2024 Institute for Public Policy Research report, had the UK achieved an average investment rate over the past 30 years, the country would have benefited from an additional £1.9 trillion in real terms funding.

This is not just a case of a missed opportunity; underinvestment creates economic drag. The UK lost £7.7 billion due to traffic congestion in 2024, £200 million more than in 2023, according to INRIX. England and Wales lose three billion litres of water through leaks every single day, or one in every five litres pumped. And 756GW of projects are waiting to connect to the electricity grid as of February 2025, according to the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem).

A wide-ranging sector

The UK Infrastructure Pipeline details the infrastructure projects planned in the UK. It is new and incomplete, yet it gives an idea of the scale and distribution of infrastructure projects within the UK, be they operational, in construction, or planned for the future. Savills Research has analysed the nearly 1,000 projects within the Pipeline to see where the opportunities lie for those in the infrastructure sector.

• ENERGY

Nearly 40% of projects within the Infrastructure Pipeline don’t have enough detail to be included within our analysis in Figure 2. From what is known, we can tell most are within the energy sector and most are concerned with planned solar projects. Ultimately, these kinds of projects account for a quarter of the Pipeline. This reflects the uncertainty within the ground-mounted solar photovoltaics sector, which faces both policy uncertainty and difficulties in connecting to the grid. More is known about solar projects under Great British Energy, which aims to install solar in 200 schools and 200 hospitals. Though this will affect only a small portion of sites nationwide, more detail is offered, reflecting the greater certainty in these developments. As for those projects detailed in Figure 2, a majority are concerned with the decommissioning of nuclear facilities.

• WATER AND WASTEWATER

In water and wastewater, project descriptions show a notable consistency: 16 projects each for “maintenance and renewals” and “improvements” in water, and 11 projects for each of these areas in wastewater. This mirrors the number of water companies nationwide. Together, these initiatives represent £64 billion in capital expenditure, with nearly £40 billion allocated to critical improvements addressing the UK’s water challenges. Yet this belies the true scale of investment in water infrastructure. Behind the entries within the Infrastructure Pipeline is a far greater collection of tasks and projects to maintain and improve water infrastructure. The Pipeline also fails to appreciate the true scale of investment being made in the sector.

• TRANSPORT

Transport projects are distributed evenly among air (28%), rail (27%), and road (23%) initiatives, with the remainder comprising other modes such as public transport and active transport. Most airport-related schemes focus on Gatwick, with a single reference to the Heathrow expansion. Heathrow may only receive a single mention here, but it possesses a great deal of political capital, with the government committing to achieving consent by 2029, and completion by 2035. It is the North West that stands out for rail investment, where budget details are available. Although overall funding is unlikely to match what had been earmarked for HS2, a more targeted allocation may yield greater rewards. There are plans to alleviate rail congestion throughout the Northern Arc, benefitting both passenger and freight services. These projects to improve rail in the North West are mirrored in the Oxford-Cambridge Arc where East West Rail will connect Oxford, Milton Keynes, Bedford and Cambridge.

Where is development happening?

Two in five projects (41%) are planned in southern regions (South East, South West and London). A large proportion of the South East’s lead is due to a focus on air transport infrastructure. A further 17% are located within the North West. This should not be surprising given the presence of major cities and their accompanying transport networks, as well as significant energy assets, such as Sellafield.

There is a band of regions from Wales through to the Midlands, and up to the North East, which has a lower number of projects per region. For example, the number of projects in the East Midlands is approximately a quarter of those in the South East. In these regions, projects are generally evenly distributed across all sectors.

What does it all mean?

Geographically, projects are skewed towards urban, GDP-generating hubs, such as London and Manchester. Projects fall broadly into two categories: the enhancement of existing assets or investment to meet new infrastructure requirements.

Linear infrastructure projects connect point A to point B. Points A and B may be urban, but often the infrastructure must cross expansive rural areas. Landowners with infrastructure assets on or near their property might consider exploring potential ways to unlock further development, as initial projects can sometimes lead to additional opportunities over time. Policymakers must guide this development sensitively, and rural stakeholders must engage with that guidance to ensure the best outcome.

_{Read the articles within Spotlight: UK Infrastructure below.}