At the end of last month, hot on the heels of the Autumn Budget, the BusinessLDN Infrastructure Group convened for a timely roundtable discussion on the development of the new London Infrastructure Framework 2025 – 26. This city-wide strategic plan will set out London’s future infrastructure needs and investment priorities across transport, energy, water and flood defences, waste, digital connectivity, and data centres.
The session provided an invaluable opportunity for infrastructure experts from across the BusinessLDN membership to hear directly from the consultant team at Mott MacDonald leading the Framework’s development, alongside colleagues from the Greater London Authority and London Councils as the Framework lead sponsors.
With publication planned for early 2026, well ahead of the May local elections, the Framework is set to become a key reference point for London’s infrastructure priorities to meet the needs of a growing population, achieve Clean Power 2030, and boost UK-wide growth.
During the discussion, members shared clear and constructive feedback on the emerging approach. In response to the presentation outlining the framework’s scope and methodology, there was strong consensus that priority schemes must be assessed through an economic and environmental resilience lens, particularly in the face of increasingly frequent climate impacts. Members emphasised the importance of reliability of infrastructure across energy, water, and digital networks, alongside the need for cross-borough collaboration and scalability to help develop robust, investable opportunities.
Another key theme was the need for the framework to better reflect the interdependencies between infrastructure systems. Members highlighted the value of understanding and quantifying the cumulative impacts that infrastructure investment can have across multiple interdependent sectors – and of embedding these interconnections into the criteria used to prioritise projects.
The discussion also spotlighted the work underway to deliver several major infrastructure schemes currently shaping London’s future, including the recently approved DLR extension to Thamesmead, the Lower Thames Crossing, and the new London Heat Transmission Main – an innovative project being led by BusinessLDN member Cory that will decarbonise London’s heating network and serve around 300,000 homes and businesses.
Looking ahead, we’re continuing engagement with the consultant team leading the Framework’s development in early 2026.
Thank you to BusinessLDN member Mott MacDonald for hosting and working with us to deliver the session.
For more information about BusinessLDN and our infrastructure programme, including planned roundtables in the new year with UK Power Networks on the early development of their ED3 business plan, please contact John Kavanagh, Programme Director for Infrastructure.