Spotlight: Burnham's priorities, London borough's legal challenges and housing supply concerns

ENERGY

✒️ Consultation update: Non-domestic Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards | Department for Energy Security & Net Zero and Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy

✒️ Winter Watch | National Energy System Operator | National Energy System Operator

🗣️ NESO Winter Outlook – UK grid one of the most reliable in the world: comments | Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit  

🗣️ Grid issues will obstruct UK industrial success – report | Enlit

📰 Political turmoil offers UK chance to correct North Sea course | Reuters  

📰 Burnham tight-lipped on energy plans after Makerfield election win | Energy Voice

📰 Starmer’s energy legacy | Energy Voice  

📰 Weakening UK net zero policy would damage economy, chief climate adviser says | The Guardian  

📰 Miliband launches global electrification initiative as UK secures £100bn in green investment | edie  

📰 Progressive economists reject Unite leader’s criticism of Ed Miliband | The Guardian  

📰 ‘Storage growth to help UK power margins’ | reNews

📰 What it really takes to deliver the UK’s energy transition | New Civil Engineer (paywall)  

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INFRASTRUCTURE

📰 Burnham adviser calls for billions of pounds in borrowing for infrastructure | The Guardian

📰 Nista pushes for greater project oversight to provide ‘certainty’ in face of political unease | New Civil Engineer (paywall)  

📰 TfL appoints Amey to Infrastructure Improvement Framework | Rail UK

📰 UK has ‘one of the safest railways in the world’, says transport secretary following Bedford crash | New Civil Engineer (paywall)  

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DEVELOPMENT

✒ Planning applications in England: January to March 2026 | Accredited official statistics from Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government

️🗣️ Housing delivery set to fall well below 300,000 target as supply squeeze deepens, Savills warns | Savills  

📰 Housing applications fall in Q1 2026 as more houses proposed through larger schemes | Estates Gazette  

📰 Starmer resigns with Burnham poised to succeed him - reaction: ‘We need planning policy continuity and focus on implementation’ | Planning Resource  

📰 What would prime minister Burnham look like for the built environment? | Building Magazine

📰 Construction industry reacts to Prime Minister’s resignation | PBC Today

🗣️ Global Urban Data Centres Pact launched at London Climate Action Week | C40 cities

📰 London councils launch legal challenge against London Mayor on affordable housing | The Standard

📰 Essex council to take government to court over reforms | BBC News

📰 £600B of property needs an energy upgrade by 2031| BisNow

📰 NFB welcomes government’s AI planning tools to ease department pressure | PBC Today  

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