Spotlight: Infrastructure challenges, North Sea oil debate and modular reactor investment

ENERGY

✒ Scotland has “high potential” for new nuclear development | Press release from

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and Michael Shanks MP

✒ Ofgem boosts long duration storage to secure more homegrown energy for customers | Press release from Ofgem  

📰 Billionaire to invest £35bn in small modular nuclear reactors roll out across UK | The Guardian

📰 Burnham pledges greater public ownership of energy | reNews

📰 ‘More power’ to Aberdeen in Burnham’s first speech | Energy Voice (paywall)

📰 Britain’s next leader faces a big call on North Sea drilling. Donald Trump is watching | POLITICO

📰 Why Britain’s electricity prices risk remaining high | Financial Times (paywall)

📰 Cost to rewire Great Britain’s electricity network could reach £90bn in 2030s | The Guardian

📰 ‘We’re into the hard part now’: DESNZ's Ben Golding gives Clean Power 2030 progress report | Solar Power Portal  

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INFRASTRUCTURE

✒ HS2: update following cancellation of Phase 2 | Report from the National Audit Office and Department for Transport

✒ The Defence Investment Plan Funding explainer | Policy paper from Ministry

of Defence and HM Treasury

🗣️  We get a lot of questions about Reform UK’s industrial strategy | Amar Johal (Director of Policy and Research at Reform UK)

📰 Burnham promises to build infrastructure and council houses as PM | Construction News

📰 Quarter of UK water groups underspend investment allowances as network creaks | Financial Times (paywall)  

📰 Heathrow offers free therapy for third runway residents | The Times

📰 ‘Slough is like an experiment’: Europe’s largest datacentre hub leaves town sweltering | The Guardian

📰 Shetland Islands backs £1.5bn tunnels to boost population | Financial Times (paywall)

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DEVELOPMENT

✒ City of London Corporation responds to Government direction on Local Plan |  

City of London Corporation

✒ Housing statistics quarterly update: new housebuilding and affordable housing supply | Gov.Scot  

📰 Andy Burnham speech RECAP as he unveils 'Number 10 North' in Manchester and 'biggest post-war council housing plans' | Manchester Evening News

🗣️Why London says no to small sites | Propview

📰 Burnham speech on housebuilding and devolution: the planning sector reacts | Planning Resource (paywall)

📰 England’s mayors should be given sweeping new powers, says devolution expert | The Guardian  

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