Autumn Budget 2025: Infrastructure
After weeks of speculation, the Chancellor delivered Labour’s second Autumn Budget in Parliament. Facing a £30 billion shortfall in public finances and constrained by the fiscal rules, the Chancellor set out tax, spending and borrowing plans for the year ahead.
In the Chancellor’s Budget speech, she reaffirmed the centrality of infrastructure to the Government’s ambitions to achieve economic growth. Alongside committing to continuing capital investment, the budget also contained significant investment in various large-scale projects across transport, energy and regions. Specific major projects such as the Lower Thames Crossing, Heathrow, Grangemouth, the DLR extension, Anglesey and the Northern Powerhouse Railway were all referenced throughout the accompanying policy document.
The priority for the Government now will be how to turn these commitments into reality, with a focus on removing the barriers that have plagued infrastructure delivery across the UK.
Key Announcements
Confirmation of the NHS Neighbourhood Rebuild Programme will deliver new Neighbourhood Health Centres (NHC) through upgrading and repurposing existing buildings and building new facilities through a combination of public sector investment and a new model of Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs). (3.16)
The Budget document outlined progress on the delivery of an operational third runway at Heathrow by 2035, including that it will be entirely privately financed. The Government will be consulting on any amendments to the Airports National Policy Statement by July 2026. (3.19)
The Government is launching a £500 million Mayoral Revolving Growth Fund for mayors in the North and Midlands with an integrated settlement, working alongside a wider set of public financial institutions. (3.36)
The Government announced up to £14.5m of funding in Grangemouth and the UK’s first small modular reactors in Anglesey in North Wales (3.44)
The Government brought forward capital investment at SR25 to accelerate delivery of major infrastructure projects and confirmed investment in new schemes, including £890m for the Lower Thames Crossing. (4.25)
The Budget document outlined how the British Business Bank’s strategic plan will drive investment into Industrial Strategy sectors and increase capital deployment from £1.5 billion to £2.5 billion a year. (4.44)
The Government will launch the Local Growth Fund for multiple Mayoral Strategic Authorities, with £902m over four years for infrastructure, business support, employment, and skills programmes. (4.75)
The Government has allocated Growth Mission Fund support: £20m for a sports quarter in Peterborough, £20m for the redevelopment of the Inchgreen dry docks in Inverclyde, and £16m for a STEM centre in Darlington. (4.76)
The Government is approving business cases for the Flintshire & Wrexham Investment Zone, Anglesey Freeport, and Forth Green Freeport, and announcing details for the Northern Ireland Enhanced Investment Zone. (4.77)
By 2029–30, the Government will commit over £2bn annually for local authorities to repair, renew and fix potholes on their roads. (4.78)
The Government will support TfL’s plan to extend the DLR to Thamesmead, funded through TfL and GLA borrowing. (4.81)
The Government has committed a further £891m to complete publicly funded works for the Lower Thames Crossing before the private sector takes forward construction and long-term operation. (4.82)
The Government has committed £4.2m for the remediation of brownfield land in Port Talbot to support the Harbourside Innovation District and the Celtic Freeport. (4.83)
If you would like to learn more about what the Autumn Budget means for you, please get in touch with us at: hello@tendoconsulting.co.uk
