Spotlight: Party conference review, Great British Energy Supply Chain Fund and grid connection queue

The Conservative, Green and Plaid Cymru conferences took place this week, all setting out very different pitches, from growth through deregulation to cost of living and community ownership. Want all the detail? Luminate’s full analysis from this year’s party conference season can be found here.

Elsewhere, Great British Energy expanded its £300m Supply Chain Fund from 12 to 29 eligible components across offshore wind and electricity networks and, with the Green Finance Institute, began sounding out investors on bundling small public-sector solar and storage projects into financeable portfolios. Elsewhere, the UK's grid connection queue has hit 738GW, about four times what Clean Power 2030 requires, while Energy UK warned the Government to act now to prevent another energy bills crisis.

On development, the Conservatives made Inheritance Tax the headline of their conference and set out plans to scrap Natural England and the Environment Agency and replace section 106 and CIL with a single levy. Natural England's streamlined planning role took effect, and the Building Safety Levy came into force on 1 October. On infrastructure, the Conservatives backed a third runway at Heathrow, and plans were submitted for what is billed as the world's largest data centre at the former Chapelcross nuclear power station.  

Read the stories making the news in full below.

‍

Spotlight on next week:

‍

• Voting in the Holborn & St Pancras by-election takes place today. With Labour enjoying a boost since Andy Burnham became leader and a difficult conference for the Green Party and its leader Zack Polanski, the result could have important implications for UK politics.

• Parliament returns after conference season, with Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh taking  Ministerial Oral Questions on Tuesday and Andy Burnham facing Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday.  

‍

‍This week’s headlines:

ENERGY

TOP STORY: ✒️ Great British Energy expands £300m Supply Chain Fund to support more UK manufacturers | Great British Energy

‍

Great British Energy's expanded £300m Supply Chain Fund now covers 29 critical components across offshore wind and electricity networks, a clear signal on domestic manufacturing that matters for anyone bidding into grid and wind supply chains.

‍

We’ve also been reading:

✒️ ️FM power and renewables resilience | FM Insurance, FM Power & Renewables Report

✒️ Energy UK warns Government: Act now to prevent another energy bills crisis | Press release from Energy UK

✒️ New report shows 38% increase in operational floating offshore wind capacity worldwide over past 12 months | Press release from RenewableUK

✒ Analysis: Wind and solar save UK from gas imports worth £5.9bn during Hormuz crisis | Analysis from Dr Simon Evans, Ho Woo Nam - Carbon Brief

✒ Energy Trends: UK renewables | Accredited official statistics updated 8^th October 2026  

✒ GBE and GFI seek investor views on supporting local power projects at scale | Press release from Great British Energy

📰 UK grid queue is four times bigger than clean power target | Energy Live News

📰 Suppliers pile pressure on government over energy bills | BBC News

📰 Green party drops longstanding opposition to nuclear power | The Guardian  

📰 UK risks ‘uninvestable’ reputation if North Sea projects are blocked, says energy boss | Financial Times (paywall)  

📰 Green gas could meet almost half of Wales’ gas demand, report finds | Wales247

📰 UK announces largest ever solar energy procurement | Net Zero Investor

📰 Exclusive: Labour Government will not override Holyrood to bring in new nuclear, says UK energy minister | The Scotsman (paywall)

📰 Great British Energy Opens Its Doors in Aberdeen | Rigzone

‍

‍

INFRASTRUCTURE

TOP STORY: 📰 Conservatives pledge support for Heathrow Airport's third runway | BBC News

‍

The Conservatives have committed to backing a third runway at Heathrow, with Shadow Chancellor Andrew Griffith using his conference speech to promise an end to what the party called the "embarrassment" of the long-running debate. This comes as the Burnham government's support looks less secure than it did under Keir Starmer.

‍

We’ve also been reading:

📰 Building Safety Levy is understandable but risks constraining development pipelines | Inside Housing

🗣 Sadiq Khan: Run international trains from Stratford instead of expanding Heathrow | CityAM

📰 Conservatives pledge support for Heathrow Airport's third runway | BBC News

📰 UK construction remains 18% below last year despite infrastructure surge | Engineering and Technology Magazine

📰 The stations of the future: reshaping transport infrastructure | New Civil Engineer

📰 Plans submitted for 'world's largest' data centre at former Chapelcross nuclear power station | STV News

📰 Drax’s ‘sustainable’ data centre fails to secure government backing | The Times (paywall)

‍

‍

‍DEVELOPMENT

TOP STORY: 📰 Tories pledge tax cuts in free-market revival | The Independent

‍

Kemi Badenoch made Inheritance Tax the headline of her party conference speech. Shadow Chancellor Andrew Griffith also announced plans to scrap Natural England and the Environment Agency, which he says would unblock housebuilding and growth.

‍

We’ve also been reading:

✒️ The new National Planning Policy Framework: letter to the Chief Executive of the Planning Inspectorate | Correspondence from Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and The Rt Hon Matthew Pennycook MP

✒️ New streamlined planning role for Natural England takes effect | Press release from Natural England

✒️Homes England selects preferred development partner to drive next phase of regeneration and creative growth in the heart of Birmingham | Press release from Homes England

🗣 Understanding the New Building Safety Levy: Key Changes Ahead | Planning Portal

📰 Kemi Badenoch says Tories would scrap inheritance tax on family homes | BBC News

📰 Tories to pledge to scrap Environment Agency and Natural England | The Guardian

📰 Tories propose to replace 'broken and inflexible' section 106 and CIL with single levy | Planning Resource (paywall)  

📰 Shadow housing minister says zonal planning system under consideration as Tories ‘think about scrapping NPPF’ | Planning Resource (paywall)

📰 Conservatives to unveil radical proposals to scrap Future Homes Standard and environmental quangos | Building Design  

📰 Natural England announces planning approach focused on most complex cases | Inside Housing

📰 Greens prioritise rent controls ahead of council housebuilding | Planning Resource (paywall)

📰 Greens reject 'Nimby' label with council home buy back push | Local Government Chronicle

📰 Housing and rental market proposals in focus at Green Party Conference | Propertymark  

📰 'London needs devolved powers like Wales and Scotland to solve housing crisis' | The Standard

📰 How to revive the UK’s zombified housing market | Financial Times (paywall)

‍