By Laurence Brett, Managing Director, Transportation, AECOM

The UK’s infrastructure sector is calling out for increased collaboration, and seeking investment and renewed commitment to project pipelines, securing certainty for the long-term. Fortunately, The UK’s Real Estate Investment & Infrastructure Forum (UKREiiF) is set to bring together the entire built environment industry to discuss these challenges – connecting stakeholders at all levels and boosting collaboration, investment and regeneration across the country.

Among the key themes of this year’s UKREiiF is a focus on inclusive, sustainable and transformational investment. Inclusivity, in this context, means that the forum is about more than just the big cities and regions – while the likes of London, Belfast, Cardiff, Birmingham and Manchester will be represented, to name but a few, so too will many smaller authorities from all over the country.

When it comes to local and regional authorities, AECOM has seen first-hand that providing these groups with greater autonomy when it comes to infrastructure development consistently leads to increased certainty in delivery and project pipeline. This same certainty is vital when seeking to encourage investment from the private sector, which is crucial in light of the current economic challenges facing the public purse.

This prioritisation of inclusivity not only applies to the cities and regions involved, but also the companies attending as well, ensuring that investment is distributed across the UK. As a leading infrastructure consulting firm, AECOM is on the larger side of the docket – however, we have worked with authorities and companies of all shapes and sizes on a broad range of infrastructure projects.

With this in mind, the potential role for local and regional authorities in developing public infrastructure has grown increasingly apparent since last year’s election, as the Government continues with its commitment to strengthening devolution across the UK. From the Devolution White Paper in December to the recent Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government’s statutory consultation on devolution, this direction has remained consistent even as other priorities have adapted to new political and economic circumstances.

Of AECOM’s recent projects, the Northumberland Line stands out as a prime example of our work with local authorities. On December 15th 2024, the day before the release of the Devolution White Paper, the line reopened passenger services after solely serving freight for 60 years. This project is one of the largest third-party funded rail upgrades in the UK developed by a local authority, making it an ideal candidate to serve as a blueprint for future devolved rail development projects.

One of the key point of interest with the Northumberland Line is its unique alternative delivery programme. Following the 2017 Hansford Review, local authorities and the private sector were given the power to develop their own rail projects, which had typically been Network Rail’s sole purview to that point. The Department for Transport (DfT) also set up the Rail Networks Enhancement Pipeline (RNEP) process, to further support investment for the new projects that would follow.

Through its Perfect Circle joint venture, AECOM was appointed by Northumberland Country Council to support this project from the very beginning. The RNEP process requires projects to pass through specific ‘stage gates’, requiring a strong business case to secure funding each time. AECOM aided the council in creating robust and adaptable business cases that demonstrated clear benefits, supporting collaboration between key partners to accelerate the project between the RNEP stage gates.

Likewise, AECOM’s support also aided effective collaboration between the three major delivery partners – Network Rail, Northumberland County Council and Northern Trains Ltd – and two principal contractors – Morgan Sindall Infrastructure for stations and Network Rail’s Central Rail Systems Alliance (CRSA) team for rail corridor – all of which were responsible for different aspects of the project. Our efforts helped minimise the risk that any one partner’s work would be held up by another, reducing delays across the board.

All of these steps were crucial when it came to speeding up progress on the Northumberland Line through its alternative delivery route, ultimately seeing the scheme receive approval for the development stage in half the usual time for a project of this scale. Three of the six new Northumberland Line stations have now opened, with the remaining three to follow later this year.

Local and regional authorities can learn a lot from the steps taken by Northumberland County Council on the Northumberland Line Project. It’s worth noting that representatives from the council will be attending UKREiiF as part of North East England, uniting with all six other North East local authorities and the North East’s Mayor Kim McGuinness for the first time – putting forward a united front to promote investment opportunities across the region.

If there’s a single point to glean from all this, however, it’s that these new infrastructure opportunities only exist for those bold enough to take advantage of them. At UKREiiF, stakeholders across the infrastructure, investment and real estate sectors – from the Government to regional combined authorities, local councils, investors and developers – will gather together to lay the groundwork for the UK’s future. AECOM stands ready to assist this undertaking in any way it can.

By Laurence Brett, Managing Director, Transportation, AECOM