Brownfield, Infrastructure & Land (BIL)

Rating: The SRO Delivery Confidence Assessment (DCA) rating at 25/26 Q4 increased to Green. This uplift is driven by BIL meeting and exceeding its target metrics (67k housing capacity unlocked against a 65.5k target, 500k sqm employment floorspace unlocked against a 200k sqm target, and 78% funding used on brownfield projects against a 72% target). Furthermore, all delivery partners have established strong delivery pipelines, providing a clear and credible route to future delivery. Key risks remain, particularly around cost pressures, contractor capacity and the Building Safety Act - particularly for higher-risk and more complex developments, which are generating additional design costs, extending pre-commencement timescales, and increased regulatory burden for developers.

Schedule: Compared to financial year 24/25-Q4, the programme's end-date at 25/26-Q4 increased from 31/03/2029 to 31/03/2031. The extension is isolated rather than programme-wide is driven by a single BIL National Project, which has received approval to spend BIL funds in 2029/30 and 2030/31. All other BIL projects remain on track to complete construction and spend by the original end date of 31 March 2029.

Cost: The WLC has increased by £9m. This reflects Homes England’s approach to use existing BIL projects to bridge the gap ahead of the National Housing Delivery Fund (NHDF) launch on 1 April 2026, alongside adjustments for inflation in real terms. This has been enabled by combining NHDF funding into a single, flexible pot, allowing Homes England to move funding between new and existing activity as needed. This flexibility is now reflected in the updated departmental baseline.

Source: NISTA Major Projects Annual Report 2025-26 (data)

Rating: The Infrastructure Project Authority's Delivery Confidence Assessment rating at 24/25-Q4 is AMBER. This is due to‚ Delivery confidence remains Amber, given various risks the programme could face as it transitions into the delivery phase, including potential cost increases and impacts of the Building Safety Act (which may cause delays to project approvals and/or changes to scope). Proactive risk management occurs at project and programme level through risk assessments, regular progress reviews, contingency planning, and escalation where required. BIL is currently on track to achieve its programme targets. The next financial year is expected to be the peak year for expenditure.

Schedule: The project's end-date at 24/25-Q4 is scheduled to be 31/03/2029. This is primarily due to the following factors: There are no changes to the schedule. The final completions for the programme are still planned for the end of the 2028/29 financial year.

Cost: The project's departmentally agreed Whole Life Cost at 24/25-Q4 (measured in £m) is 1,497. This is primarily due to the following factors‚ At Spending Review 21 a package of investment was announced to drive economic growth by investing in new housing-led brownfield, infrastructure, and land projects in England, unlocking construction of 65,500 homes. Budgets profiles have recently been updated as part of the spending review process, with no change to WLC.

Source: NISTA Annual Report 2024-25 (data)