Ministers are stifling major infrastructure projects through dithering and delay, new analysis shows. Despite Labour’s pledge to accelerate delivery, ministerial indecision has added nearly four years of cumulative delay in 2025 alone, and the Government is already falling behind its target of deciding on 150 projects by 2029.
A briefing by the Centre for Policy Studies reveals that of 27 major projects that have had or were expecting a decision in 2025, 14 (52%) have been delayed beyond the statutory three-month period for ministerial sign-off.
The consequences are severe. The Cambridge Waste Water Treatment Plant, which would have unlocked 8,500 homes, faced a six-month ministerial delay before eventually being cancelled due to rising costs, to which the delay undoubtedly contributed. Over £80m was spent on planning, including £14m by the council, only for the project to be scrapped.
Delays and uncertainty make infrastructure more expensive and harder to build. Projects must either risk demobilising staff or postpone construction until consent is secured. With a coin toss’s chance of facing delays of unknown length, even projects that are approved promptly are impacted by the uncertainty in the system.
Legal challenges compound the problem. One in six approved projects face court battles that can delay delivery by a year or more. Both airport expansions approved this year, Luton and Gatwick, now face legal challenges, a warning sign for the Government’s Heathrow third runway ambitions.
The Government is already falling behind its 150-project target. Ministers have made 32 decisions between the start of the Parliament and the end of 2025 but should have made 45 to stay on track. And analysis of the major projects pipeline suggests that, even without further delays or withdrawals, there will not be enough projects coming forward – in part due to the cost and uncertainty of the process. At current rates, the Government will approve just 107 major projects by 2029, missing its target by nearly a third.
Ben Hopkinson is the Head of Housing and Infrastructure at the Centre for Policy Studies. He was previously the Head of Research at Britain Remade, a pro-economic growth campaign group, and a Senior Risk Consultant at PwC. He holds an MSc in International Relations from the London School of Economics and a BA in Philosophy,... View Article
